firefighters in berkeley have their hands full this morning, putting out a huge fire in a duplex and one woman in a wheelchair had to be rescued. i'm christy smith. i'll tell you who did the rescuing. demanding justice. protesters crowd into a city council meeting in oakland and they get what they came for. what happened in that meeting. and mitt romney and president obama meet face-to-face for the first time in five years. what's at stake for the candidates heading into the first presidential debate. right now, let's give you a live look outside, spanning over the city of san francisco. the beautiful city by the bay. christina will be along to tell you about the traffic. this is wednesday october 3rd

"today in the bay." it is 4:31. i'm jon kelley. >> lots to get to, but first let's check the forecast with christina loren. >> it is the talk of the town, the very hot weather, the hot start to october. and today we are going to take the triple digits down to the 90s in the warmer cities across the bay but it's still going to be abnormally hot. the big news is san francisco yesterday, 93 degrees. we're going to talk about how hot your city was and when we're getting some cooler weather. we'll get to that forecast. first, hey, mike. >> we're tracking the bridge. i just saw flashing lights.

crews starting to move those construction zones on the north side. we still have construction as you're heading across the span. the approach getting out of san francisco and also the approach to the bay bridge off 101 heading to the lower deck. jumping to the north bay, highway 29 at 121. reports, about an hour, we had an incident there. not a lot of detail. 29 at 121, prepare for a little traffic control through the area, just south of napa. will be an issue just for the locals through. firefighter right now on scene of a fire that's been burning since last night. >> it's happening in berkeley. that's where "today in the bay's" christy smith joins us live with the new details. good morning, christine. >> good morning to you. more than four hours after this

fire started, berkeley firefighters still on scene. they have their ladder truck out. this is a duplex that burned. five people inside at the time. there was actually a partial collapse of the roof. basically, it was a ladder truck spraying because it was too dangerous to go in. the rear of the building is gutted this morning. this is right below college avenue. one woman in a wheelchair had to be rescued. >> i think police officers who removed her reported that the heat and smoke were just above. so they entered into an atmosphere which would be challenging. in my mind, they are heroes.

>> reporter: the good news, no reports of any injuries. but it burned so fast, they had to evacuate some neighbors. they're back in now. the five people who are displaced are getting help from the red cross. i had heard reports of problems with a propane tank being linked to this fire but i spoke to the deputy fire chief and he says that is -- he doesn't have information about that yet. they'll know more at daylight. fire investigators are here but building inspectors are going to come in when it gets a little lighter to see what can be salvaged here. reporting live in berkeley, christy smith, "today in the bay." a city council meeting in oakland, demanding to know more about a deadly police shooting. the family and about 75 supporters of 18-year-old allen blewford packed the chamber. the family was finally given a

copy of the official police report, something they say they have been asking for since the shooting back in may. blewford was shot and killed afterly sa lpolice say he triedn away from them. they later said that while the gun was believed to be blueford's, was recovered from that scene, it had not been fired and the officer's wound was actually self-inflicted. >> there's hundreds more behind us. then there will be thousands. there will be no business as usual in oakland till there's justice for allen blueford. >> i feel, as his mother, that that's my right. >> the district attorney and police are still investigating the shooting. they will be deciding if it was justified or not. 4:35, oakland is the first u.s. city to offer combination government i.d.s and bank cards to all citizens regardless of immigration status.

all oakland residents who can prove their identity can get a card. what makes the i.d. unique, the debit card function allows them to avoid check cashing fees. city leaders say the program will take 60 to 90 days to roll out. the price will be a one-time fee of $10 for citizens. rich land is now considering a similar program. there are new charges against a man accused of trying to abduct a girl from an elementary school. he was charged with 18 new counts yesterday. police say he hid in a daily city elementary school bathroom in march and tried to take pictures four different girls. a teacher who confronted the man identified him to police. he was later arrested last month for alley trying to kidnap a girl from an elementary school.

he will be in court on october 10th. no sign of a missing san jose man last seen two weeks ago leaving his friend's home on his harley davidson. praying last night for garcia's safe return home. police say they are looking at this as a missing person's case. garcia's brother felt something was wrong when he did not show up for work the next day. >> just overwhelming. i understand something like this is horrible. >> the family confirms the 32-year-old is a member of the motorcycle club. at this point, police have not revealed whether foul play may have been involved. garcia's family says he has a heart condition and does not have his medication. the eyes of the nation will be on both president obama and mitt romney tonight for their

very first presidential debate. both are putting their final touches on the talking points. tonight, we'll see if the preparation pays off. tracie potts has the story from the university of denver. >> reporter: the stage is set for tonight's debate. >> governor, you ready for tomorrow? >> i'm getting there. >> reporter: while mitt romney took a break from practice to get a burrito bowl, president obama visited hoover dam. >> it's spectacular. >> reporter: aides say they're coaching the president to keep his answers short and be aggressive. romney's practicing how not to get irritated. >> the president has an opportunity to put this race away if he has some great night it mitt romney has to have a good night to get this trajectory of this race to change. >> reporter: the poll shows romney with momentum. but more voters think the economy is improving. what are they listening for tonight? >> i would like to hear firm

chances on positions. definitely some good debates. >> reporter: inundated by ads -- >> this president cannot tell us -- >> reporter: -- some residents say they won't watch tonight's debate. >> i already know who i'm voting for and i just don't want to hear it anymore. >> reporter: in our poll, 6 in 10 found the debates just somewhat important or not at all. tracie potts, nbc news, denver. >> hopefully it will be a nice break from all the rhetoric we've been pounded with. this debate starts up at 8:00. good morning. i don't know about you but i went to bed with my ac cranked up last night. >> i thought about the window opening but nah, way too hot. >> this is all anybody wants to talk about, the october heat wave.

people who i haven't heard from for months getting up on my facebook page asking when is this heat going to break. it's funny how people crawl out of the woodwork when things heat extreme. 107, yeah. in gilroy yesterday. santa rosa, 102. here's the big winner. san francisco didn't break a record but hit 94 yesterday. we've been keeping records in the city of san francisco for over 100 years. so it was a hot day yesterday. 62 degrees in sunnyvale. we're at 69, almost 70, at 4:40 in the morning in san jose. an indication of a warm day ahead. we stop the clock on your future cast. at about noon. look what's starting to creep up. the return of the low cloud cover. that will continue to push in. even a little bit of drizzle as we head to 10:00 tonight. this is all courtesy of a system of low pressure that is slowly tracking closer. that is going to drop numbers by

about ten degrees today. an additional ten tomorrow. then we drop like a rock into the weekend. 70s return inland. 94 in livermore today. 85 in san jose. comfortable 78 degrees in the city of san francisco. where a lot of people don't have air conditioners to cool them off, so that's good news, mike. i bet you had your ac going in your car yesterday. >> yeah, i spent a lot of the afternoon in my car just checking things on my phone. thank goodness for the cell connection. we're looking over here at the bay bridge. a smooth drive. no problems here. you can see the freeway pretty much at the limit. there are two issues i want to talk about. on the bridge, a smooth drive out the maze. coming down the berkeley curve, it's westbound 80, just before you get to the berkeley curve, you have one accident. it's roarerro reported around p. they may have moved that off the roadway. pickup truck went into the wall

just off the off ramp. another accident -- actually a hazard. something is in the middle of the roadway. just use caution as you head out of richmond to hercules. a live look shows you no problems for 101. good number of cars trying to get to work before it heats up today. we'll send it back to you guys. >> thanks so much. 4:42. still ahead, the debtors come calling. the south bay school district wants its money back from a former superintendent. why the district may be considering legal action. also, do you like shopping? i know she enjoys that. how about some holiday shopping with your smart phone? the new tool target is using to make sure you find the perfect gift. and the a's hope to keep up their winning streak alive for one more night.

well, we could find out today what santa clara county plans to do to a loan it made to a former employee. the former superintendent bought the condo back in 2008 using a district loan. now weis has not paid that loan

back. he says the condo just lost too much value to sell it and manage to break even. that's how it goes. he wants the county to buy the condo and take over the loan payment. just last month, the board asked lawyers to explore some legal options here. they're expected to get the recommendations starting today. a woman suing her very own venture capital firm in silicon valley for gender discrimination says she has lost her job. tech news site all things d reporting she was fired. powell was a junior partner at that firm. she filed a lawsuit claiming senior partners failed to keep a colleague from harassing her. she also claims the firm was biased against women. a claim the firm denies. this summer, a judge denying kleiner perkin's request to resolve this case through arbitration. target is making big changes to the way you shop this holiday

season. also, this morning's report on private sector jobs. we head to cnbc world headquarters and jackie deangelis. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. the futures are slightly higher today. after we saw mixed day for the markets tuesday. the dow slipped as investors started to focus and shift concerns to the upcoming earnings season. europe of course still in the spotlight. traders are mulling spain's request for a bailout. the european markets are higher this morning. in the u.s., we get data today on private sector jobs and the u.s. soiervices or nonmanufacturing sector. the dow closed at 13,482. the nasdaq edging higher, 6 points to 3,120. target is betting that shoppers will be using their smart phones to help find that perfect gift this holiday season. starting october 14th, the retailer will feature 20 select toys at the front of the aisles.

so people can scan then, buy, and have them shipped for free. target generates the bulk of its toy sales during the holiday season. sounds like it's great. it makes it very convenient. i wish they could pick the toy or the right gift for you. not sure they can do that, guys. >> yeah, do all the dirty work. jackie, thanks touch. all right, 4:48 right now. mother nature's been doing some smoking hot work for us. are we going to start cooling off a little bit? >> she's been doing the coast dirty as it's been so hot and so many people don't have air conditioners. why would you? the climatology at the coast this time of year indicates temperatures in the 70s. but we hit 94 degrees in san francisco. almost 100, again, in santa cruz yesterday. we're heading towards another relatively hot day at the coast. the good news is 10 degrees cooler from yesterday. you know from adjusting your thunderstorm stat it's a big

difference. over the bay bridge, heyward, look at this, 94 degrees yesterday. smashing the old record which was 80. all we had to do was hit 0 and we did that at 11:00 a.m. yesterday. they topped out at 94. hottest point of the day will be 3:00. the sun sets at about 6:56. we're not getting as much sunlight which is why it's even more abnormal to hit highs like we have been. 69 degrees to start. look at this pocket of yellow. it's a very warp start. almost 70 degrees there. temperatures are going to climb today. high pressure still in control. we've got a little help on the way. area of low pressure starts to get closer to the coast. temperatures will drop off today. you're going to see the return of the low clouds. it looks like between 11:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. mostly cloudy conditions will develop at the coastline. then you get that westerly flow. the winds carry in that cool

ocean air. it will take a while for that warm air to mix out. thursday, temps really drop. it tells the story. 94 degrees in livermore today. 78 in san francisco. 85 degrees in san jose. think the reason why people are so concerned about the weather is because the mega weekend setting up in san francisco. the good news is temperatures will be very comfortable. in fact, you might just need a jacket. still forecasting those showers as we head through sunday into monday up in the north bay. look at your high on monday. from 94 degrees today to 71 on monday. dropping like a rock, guys, over to you. >> christina, thank you very much. at the risk of sounding greedy, first a spot in the playoffs, and now the a's are looking to take it all. tied atop the a.l. west rankings. beating texas last night 3-1. that means the teams are tied on top of the a.l. west. the a's have a chance to make it happen today. they taken on the rangers one more time for a shot at claiming

that crown. we the winner goes to the series bypassing the wild card game. the giants finishing strong on the road. they're not going to take it easy just because they've already punched their ticket. posey has his 24th home run of the season. giants hang on to win, beating the rival dodgers 4-3. it is playoff fever. >> teams are on fire and i love it. >> yeah, feeling good. has more than just baseball though, what's going on in the city even today. >> also, how about some daredevils? at the vatican? the stunt that one man pulled trying to send a message to italy's government. we're looking over here, this message for freement.

welcome back, everybody, on a wednesday morning. a nice picturesque shot of san francisco. that is a live shot, if you've been feeling the heat all week long. christina loren will let us know if that's going to chill out a little bit coming up. it is 4:54. san francisco gets busier today. the america's cup sailing races starts with qualifying rounds. plus, the start of fleet week on the bay. a military hover craft will come ashore from the "uss macon island" for a medical training drill. at 4:00, the america cup teams

will be zipping across the water in qualifying. it would not be fleet week without the blue angels. they touched down yesterday afternoon, in formation of course. they will be practicing their precision maneuvers in the bay area skies on thursday afternoon. then they will wow crowds at the fleet show over the weekend. they are hosting a meet and greet at pier 39 friday night. >> i always think "top gun," ice man, maverick. goose. speaking of our slider, how about mike? >> i'll be your wing man anytime. >> all right. >> we're looking to the south bay. we're looking over at 101. northbound underneath the 688 interchange and a light volume. a good number of headlights. no real slowing. no conjunction now. enjoy that because we've seen a tough south bay commute. over the last three weeks, very

heavy. south bay, tough driving throughout these routes. we're looking at 101 and 280, both with construction. construction zone there. as well as 280 at the 92 interchange. you're losing two, maybe three lanes now, because of construction. there may be a posted detour. they have to cap things off as they move crews. this is the north bay. no problems with the volume. just starting to kick in now. back to you. >> thank you, mike. a protester in italy took his message to extreme heights. take a look at this home video shot yesterday. the protester hopped over a railing at the top of the dome on st. peter's basilica in vatican city. he climbed down to a small platform to unfurl a banner which says, quote, help enough monty. the protester was referring to the italian premier. he is upset over the austerity measures and economic reforms.

officials are promising to meet with him if he comes down but so far no deal. he's up there still. >> one way to get your message heard. not real bright though. still ahead, a major house fire keeping crews very busy in berkeley.

right now, berkeley firefighters trying to figure out what started a massive house fire overnight. one woman in a wheelchair had to be rescued. i'm christy smith. we'll have the latest coming up. and a live look at the university of denver where the first presidential debate will take place later today. results a new poll out this morning shows why today's debate is so important to one the candidates. >> and we want to help you get over the hump today. cooler weather should help in that department. you made it through the hottest