major shoving at four under-performing san francisco schools. >> teachers are being moved elsewhere so the district doesn't lose millions of federal dollars. terry mcsweeney is live with the story. >> yeah. these four schools not only had to swap out half their teachers, they also had to get rid of their prince pals. they are free to move out within the unified school district bringing up the question how does that improve the school? according to the district, the sans the teachers are not the problem. things are going to look very different in the fall church

street near market. 14 of the school's teachers are going to elsewhere, quite possibly to another school in the district. one parent we spoke with doesn't understand. >> they're bring in underachieving stretche underachieving teachers, what's the point of letting them go? >> we don't start from the premise teachers are bad. we start from the premise that schools change and communities change. it's about fitting teachers with the school community. >> the school enforced the swap out principal and half that teachers mirror, brian and carver elementary with the aforementioned everett middle school. a teacher from mission agrees with the district that the problem with underachieving schools is very complex.

>> you invest heavily in proposal development of teachers. you improve the quality of the curriculum. i think what you also do is you look at other models of success innel school skim. >> so as not to paint all the schools with the same broad rush, there are many individual succe success stories out here as well. >> my son's been coming here two years and he's bringing me home a's and b's and he's -- i'm proud of his grades and his performance. >> each of the underperforming schools will receive $5 million in federal money, a total of 26 teachers impacted and the district is hoping he these teachers come forward voluntarily to make the move so the district doesn't have to do it for them. >> terry, thanks. concord parents concerned about threatened school closures stage another rally today.

parents, students and employees held a demonstration to save their school. it's one of seven schools the mount diablo district is considering closing to trim $12 million from its budget. >> we've been hit so hard the last five or six years that there's gotta be a better way. hopefully governor brown will come up with new ideas for our budget. >> a school boa -- child care subsidies were cut by governor schwarzenegger late last year. they've found a way to keep helping 55,000 low income families. they scraped together $60 million to fund the child care through march and fully restore the program's funding in april under governor brown's proposed budget. supporters say eliminating the subsidies would force many parents to quit their job and cost taxpayers more through

welfare. meantime u.c. berkley is set to lay off 150 more employees because of state budget cuts. most of the workers will be let go by june. another from retirement and voluntary depash churs. no faculty positions will be cut. a quarter earn above $100,000. the cuts are expected to save the university about $20 million. in livermore, investigators say the deaths of an elderly woman and her grandson are considered a possible murder/suicide. the coroner was called out to a home on canterbury lane around 7:30 last night. investigators say family members found the bodies during a visit to the home. police found a gun inside the house and said there were no signs of a break-in. they say the victims were both shot in the head. their names have not been released. >> in arizona, the amazing recovery of congresswoman gabrielle giffords shows even

more progress. she's opening her eyes more often and carrying out more complex sequences of activities. >> so we're very encouraged that she's continuing to make all the right moves in the right direction. obviously we're very cautious that she makes them at her own pace. again, we couldn't have hoped for any better improvement we're seeing now given the severity of her injury initially. >> the congresswoman was shot in the head during a meet and greet event at a tucson safeway. six people were killed, 13 other wounded when jared loughner opened fire. investigators still don't have a motive. the 22-year-old could face the death penalty. one of gifford's aids returned to work. pam simon was shot twice, once in the wrist and once near her color bone. she played dead to avoid own other gunfire. she was greeted by a crowd of supporters including the man who helped her get to the hospital. meanwhile private services were

held this morning for one of the six killed in the shooting rampage, security was tight at the funeral for u.s. district judge john roll at a church in tucson. arizona governor and senator john mccain were among those who attended. the 63-year-old federal judge was a friend of representative giffords and was stopping by her political event when he was killed. another person who died was 76-year-old dodddard. this morning she spoke on "good morning america." >> is it your belief he covered you? >> oh, definitely. he fell on to save my life. that's who he was. >> had he not done that, what do you think would have happened to you? >> i would have been killed. >> his daughter went with his wife to safeway to see their local congresswoman when they got caught in the cross hairs. she was shot five times in the leg. the two met when they were just teenagers. it was young love but she moved

away when she was 13 years old. they both got married to other people. dorwin had four sons, she had four daughters and both their spouses died about the same time and after 50 years the two reconnected and married within months. they put 92,000 miles on their rv traveling all over the country. >> well, i'll get through this. he gave his life through me. i have to live mine through him and make something more of it. >> she is recovering well from her injuries and surrounding self with family. her husband left behind an example of heroism that she will now try to live up to. >> alameda firefighters are mourning one of their own today. captain scott karnveil died monday of esophageal cancer. he was only 42 years old. his colleagues staged a procession in his honor through the streets of alameda. here's a look from sky 7 hd. they hope it will bring attention to his brave fight. it's their contention he

contracted the disease from exposure to toxins while fighting fires. he was a 13 year veteran of the department. he's survived by his wife and son. a number of chemicals, some of them banned, are being found in pregnant women. the first of its kind study hopes to draw attention from the government. a amy holyfield is live. >> some of these women weren't even alive when the chemicals were banned yet it was still found in their system. the fetus is so vulnerable and it's such a critical point of development the exposure could impact them even later in life. research from animals exposed to these chemicals show that there are issues with infertility and cancer. these are chemicals found in items such as furniture, cookware, plastic, pesticides. these chemicals are proving that they don't easily break down. >> but other pesticides

unfortunately, some found in the study, were banned in the 1970s. and they're still with us because they're so persistent in the environment. and we can't really do anything to avoid exposure because they remain with us for so long. so what we really need are laws, stronger federal laws. >> you pregnant ladies out there are probably nervous. no pesticides in your home. think about this, the pet's flea collar. that's an example of something you can get rid of. avoid heavily fragranced products. don't renoveled the nursery. you don't need to be painting, scraping paint. i know you want to. try not do that. take your shoes off when you get home and just wear shoes around the house that only stay in the house. that way you don't track anything inside. researchers hope the government will think about these chemicals that remain so long in the atmosphere and in people's systems and just not allow them.

live in san francisco, amy holyfield, abc 7 news. >> amy, thank you. what's your sign? the controversy that has many people going through an identity crisis but astronomers say don't worry. >> live in a san francisco landmark reopened to the public today. take a look. it

people who follow astrology and are worried their sign is

changing? you don't have to worry. your sign is still your sign. an as logical controversy erupted when a minneapolis planetarium suggested that a 13th sign should be added to the zodiac charts. it's the constellation ophiuchus. it fits between scorpious and sagittarius and causing quite a stir. astrologists says it doesn't change the charts. >> everyone's very relieved. >> a celebration is happening in san francisco for the reopening of one of the city's prettiest landmarks. >> the palace of fine arts is welcoming visitors back after a $21 million makeover. our don sanchez is there. do you see any couples lining up to take wedding photos? >> not yet. i was looking for them perhaps. they usually had to retouch the palace because it was in such bad shape and had to air brush out the fence. it is a jewel, it really is. what a beautiful place.

2 million visitors a year come here. as you know it was built for the 1915 exposition. it was only supposed to last a year and it had really fallen on hard times. the place was kind of deteriorating. it's in much better shape now, actually better than when it was built 96 years ago. the gate crashers took down the fencing that separated this place on and off for seven years and what magic to behold. those glorious palace restored, retrofitted, stately columns reinforced. new landscaping and the lagoon dredged, rebuilt. this place was never supposed to last, only for a year made of plaster and chicken wire. but when the exposition closed enthusiasts said it has to stay so money was raised to preserve it. move ahead to 2003, the call went out again. it would cost more than $21 million. donna huggens is the person who

headed the campaign and she raiseds the money. >> i'm very persuasive. but a lot of people have a great deal of passion about the palace of fine arts. they have their memories of feeding the ducks and the swans or stories of the 1915 exposition and their relatives being here. over 1200 donors came through for us. >> generous folks. and that dome, you can see that night and day. what has happened here is really a remarkable restoration. it was built originally by bernard may ayock. it was supposed to look like a roman ruin. it still looks roman but not a ruin anymore. the only thing missing, a wedding party. >> be there soon enough. >> i know. >> mike nicco is here with our forecast. rain but looks like it's clearing out. >> the sunshine we're dealing with there for those pictures would be beautiful. a few high clouds, a little fog

to talk about. you'll see the difference in the temperatures between not having fog and having fog and what it's going to do to this weekend, also. >> researchers warn of a natural disaster that can do as much damage as a large california california earthquake.

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in brazil mudslides andfloo killed more than 500 people. officials feel that number will be revised and don't know how many people are missing. the region is getting more rain making it difficult for rescuers to reach survivors. tens of thousands remain without power in brisbane. weeks of flooding caused 25 deaths. dozens of others are missing. the military is delivering food, clothes and other supplies to areas still cut off by the waters. >> back here in california, researchers are now warning about the possibility of a similar disaster here that could do three times as much damage as a large california earthquake. today usgs scientists are unveiling a scenario involving a catastrophic storm that could dramatically harm the state's economy. it's based on a 45-day long winter storm that hit california in 1861 and bankrupted the

state. a report attached to today's storm scenario raises questions about whether authorities have the resources and ability to handle such a storm if it were to occur again. >> definitely no stormy action here in the bay area. we've got very calm conditions coming up. and warm, please! >> i know. i'm ready to hit the sunshine, lay out, relax, enjoy. vitamin d. >> people become very grouchy when they get the sunshine. 11:20 this morning. going to see plenty of sunshine over the weekend and into the coming week. going to balance out december with a sunny and warmer into january. here's a look from mount tamalpais this morning. you can see the coast. it's starting to clear and some of the low clouds hanging around. some of the high clouds roaming over our skies from time to time. anywhere else? tahoe. look how empty those chair lifts are right now.

if you can ever get away during the week, doesn't look like you have much many the way of a line. but come tomorrow, i bet that will be packed. all right. let's take a look from the top down. you can see visible satellite showing some of the high clouds but the tulie fog being eroded by a northerly wind. that is what is going to keep us sunny in the afternoons, our prevailing wind will be on the northwest. we will wake up with fog but then sunshine. check out these temperatures. low to mid-50s inland, mid to upper 50s the bay insure and the coast. monterey bay, up to 61 in monterey bay and inland and salinas but 44 where the fog is hanging around gilroy. mild afternoon and more sunny spots develop as this fog fades. more fog tonight but it will keep our temperatures mild and that higher base will lead to warmer afternoons with sunshine not only this weekend but possibly even warmer in the earl parts of next week. for today compared to 24 hours ago, warmer, 10 degrees warmer

in santa rosa. the sun sets at 5:14 this afternoon. los gatos 63. low 60s for most of the peninsula. millbrae 59, pretty close. upper 50s along the coast into downtown san francisco. south san francisco sausalito through the north bay valleys low to mid-60s with upper 50s at your beaches. fremont 63 for thank yous low to mid-60s in the east bay valleys and the low to mid-60s the monterey bay with mainly mid 60s in our inland neighborhoods. tonight more fog, cloud cover. mid-40s inlands upper 40s the bay shore and out to the coast. the area of high pressure, look how far up north they're pushing the jet stream. that means a weekend dry pattern that is going to hold here in the bay but a storm system will clip the sierra and bring some valley rain and mountain snow to tahoe on sunday. temperature will then warm up on

monday with a little more sunshine and yosemite will completely miss out on the snow this time. accu-weather 7-day forecast, the coast will bounce around between the upper 50s to low 60s while inland neighborhoods and the bay will be the low to mid-60s every ting single day. >> we'll take that. >> enjoy it. >> if you're looking for something fun and free to visit this holiday weekend, look no further than our national parks. yosemite and other parks are waiving the entrance fees during martin luther king day. other fees may still apply like reservations, camping sites and tours. >> if you're not going to the park, one of the top travel spots for the holiday weekend is right here in the bay area. be right back. are you trapped

and don't know how to escape your addiction to cigarettes? one out of two regular smokers will die prematurely from smoking.

you don't have to be one of them. escape the trap. say "enough." for free help to quit smoking, call the california smokers' helpline at 1-800-no butts.

today at 3:00, golden globe nominations for sale? a startling accusation from a hollywood insider. the rap on the sun way video everybody's talking about. the kopt controversy with a makeup day for school kids all snow closures this week. test jitters may actually be just what students need to score better? these stories and more on abc 7 news at 5:00. >> if you are thinking of a last-minute vacation for the three-day weekend, hot-wire.com has ranked the top ten list of

places where hotel tops the list. >> napa, the average hotel is $53. that's a 33% drop from last year. rounding out the list, dallas, fort worth, san diego number 7. i had to look at that twice. $53? >> that's a great deal and it's not very far. others places just a quick flight. our forecast great for that. >> absolutely. $53, wow! you don't need to buy sunshine with that. temperatures should be mid to upper 60s in napa over the weekend. >> wow! whatever you do enjoy and thank you for joining us on abc 7 news. >> "who wants to be a millionaire" is next. captioned by: closed captioning services, inc.

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