wall street worries. the dow knows dives down 370 points in morning trading. right now, you can see from the live picture of the big board it's down 329 points. the big selloff reflecting investor worries that the u.s. economy may be heading back in to a recession. good morning. i'm kristen sze. >> i'm eric thomas. combination of factors ranging from debt to jobs to troubles in europe are triggering the largest losses in the key index since last summer. abc7's amy hollyfield is live in redwood city with explanation and reaction. amy?

>> reporter: we just interviewed a financial advisor who told us his heart skipped a beat when he saw the dow jones this morning. if you saw gains in your portfolio at the beginning of this year, you probably have lost them by now. they're probably gone. wall street continues to worry about the economic weakness in the u.s. and in europe. the latest sign of weakness is the number of people filing for unemployment. the report from the labor department today showed that the job market remains stagnant. the fear, though, is that the recession is going to have two waves. >> i would say that this is definitely showing concerns that the market believes there is a larger chance of a double dip recession. >> is this an indicator this is coming? >> this is a concern about it. i wouldn't use it as a predictor that it's coming. it's showing that people are concerned that recession is more likely today than say last month or two months

ago. >> now tomorrow, the government unemployment report comes out, so today's dip in the stock market could be anticipation of that. or if tomorrow's report isn't good, we could see another slide. it's all we can say is you have to hold on for the ride. that's what the financial advisor is telling us. saying don't do anything drastic today to response for what happened as always as stocks. you have to hold on and take the long view. in the stock market, there are good days and bad days. today is just one of those bad days. live in redwood city, amy hollyfield, abc7 news. >> all right, amy. thanks a lot. a little more now on the small ray of sunshine she referred to. even that is open to interpretation. the labor department said new claims for jobless benefits fell last week by 1,000 to 400,000. that is the lowest level in four months. analysts say this is a sign that the job market should be improving but slowly. as amy mentioned they will get a clearer picture

tomorrow when the government issues the employment report for july, a report most people think will be disappointing. a new report shows the slumping economy driven 15-year mortgage rate to lowest level in 20 years. the rate on 15-year mortgage is 3.54%. despite the lows, the u.s. recordde its worse home sale figures in half a century. higher down payment and credit scores are keeping many potential buyers out of the housing market. a daring rescue this morning high above san francisco. two window washers dangled from atop a high-rise apartment near at&t park when the scaffolding collapsed. abc7's lyanne melendez has more on how it all played out. >> reporter: well, the two workers were rescued. that is the good news. they were taken to san francisco general hospital. wow! what a frightening moment it must have been when the scaffolding they were on one

end collapsed. there you see it. it's still up. it's under investigation, of course. here is a picture of one of the men dangling from what appears to be the side of that scaffolding. it look like he is wrapped up in something. we don't know, maybe perhaps a mesh. both men had safety harnesses when one of the boons attached to the building failed. the man closest to the roof was pulled up by firefighters. he, we are told, is in serious condition. the second man, the one we saw in that picture was brought in through a 12th floor window. >> when i took a couple of steps out, i saw two gentlemen on the scaffolding. one hanging from the platform. one middle of the platform. you know, obviously, a little frightening, being so close. >> i was hoping and praying -- i was praying that the other end wouldn't collapse. the only thing holding that up was that arm on the roof.

if that goes, then he goes. >> he was there for 25 minutes. i'm sure it was an eternity. now cal-osha will begin his investigation to determine what happened here, why it failed. in the meantime, good news, the two men are alive. live in san francisco, lyanne melendez, abc7 news. >> thank you very much. more news now. a big scare at virginia tech university this morning. the university went in to lockdown after three children attending a summer catch on campus reported seeing a man with a gun. the children said they saw a man walking quickly with what may have been a handgun covered with a cloth. police posted a warning on the university website and began notifying students by e-mail and phone and began an extensive search of the campus. >> the alert that went out asked people to go inside and secure themselveses with

further notice. that's what they are asking people to do. again, it will be their individual decisions but you have the information that we have. they need to make their own decisions. >> so far, police found nothing. you probably remember back in 2007 when a gunman stormed virginia tech and killed 33 people in worst school shooting in u.s. history. in march, federal authorities fined the school for waiting too long to notify students about the initial shooting in april of 2007. iran's ambassador to iraq today says the two u.c. berkeley graduates held on espyianage charges will be released soon. the ambassador says he doesn't know when josh fattal and shane bauer will be freed but the "associated press" reports there is a general feeling in tehran it could happen in ramadan. the islamic holy month began this week. they were detained two years ago after they said they mistakenly crossed over to iran. sarah shourd was released last september on

humanitarian grounds. san francisco muni officials say they are just weeks away from a plan to fire up to 48 muni drivers who are still working without required commercial driver's license. the san francisco examiner reports that some of the muni operators haven't had a valid license for two years. despite the threat of determination, none of them have been fired so far. the new muni contract imposed in june gives the transit agency more leeway in tissue. of the 48 operators without licenses, some have let them lapse. some of the licenses have been suspended due to off-duty duis. others involve medical clearance issues. starting tonight, men who drive through one oakland neighborhood looking for prostitutes will get a can't-miss me soldier. a billboard will go up later today featuring neighborhood residents warning johns to stay away. there will be a march at international boulevard at 17, featuringpolice and city leaders, school officials and neighborhood residents. they'll be out to let the sex workers know they are not welcome.

vallejo is being hit by an unusual crime wave. the vallejo times herald reports someone has been stealing storm drain covers. 20 have been taken so far. five disappeared last friday. they weigh up to 100 pounds each. the theory is thieves are selling them as scrap iron. not only is the city on the hook for replacing them, but when they are taken the uncovered drain create a health and safety risk. >> people could fall in. or pets. >> at risk, yeah. still ahead, incredible landmark for the marine mammal center. >> i'm terry mcsweeney live at the marine mammal center in marin. they are celebrating a milestone today. the 10,000th sea lion treated at the facility is being released. they have gone so far to give at it name and it's being called "milestone." what else? the story after the break. also ahead, california rolls out plot call heavy hitter to convince congress to come back to break is log

two rescued sea lions are being prepared to be released from the marine mammal center in marin county. it's extraordinary for the milestone it marks. abc7's terry mcsweeney joins us live with a great story and amazing history. >> it's a milestone here. this is the 10,000th sea

lion treated at the failsity -- facility. they gave the sea lion the name milestone. what else? but this is the reminder of the work still to come. milestone the sea lion celebrated today's milestone by cooperating with the marine mammal center staff members as they guided him to the last confinement he will hopefully ever have to experience. >> received the blood work back. all is well. bacterial infection cleared up. the animals are good to go and have productive life in the ocean. >> the story of milestone and his buddy sodiac girl, who is a boy, were found suffering from bacterial infection. >> it's testment to how long we have been rescuing the marine animals. since 1965. dedication of the 800 volunteers and 45 staff over

the years. >> he is referring to volunteers, both worked with milestone. >> i'm anxious to work for non-profit and conservation and research. possibly the government. because of what you learned with milestone? >> helping secure animals in their environment makes up for mistakes we're making in the world. >> sentiment echoed in the 15 sculpture exhibit in mammal center called wash ashore. this is just what some are contributing to the list with sea animals. >> everything we do to the environment affects the ocean, marine mammals and at the end can affect us as well.

>> they didn't know if zodiac girl was a girl or a boy and they guessed, and they guessed wrong. our two friends right now are like free willie out there somewhere. they will be in a couple of hours and they'll be free. live at the marine mammal center. terry mcsweeney, abc7 news. >> thank you. senator barbara boxer is holding a news conference in the next hour to outline economic damage in california by the faa partial shutdown. 4,000 aviation employees have been furloughed including 200 in california. and at oakland airport, 60 construction workers have been told to stay home. the faa is losing money in the shutdown, because the democrats and republicans can't come to terms on a

bill to reauthorize the faa. >> we had sfo delays again. >> doing 83 minutes. take a look outside and see what is going on. a lot of clouds. this is why it's the coolest day of the forecast. i show you a warming trend heading to the weekend. >> thank you. plus, here comes emily. the latest on the tropical storm that is about to hit an area that has already seen too much devastation. >> what happened? the stunning announcement ending a decade long relationship between a st

this morning, government forecasters are set to update the outlook for the atlantic season as peak season begins. they said above average season with up to six major hurricanes. today's re-forecast comes as tropical storm emily is expected to make landfall in haiti's southern peninsula this morning. the storm blew past puerto rico yesterday and dropped ten inches of rain. 600,000 people in haiti live without shelter following last year's devastating earthquake. either in tents or out in the open. you see what the mud has done and can do there. >> keep an eye on that. and what is happening here.

>> it helps it drop moisture at the same time. we haven't had a hurricane hit u.s. since 2008. we have been lucky. hurricane ike in 2008. we don't worry about hurricanes on this side of the united states. the water is too cold in our ocean. you can see the financial district looking northbound from south beach. still a lot of clouds, as we talked about there would be. the strong sea breeze, and clouds linger. you won't be totally socked in this afternoon. where the winds are fastest is where we have the coolest weather. oakland is three degrees cooler. hayward, five. con card and san jose six degrees cooler than yesterday. the temperatures are running in the 50s along the coast and san francisco. 60s for the rest of us. the sun came out first.

antioch, san jose, los gatos. low to mid-70s. cloudy around the monterey bay with the low to mid-60s there. inland, starting to see sunshine. it's cloudy and drizzling and we have it tonight, but we measured hundredth of an inch of drizzle in the city. it's cooler than average. we have almost 14 hours of sunshine before setting at 8:15. look at the east bay valley. tough warmest weather. look how much cooler it is. look at the clouds on the east bay shore. fremont, 71. everybody else in mid-to-upper 60s.

it's only 78 in los gatos today. you can see the clouds hanging around the peninsula. mid-to-upper 60s. millbrae, and san mateo. near 70 everywhere else. a raw day at the coast with 58 at pacifica. daly city. cloudy conditions. breezy winds, 20 to 30 miles per hour. downtown south san francisco, not much better. low to mid-70s through the north bay valleys. 73 at hollister. eventually sunshine in monterey bay, probably not until 2:00. chico is #9. tahoe is 76. check out palm springs, though. it's still 110 today. phillies talking about how cool it is here. maybe it gives us a homefield advantage. we take them on. cool and breezy. cloudy, 59. dropping to 56. 7:15, first pitch.

tomorrow we see a four degree rise in temperatures. a couple more degrees saturday. sunday may be slightly cooler. you probably won't notice it. monday, tuesday, wednesday, little warmer. >> couple degrees difference, we probably won't notice. >> stunning announcement this morning regarding the man who personifies telethon fundraisers. muscular dystrophy association says jerry lewis is no longer their spokesman. in may he announced it would be his last telethon but the chairman of the board says lewis won't be on the telethon and gives no explamation. abc7's don sanchez has it all in today's "what's hot." ♪ ♪ ♪ >> bonnie rait, crosby stills and nash, and doobie brothers headline a show to support disaster relief in

japan sunday afternoon at shoreline. celebrity chefs join san francisco best at showcase of food. sf chefs 2011 is a must eat in union square. ♪ ♪ >> one of the biggest selling albums of all time. frampton restages frampton comes alive in the entirety. the bill graham exhibit continues at the fillmore. christianson shows his fascinating document about the festival on friday night. ♪ ♪ >> top belly dancers show case their talent. plus, international bazaar with food and comic book. >> what is the secret? >> medication. >> for blueray or dvd entertainment, check out 

today at 3:00 on 7 live, a new survey that runs the gamut from sex to your smart phone. which would you give up? then at 4:00 and 5:00 trapped under sand for half an hour. beach toys became lifesavers for a money in southern california. the las vegas conviction, california correction officers are going to attend on the state's dime. those stories and more on abc7 news today at 4:00 and 5:00. well, the vegas convention california -- that is not right. roll that up. okay. president obama will celebrate the 50th birthday

with a white house toast with members of his staff. tonight, a more traditional birthday party with friends and family from chicago capped off by a weekend trip to camp david the president hasn't had that much to be happy about during and after the gruelling fight over the debt ceiling, but mr. obama joked he expects to get an e-mail soon from aaarp, reminding him to call the president and demand he protect medicare. >> that line got a few laughs. sure he is not going to vegas? >> huh? >> i'm not sure he is not going to vegas. never know with the president. >> you like to sing. you like to sing happy birthday to the president? >> not marilyn monroe style. >> commercial.

>> have a gr