closed captioning by closed captioning services,inc a search is underway for a gunman who shot a federal agent. >> but first the proposition 8 ruling. >> happy valentine's day! excitement outside of san francisco's federal courthouse an hour ago after a u.s. appeals court struck down california's same-sex marriage ban as unconstitutional. good morning i'm kristen sze. and i'm cheryl jennings. we have team coverage on the ruling and reaction. let's begin with carolyn tyler at san francisco's city hall. >> reporter: it began here at san francisco city hall eight years ago this month when then mayor gavin knew some ordered

the city clerk to -- begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples on valentine's day that lead to years of legal wrangling. then the passage of prop 8 in november 2008, to ban such marriages. two couples from berkeley and two men from southern california sued. as i said there have opinion years of legal back and forth. today's decision by a three-judge pal nell ruling 2-1 that proposition 8 is un-- unconstitutional. here's judge reinhardt writing for the majority saying: "proposition 8 serves no purpose and has no affect other than to lessen the status and human dignity of gays and lesbians in california. and to officially reclassify their relationships and families as inferior to those of opposite sex couples. the constitution simply does

not allow for laws of this sort." again, june steven reinhardt writing for the majority. the dissenter was the more conservative judge nr smith. today's decision is not the last word. you can expect this to be appealed either to an expanded panel of the appeals court and to the u.s. supreme court in the meantime, same-sex marriages are on whole. same-sex couples are savoring this victory marching from the courthouse to san francisco city hall they are waiting to hear from city attorney dennis herrera who led the city's legal fight against proposition 8. carolyn tyler, abc7 news. terry mcsweeney continues coverage at the federal courthouse. >> reporter: it was about 10:00 this morning when a woman who was watching the decision come down on her computer at the top of the

steps was reading it, looked out and said it's unconstitutional. at that moment you could not only see, but you could hear the emotion. check it out. [ cheering ] >> reporter: about 100 same-sex marriage supporters erupted in cheers when word came down that the panel agreed with a federal judge that prop 8 is unconstitutional. momentary celebration as path sides realize there's a long ñ we have a final decision. >> it manns a long time coming. -- it has been a long time coming from 2008 to now. this is going to the supreme court and we'll win justice delayed is justice denied. today is a good day and i'm happy to be here. >> we weren't surprised this is the most liberal the most over turned court in the country. and it was written by the most overturned judge in the country.

>> reporter: then as carolyn mentioned a moment ago the crowd left here headed towards civic center plaza. also important in today's decision is the narrowness with which the justices decided this issue. it could have been a decision it was narrow. let's get to the legal expert on that dean johnson he's onset right now. i'm live in san francisco at 7th and mission, terry mcsweeney, abc7 news. >> terry, thank you. >> dean plain this 9th circuit ruling. were you surprised? -- >> i was not surprised i predicted this ruling over a year ago. briefly, the court accepts what we've been calling the crazy quilt argument it said regarding the right to marriage we have in california now first, second, third and fourth class citizens, depending on who got married when. that the judges said was just unacceptable under an equal protection analysis. >> this is not the end of the battle. which court will the losing side take its appeal to now?

>> next step remains in the 9th circuit court. the next step is a review the parties will argue again in front of an 11 judge panel those 11 judges randomly chosen from the 28 or so in the 9th circuit. >> dean, what does this mean for everybody waiting to get married the same-sex couples? >> things stay the same at least for the next 21 days because the injunction will stay in effect. after that, it is anybody's guess. >> do you have a timeframe on how long this will take? >> if the decision is going to be celebrated by one side or the other look for around valentine's day 2013 when the supreme court comes down with its decision. >> dean johnson, thank you. governor brown applauded the ruling. he released this statement: the core has rendered a powerful affirmation of the right of same-sex couples to marry i applaud the wisdom and courage of this decision. former san francisco mayor and

current lt. governor gavin newson saying, we won. many credit him for starting the legal battle in san francisco when he allowed same-sex couples to get married at city hall in 2004. the sole plaintiffs in the appeal to overturn prop 8 gave their reaction at a news conference in l.a. a little while ago this is what the group's lead counsel just said. >> this is a huge day. the united states court of appeals for the 9th circuit, which represents nine states and certain territories, has decided that proposition 8 is unconstitutional. it violates the fundamental human rights of citizens in this country. >> on the other side supporters of california's ban on same-sex marriage they are saying today's ruling is a set

back but by no mean the end of the road and continues to be confident the supreme court will rule in fair favor. >> consider the u.s. constitution does not have marriage in its wording. so this case never should have gone to federal court. this ultimately has to be decided now at the u.s. supreme court supreme court and we are hopeful the ridiculous ruling of today will be overturned. >> if you want to read the court's entire ruling on the legality of prop 8 we posted it on abc7news.com. we'll have much more reaction from both sides starting at 4:00. our other top story is the search for a gunman who shot an off-duty federal officer near the officer's house this morning. the shooting was in the area of mayhews landing road and bettencourt street in newark. katie marzullo joins us with new information. >> reporter: because of federal -- because a fed al agent is involved federal

investigators are involved that doesn't leave the newark police department with much information. the shooting happened before 6:00 this morning, five gunshots were reported being heard. the agent was shot at least once. it is not known if the suspect was hit. the suspect was last seen running away north on mayhew landing he got into a car to leave the neighborhood. a lot of questions about what happened in the frontyard of that house. >> it appears the agent had a confrontation with the suspect. it is unknown if the agent discharged a weapon. this was an off-duty incident, not in his working capacity. >> reporter: as for what we don't kn o what the police cannot release, they will not say the name of the agent or which agency he worked for that is for security reasons. they are not releasing a motive, saying whether it was random or if the agent was targeted they say that is part of the ongoing investigation. they seem confident that the community is not at risk.

they have released a description of the suspect only that he is tall and moves with a pronounced limp. a description of the car mid-sized sedan like a camry or lexus. police spokesman men seem confident they will be able to come to a conclusion -- as for the agent they were not releasing his status we did have reports earlier he would survive his injuries. katie marzullo, abc7 news. the hacker group anonymous is at it again. this time it has targeted oakland mayor quan and other top oakland city officials the group has posted the personal information of the mayor, city council, city administrator and the police chief online. the details include home addresses. phone numbers. birthdays. e-mail addresses. the mayor refused to comment on the release saying it was all public information. a city councilman says it is a

risk that comes with being a public figure. >> i think that we have to be careful. we have to make sure that we obviously watch over our shoulders. i will not be intimidated. >> the group says it released the information because it is disgusted and shocked by the way the city has handled the occupy protests including the arrest of more than 400 protesters during the january 28th, protests where demonstrators broke into oakland city hall. the number one food you should avoid if you are trying to cut down on salt. extreme measures taken at one california elementary school after two teachers are charged in molestation scandals. sheriff mirkarimi's domestic abuse case may be going more public. the fundraising underway now

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a billboard highlighting the domestic violence case involving sheriff ross mirkarimi may go up near the hall of justice. a shelter for victims says the campaign opposes sheriff's statement that his case which comes if a new year's eve argument with his wife is a private matter. the billboard would read: domestic violence is never a private matter. and offer a hotline number. the group is trying to raise $4,000 to pay for that billboard. los angeles school

officials now say the entire staff of an elementary school scandal lighted by teachers' sex charges will be removed -- scandal lighted by teachers' sex charges will be removed temporarily. all 120 employees at miramonte elementary from the principal to the janitor will not be working with studts during the investigation of the case that decision comes after two teachers were charged last week. mark berndt is charged with lewd acts on 23 children. martin springer is accused of fondling two girls. new teachers have been carefully screened and each classroom will have a social worker trained in pchology. several families started their day without power in san jose a downed tree wiped out a powerline 5:00 this morning. pg&e says this morning's strong winds likely caused the tree to fall. meteorologist mike nicco is going to come up with a forecast talking whether showers remain. >> there are some showers, a

little raindrops. i'll show you where they are and check out ocean beach in morning winds from the south we still have stout breezes i'll show you those also. president obama recognizes some of america's greatest young minds, including a a area teenager. the talent that brought them -- all to the white house. how facebook's upcoming decision to go public may cost

facebook founder mark zuckerberg's decision to go public could cost him big time. the site's public offering on the stock market is going to make zuckerberg a billionaire it will also stick him with a tack bill that could reach as high as two billion dollars because he wants to significantly increase his ownership in the company. facebook says zuckerberg will likely sell enough of his shares to cover the tax bill. >> nice to be in that position. >> exactly. meteorologist mike nicco here. we had rain this morning is it just about out of here? >> steady rain, but still showers will continue by tonight it is completely gone. i'll show you how much rain fell in the a second. the flurries in tahoe not much of a snow maker the most is a half inch to an inch as we

expected just not helping the situation out much if at all. a few people on the ski lift there, still good powder to be snowed on skied on. here we are looking at clouds not as thick as they were this morning starting to thin out. emeryville towards san francisco fairly quiet now. as far as rain totals, about 2/3 of an inch in santa rosa quarter of an inch in san francisco and oakland nearly a 10th of an inch in san jose to a nerd in concord and ben lomond at about half an inch. -- you can see the rainfall totals close but less than what we thought yesterday. notice how the steady rain is over yellows are gone we just have blues, drizzle, green, light rain over the last couple of hours you could see how the steadier rain has moved off to the east and also especially down to the southeast where the storm, the main part is going you can see heavier rain towards l.a. and

san diego that's part of the storm that broke off and took most of the rain with it over the last couple of hours took the breezes too. from 65 on mount diablo to 35 in lower elevations this morning. mid to upper 50s here and around the monterey bay to 61 i don't see us going much warmer because of the clouds and showers during the afternoon. foggy the next company you have mornings sun in the afternoon that dry weather will last all the way through the end of the forecast. 60 in oakland, palo alto as warm as it gets rest of us in those mid to upper 50s. steadier rain the next hour or so, fog forming, temperatures low to mid 40s cooler than this morning upper 40s around san francisco, san mateo, half moon bay and 30s combined to clover detail, clear lake and santa rosa system split

apart as it was coming towards the bay one of the reason why is our rainfall totals was just a little shy we had two chunks of energy move from us they took most of the rain with it. here we are watching scattered showers continue during the afternoon into the early evening hours overnight they dissipate you see the fog forming for tomorrow's morning commute. by noon it is gone, sunshine and warmer weather in the afternoon into the evening it hooks like it will still be dry more fog -- looks like it will still be dry more fog will form. even with the foggy starts should be warmer and low to mid 60s tomorrow mid to upper 60s thursday, a few clouds looks like dry friday through monday mainly in the low to mid 60s close to where they should be for this time of the year. the cdc today released a list o top sources of salt in our our diets number one, surprise, bread and rolls also near the top cold cuts, pizza and poultry.

officials say bread isn't salt but people eat more bread. salt is the main source of sodium in our diets which increases the risk of high blood pressure. health officials say salt should be limited to one teaspoon a day. president obama announced a new plan calling for millions in funding to improve math and science education after hosting the second white house science fair today. he visited with student winners from a range of science, technology and math competitions from across the country. a bay area teenager was among those the president honored. >> >> the president: the young people i met today, the young people behind me, you guys inspire me. it is young people like you that make me so confident that america's best days are still to come. >> angela is from cupertino this is video of the 17-year-old senior after she won top honors at the annual science competition. she won a $100,000 prize for

her research on cancerous stem cells experts say her work could one day revolutionize cancer research. >> they are calling it a potential cure

oscar sunday is february 26th, that's right here on abc7. you can predict winners and download the exclusive oscar app. it will give you live video from the red carpet and from backstage on oscar sunday >> today at 3:00, dana carvey

returns to the bay area. and michael finney tells us which discount stores has the best value and how to shop at costco even if you are not a member. the northern california family on a frugal mission why they are vowing not to spend a cent this month. those stories and more later today. >> folks wondering if they should spend on umbrellas. >> if you don't have it now, forget it. i'll let you know before the next time it rains. scattered showers not very light. there you go talking about the rain probably a little steady on the east a shore into the valleys in the extreme northern sections of sonoma county otherwise a few drops this afternoon temperatures in the mid to upper 50s. sunshine the next couple of afternoons. temperatures 10° warmer than today. for all of us here thanks for joining us. >> who wants to be a

millionaire is next. today's ruling on prop 8 california's same-sex ban is getting lots of reaction on our facebook. >> join the conversation at facebook.com/abc7 news. we hope you have a great day. we hope you have a great day. >> bye-bye! closed captioning by closed captioning services,inc now's a great time to get at&t u-verse tv. make the switch! [ female announcer ] call to get u-verse -- now with free hd -- for only $25 a month for six months -- our lowest price ever -- with a total home dvr included. plus get hbo and cinemax free for three months. [ male announcer ] with u-verse tv, you can record four shows at once with a total home dvr that lets you play back, pause, or rewind your shows from any room. [ female announcer ] so call at&t to get u-verse -- now with free hd -- for only $25 a month

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