power.. millions more are taking cover. the damage.. the evacuations.. and where this monster storm is headed next. irene roars up the east coast. the damage, the evacuations, and where this monther storm is headed next. changing the rules of the game: tough new rules at candlestick face their first test. will they be enough to keep fans safe? cleaning up a toxic legacy. the marathon effort to make a south bay park safe for kids. good evening, i'm ann

notarangelo. welcome to this special edition of eyewitness news. right now: hurricane irene good evening. welcome to the this special edition of eyewitness news. right now, hurricane irene is pounding north carolina and virginia. she's turning northeast. the storm is blamed for at least five deaths. still a destructive category-1. nearly 900,000 homes and businesses have no power. irene has weakened, but she's still a destructive category 1. karen? >> reporter: you know, irene is such a huge storm, we are still getting pummeled with high winds here in the outer banks. it feels like you're getting sandblasted. it is blowing here so hard. as you can imagine, a lot of damage, roofs sort of destroyed, as well as signs blown down.

they're not out of the woods here yet either. as i almost lose my hat, they are under a flood warning through this evening. hurricane irene roared ashore in north carolina with 100 -mile-an hour winds. it pulled a boat straight out to sea. it made land fall over the state's outer banks. damaging winds tore down signs and peeled shingles off roofs. >> it was scary. >> reporter: the storm weakened to a category 1 as it hit land, but irene is still very dangerous. we have been hit by hurricane- force winds for 12 hours now. normally if you take a look at this dock here, the water would be over my head. north of virginia, high seas were too much for a 30-foot sailboat trying to ride out the

storm. emergency crews rescued two people. the hurricane is plowing up the east coast. 65million people in its path. irene is blamed for at least two deaths, including a boy hit by a falling tree in virginia. president obama visited the fema command center where the government response is being coordinated. >> my biggest concern is light and power. that will be an enormous strain. >> reporter: irene is moving slowly and will be predicted to drop as much as 10 inches of rain as far north as new england. as intense as it is here, a lot of the damage so far has been

on the mainland side from the outer banks. that's where they had that huge storm surge and the flooding came in so quickly. people had to flee to their rooftops. reporting live in north carolina, back to you. >> parts of washington d.c. are vulnerable because they're not properly prepared. what areas, what cities in particular are vulnerable? >> reporter: new york and that's because they're not sure what's going to happen as far as that storm surge.

it's going to come in about the same time as high tide. they did have those mandatory evacuations. and norfolk, virginia. philadelphia, parts of new jersey where they have 1 million people already evacuated. so truly, all the way up this eastern sea board. they haven't dealt with a

storage this huge in quite some time. really trying to get out in front of it. >> thank you for braving the storm for us. farther north, new york city is bracing for what could be a direct hit. the buss and trains are shut down. the storm surge could send water flooding into lower manhattan, into the burros. it's the first mandatory

evacuation ever in new york city. >> if you haven't left, you should leave now. not later this evening, not this afternoon, but immediately . >> emergency authorities warn those who stay behind will be on their own. winds are expected to knock out

power to millions in new york suburbs. strongest winds and rain are expected to hit the city early tomorrow morning. >> dry and calm weather center, i might add. not standing out on the beaches here, thankfully. the storm trap track of irene hasn't changed much. looks like a direct crossing over new york city and passing to the west of boston. now it's still going to be a category 1 or a tropic storm level by the time it hits new york and boston, but the heavy rainfall and storm surge will

be the main factors for the far northeast. they're expecting 10-20 inches of rain. we will continue to see water problems there as we track irene into new york early tomorrow morning. several airports on the east coast are shut down. airlines have canceled more than 9000 flights through monday. there's ,,,,,,,,,,,,

the hospital following a 49ers-raiders game at candlestick, the niners are back at the stadium. don knapp is also at candlestick, where new security measures are in place for tonight's game. don. nat: clip 5116 08 59 12 about

cbs 5, coming up at five. other bay area headlines: a coastal protection group is suing san francisco for putting tons of rocks and other debris on ocean beach, to keep it - and the great highway - from eroding. the group claims the city is violating state coastal protection laws. it wants the city to remove the rubble and restore the beach. the city could face tens of millions of dollars in penalties. "music" oakland students celebrated the beginning of the new school year with a back to school rally at city hall. the event was a street fair, with food and free backpacks-- filled with school supplies. there were also student success workshops.

organizers hope the rally will encourage more parents to get involved in the schools. nearly 10- thousand runners took part in the second annual giants race today. the race began at a-t-and-t park, went along the embarcadero, through fisherman's wharf into the presidio, and back to the ballpark the race was a benefit for "project open hand", which delivers meals to seniors and people living with serious illnesses. a south bay park - that was sitting on a toxic mess. "...the whole neighborhood is going to look so much better" what it took to erase the trashy past - and turn it into a green space for kids. for kids. { jim wx tease} we're continuing to monitor hurricane irene. here are live pictures from

,,,, [ screaming ] [ zapping ] there goes dwayne's car. oh, man. there goes dwayne's house. whoa! whoa! and there goes dwayne. man, that thing does not like dwayne. [ male announcer ] state farm's got you covered. nice landing. it was.

here are live pictures from north carolina. the storm's center is now along the north carolina-virginia border. earlier, irene weakened to a category-1. but she's picking up power now over the warm waters of the atlantic ocean. virginia beach got clobbered with 80-mile-an- hour winds. irene is moving up the east coast at 16-miles an hour. at least 5 people have died. the storm - is about the size of europe. 65-million people are in her projected path. { toss to jim} a grand re- opening today for a park in one of san jose's oldest neighborhoods.

the "frank watson park" was built on a former dumpsite. it's been closed since 2005 because of contamination. anne makovec talked to neighbors who welcome the park's revival. ((mariachi nats)) a celebration for a park compared to a

the city didn't know there was any problem here at watson park until they started building a skate park in 2004. they did environmental testing and found lead and arsenic in the soil. >> everything that was here was either carried out on trucks or buried many feet below. >> reporter: in the early 1900's, there was a garbage struck and incinerator here. >> i grew up and played here since i was a kid. was i worried? not really. >> reporter: he's glad to see the new park. >> it's a real park so i can

walk the stroller and my mom can walk the dogs. >> we're thankful it did happen this way. the crowd makes it twice as impressive. >> reporter: in san jose, cbs 5. ♪

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texans at candlestick park in a few minutes... ki'm coyle s there with all the days sports. the 49er's about to take on the houston texans at candlestick park in a few minutes. >> reporter: thanks. expected to meet with the 49ers to discuss a new contract and while gore has reportedly been unhappy with how slow the process has gone, it has ant affected his relationship with coach harbaugh. >> i love him. he's a football man. he's all about football.

when i walked outside and looked in the parking lot, i saw it had escalated and i see his parking lot. he's still with a chevy truck. i see that. he's going to be himself and that's what i like about him. >> reporter: baseball now and the as were supposed to play a double header tonight, but the rain came early and it's been a long day at fenway. as with a solo shot over the green monster. his third homer on the road trip. 1-1 in the bottom of the second. jason varitek rips a 2-run shot into the bull pen. then in the third, david ortiz lines a one-hopper off the wall. two runners would score. just four innings and allows eight runs.

the red sox win game one, 9-3. little league series. both teams look loose to me. california's dylan palmer hits a two-run homer to right. pga, shortened to 54 holes due to irene. an eagle on number 4 after hauling it from the sand. back to back bogeys on 12 and 13 and would finish second. shoots a six under 65 and wins the tournament by two strokes. it's his first win of the year. if the lock out wipes out the season, al harrington may

face his chances in the octagon. we're just minutes away from kick off here at candlestick. let's check in with the two guys calling the game. >> thank you very much. alongside tim ryan. he's not going to play the starters very much today, that's what the coach says. let's say they come out, plays very, very well against the starting defense. is there a chance he could win that job? >> it begs me to ask you, define very, very well. if he's lights out and he's off the charts and it's three touchdowns and it's functioning great in the offense, i think harbaugh will have a big decision to make. i think it will be alex week one. >> why is he hesitant to make him the starting quarterback? >> he has the spirit of competition at every position. you get everybody competing thinking they have an

opportunity. it's not just quarterback. you look at center, outside line backer, some guys back in the secondary. there's a lot of positions open for competition. >> go over two at center and line backer. >> i think we'll see jonathan goodwin early in the game who they got from the new orleans saints. and then an outside line backer, alden smith the first- round pick. he and harelton are battling. i think we'll see alden very, very early in the game. >> the 49ers and the houston texans coming up live from candlestick park. >> thank you. we'll be tuning in. also, we'll continue to monitor developments with hurricane irene and have the latest on the storm's progress tonight. a wild fire is still burning and growing near yosemite. visitors and the damages caused already. that story and more tonight at 10 and 11.

next at 5:00, the 49ers take on the texans. have a great night. ,, ,,,,,,,,,,,,