>> good morning, firefighters have been battling two early morning fires this morning within miles of each other. the commute is getting more crowded in some key areas. we'll tell you w. our below average pattern for temperatures continues, but there are a few areas that will warm up today, we will look at those coming up. and good morning, i'm jade hernandez the bay bridge is one

step closer to completion. we'll tell you what's going on at treasure island. that's coming up as the morning news continues. good morning, thank you for joining us, wednesday, july 28th, i'm pam cook. >> and good morning, i'm dave crome. let's check weather and traffic. here's steve. good morning, dave and ma'am and everyone. there are -- pam and everyone. there are sign that is the sea breeze is not as strong and believe it or not, a little bit of a puff is showing up at the airport. that means warmer temperatures there and also inland. some 70s now in areas that have been in the 60s. no 80s closer to the bay. here's sal.

i. two fires have been reported. one started at 4:00 a.m. today at a house that was vacant at the time. the firefighters say there might have been several points of origin in that fire, and it is still under investigation. then, about an hour later, there was this, flames ripping through a garage that was attached to a house. we are now getting word that an ambulance is heading to this location. tara moriarty is keeping an eye on everything and will have a live report in the next half hour. well, drivers heading across the bay bridge at this noon hour are going to see an incredible sight, a giant tower will rise up in the middle of the bay. jade hernandez joins us with

the details. good morning, jade. >> reporter: good morning, this will definitely be quite a sight. we can tell you there's some action going on right now. in fact, caltrain will still raising it in just a few minutes, but it's a very, very slow process. i just spoke with a spokesperson who tells me this weighs tons so the movement will be very slow. a couple of weeks ago, the main pieces of this tower actually passed beneath the bay bridge. today, they are putting up the piece of the 525 tower which is the center of the bay bridge. now, it's amazing. each piece is about 150 feet tall and each weighs more than 1100-tons. the legs came from a steel fabrication plant in shanghai. this means that the bridge is one step closing to completion

which is expected to open to traffic in 2013. the cost? $6.2billion. the bridge will be the largest of its kind when it's finished, so, if you are driving on the bay bridge around noon, you are going to see some of this. we'll get the low down on this project so stay tuned and check back in with us then. reporting live from treasure island this morning, jade hernandez, ktvu channel 2 morning news. time now, 6:03. well, transit riders are still caught in the middle of the discussion between labors and management. the latest problem came as dozens of theoutes were canceled at the last minute after drivers called in sick and things could get a lot worse. earlier in the day, managers voted to cut the services unless there's an agreement.

6:04 is the time right now. bato sal, how's the commute, sal (. you know, it is actually doing okay. we haven't had a lot to talk about which is nice, so we are going to check thicks anyway. this is a look at highway 4. it looks very nice getting up to the grade. even though it's been quiet, all of a sunday, there are a couple of little things going on out there. the bay bridge toll plaza looks good. no problems here. there's debris just reported. westbound 580 a little bit slow coming up to the altamont pass and if you are driving in the area, still nice. this is the time when you can still jump ahead of most of the crowd. after this, it starts getting a little bit more crowded. here's steve. thank you, sal. the low clouds and fog are back and it should burn off a little bit sooner today. there are subtle hints that things are turning a little bit. we could see a little bit more

sunshine today and that would be a little bit more in the north bay. napa yesterday, 72. we'll go 76 today. that's the spirit. 71 to 75, so slightly warm, but way below average. 76 to 77, it should be around 84 so still blow there. 51 to 58, palo alto, san jose at 58. inland areas should warm up a little bit, but there's still a lot of fog on the coast. sunny, breezy, can't get rid of that. a little bit warmer for a few, so some mid 70s now in the north bay instead of the 60s. 60s and 70s. in the next couple of days, we should see some warmer weather through the interior, but the

coast remains cool. thank you, steve. an out of control wildfire is threatening homes in southern california. up next, we are going to take you there to get a live report and see if any progress has been made. plus, a devastating time for a local lieder. we will tell you what she revealed about her health. and the democrats are voting to stop an emergency funding bill. i'll tell you what happened coming up.

welcome back to the morning news, good morning. firefighters are battling an out of control wildfire in northern california. it's destroyed 130 homes and ar it is burning about 70 miles outside of los angeles. here's more. >> reporter: good morning, pam. with daylight we can certainly see that this fire is raging out of control. there you can see the large column of smoke rise inning the air. we can see a number of those in the distance and we are not sure how many of those are actually backfires. the firefighters tell us they have been setting backfires to starve the fuel and surround the fire. here's some of the video from last night. as you said, many of the structures were destroyed. with day lighted, they are trying to determine how many

are homes. they may have been back houses, out houses or barns and some 150 homes are threatened. 1230-acres have now burned burning what is ranch land, dry brush, thick brush and tall pines. heavy winds will be a huge factor today. we will show you some of the wind turbines here. this is one of the largest wind farms in the entire world. the wind certainly comes through here on a daily basis and wind will be an issue as they try to fight the fire. they are going to bring in many more firefighters to fight this fire and also some air assets. they will have more of that today to drop some retardant on the fire. it's going to be tough because

they are expecting heavy winds. dave, back to you. >> thank you, bob. today in pakistan, a passenger jet crashed into the hill of islamabad and killed off of the people on board. now we are hearing that two americans were among those who died. terrorism is not suspected. the plane was trying to land during cloudy and rainy weather. well, on capitol hill, a funding bill for the war in afghanistan was passed despite democrat opposition. allison burns has more. good morning. allison. >> reporter: good morning, dave. that's right, the opposition is growing. even though the funked was

approved last night, the bill had been stalled for months and more than 100 democrats voted against it including almost the entire bay area delegation. >> congress can't continue to write a blank check for the war in afghanistan. our men and women have been put in a tough situation where there's no immediate solution. >> the reality is that time has run out. we have to do it now. >> reporter: now, this legislation also includes billions in aid to vietnam veterans who were exposed to agent origin, efforts to haiti, what was stripped from this bill was emergency aid to prevent teacher layoffs across the country. allison burns, ktvu channel 2 morning news. well, france has declared war on al qaeda after a french

worker was killed. today, french troops attacked a base camp. the declaration and attack marked a shift in strategy for france. well, tomorrow, arizona's new immigration law takes effect. thousands of protesters say they are planning to show up without identification as a show of solidarity. a huge outdoor jail is being set up. 200 deputies are being sent out tomorrow look for traffic violators as a way to round up illegal immigrants. well, towser has been diagnosed with early stage cancer of the esophagus. she told her staff about the

cancer last week. according to a memo, she told her staff she started cancer treatment. she will have surgery in the fall and she is hoping to fully recover by next year. she served 14 years in congress before president obama selected her to be the secretary of state for control. well, meg whitman is now saying she is willing to participate in three debates with her opponent. the first one is scheduled for late september in sacramento. >> we thought these were the three strongest proposals that had come across in the invitation process. >> the bolt tom line is -- bottom line is we feel the two should hear from the two at the same time. >> now, with three debates on

the schedule, that is more than usual for the governor's race. there was one in 2002. san francisco supervisors voted to put a measure on the ballot that would increase the transfer tax on high end property. under $5 million the tax would remain the same at 1.5%. but between $5,000,000.10 million would increase to 2%. and properties at more than $10 million would be taxed at 2.5%. it's estimate that had the taxes could raise $35 million a year. several other areas will ask voters to approve sales taxes. antioch will vote on an

increase. the santa rosa city council decided on a quarter sales tax increase bringing that sells tax to 9.5%. all right, time now, 6:16. let's check in with sal. he is watching everything, especially the south bay. and i was going to start with the south bay, but all of a sudden, we had a new accident pop up that even surprised me. westbound highway 4 dave and pam, at cormville road, this one just popped up. in fact, it's so new that the police aren't even on the scene. it's reportedly involving two motorcycles and it's blocking one of the lanes. that is a brand new accident on westbound highway 4, but, yes, we will check the south bay. let's look at 880 oakland northbound and southbound. that traffic is moving along

okay if you are driving out to oakland and the bay bridge toll plaza looks good across the bay and if you are driving through the area, everything is quiet northbound an southbound. traffic is moving along okay on the bridge. here's steve. good morning to you all. we have another morning of low clouds an fog. the temperatures in the 50s all though i did see a couple of upper 40s and low 50s. we have a lot of gray skies. the coast and bay just hard pressed to get out of the 50s. there's a little bit of a hint of west wind in the north bay. that usually means that you will see the fog burn off sooner and a warm up. 65 the high today. that is still, though, 4 degrees below average this time of the year. overcast, slightly warmer. we will have some temperatures starting off rather cool.

gillroy, mount tamm is 50. another low there spinning right to the southwest of low overcast. that has to come through, but once that does, the high pressure will build in and the inland areas will warm up a little bit. fairfield, which was 73 two days ago will go 80 today. antioch, brentwood, a lot of 60s and 70s in between. next week and the first week of august look very cool. yes. >> i do care and i'm not happy, steven. all right, 6:19 is the time. intel has developed a new micro chip that can move data faster than will ever. it sends and receives informationment listen to this, intel says tests have shone it can move 100 hours of digital

music in one second. the company expects to make one that can transmit the entire printed selection of the library of congress in less than two minutes. well, a deal to announce pharmacy deals to card holders is being issued. etna says its customers spend $9.5 billion on drugs every year. residents will now be allowed to keep small flocks of poultries in their back years in san mateo. up to 10 ducks or chickens on their property and the number depends on the size of the property. well, there's word that

"american idol's" original producer is close to signing a new deal. we are hearing deals that if he comes back, he might get rid of the judge's panel and bring in an a-list panel of people like elton john, usher, and others and maybe even bringing paula abdul back. >> my almost 11 -year-old daughter would be thrilled to have them on the show. well, safety experts have issued an important summer time safety warning. it will open your eyes to the possible danger of sunglasses. also, there was table at the state fair that involves a cow

good morning, bay area bridges westbound, bay bridge traffic looking pretty good coming into san francisco, a small delay there. san mateo and golden gate traffic look good and the

richmond bridge looks good all the way to marin. let's go back to the desk. thank you, sal. california is one of 19 finalists for more than $3 billion in federal race to the top programs. now, educators had to agree to various classroom reforms designed at struggling schools. dozens of states have already passed changes to education policies that have ranged from helping charter schools to how teachers are evaluated. the schools will get up to $17 million when the awards are hand out in the next couple of months. an environmental group which tests beach water is going to release their report today. now, every year, the national beach council grades the areas around the country including in the bay area.

in last year's report, stinson beach received three out of five stars. ocean beach in san francisco averaged two stars. there's a lot of talk about texting while driving, but now, we have a warning about the hidden dangers of certain types of sunglasses. the problem is very trendy sunglasses and even some prescription glasses with wide sides. wearing them may make it hard to use your peripheral vision. >> if you are wearing these glasses and you want to find out if they are safe or not, you can kind of wiggle your hands out to the side and if you don't see your fingers, it's time to get rid of those glasses. >> the california dmv actually has a law about wearing glasses

with the sides more than a half an inch. well, things should be back to normal at the state fair today after an incident involving a very angry cow. the cow broke away yesterday morning and stampede through the fair grounds as 'workers were setting everything up. the police and the veterinarians tried to tranquilize the cow, but that doesn't work, so they killed the cow. >> she wasn't predictable, she was a little bit mean. >> the incident didn't effect fair operations. there is a new development in the a's stadium battle. an announcement could make it a

whole new ballgame. >> i'm tara moriarty live in richmond where the crews are saying the cause of the fire looks suspicious. [ female announcer hurry in to the jcpenney

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welcome back to the morning news, it's sports day. look at that. [ laughter ] you don't realize how tall those basketball players are until they stand next to the regular folks. that is chris bosh. he has been appointed the leader for the after school all stars. there's the pac 10 coaches. >> they recognized you and they are waving. right on cue. [ laughter ]

>> all of the pac 10 coaches are there. >> how did you pull that off? >> they usually watch us, i'm sure. and we say good morning to you on the ktvu channel 2 morning news. it's the middle of the week, wednesday, july 28th, i'm dave crome. >> and i'm pam cook. the investigation is now underway in two separate morning fires that both happened a few miles apart. tara moriarty has new information and joins us now with an update. tara? >> reporter: well, the investigators are telling us these two fire res not connected in any way. right now, we are at the one at 46th street. you can see a garden hose laying on the lawn here. this is where a neighbor was spraying the house until the firefighters arrived. the investigators say this fire is suspicious. just before 5:00, a fire broke

out in san pablo. flames broke out in the garage. the neighbors say everyone got out of the house safely. no word yet on what caused the fire, but less than three miles away, just before 4:00, the crews received a call of a fire. again, no one was home at the time, and it took crews about a half an hour to get it under control. >> there was quite a bit of fire and smoke when we got here. the crews did a good job of getting in and knocking it down, but it was a challenge for us getting into the attic space. >> reporter: four enjoys and a -- engines and a truck arrived on the scene. the chief just told us that two rooms sustained heavy damage in the house. one, a living room and the other a bedroom. this could indicate that the fire started in two separate places which could point to

something suspicious. the firefighters have ruled out an electrical house. the home owner had renovated the house recently putting in granite counter tops so she is disappointed, but covered by fire insurance luckily. the man who rents the house was staying in antioch last night, so that is the good news. reporting live, tara moriarty, ktvu channel 2 morning news. well, this morning, the police are looking for two men responsible for a stabbing on the t line. they stabbed the victim three times during a fight on the platform at third street and la sal avenue yesterday. the victim is expected to re- complete. today, the police are leaders are for

the san jose city leaders are expected to pull back on the plan to move the team south. earlier the mayor said he was ready to put the measure on the ballot even without the blessings of major league baseball. surveillance cameras are soon going to be recording the license plates of vehicles driving in and out of the area. the police will receive alerts that show up in the data base. a moratorium has been issued on new massage parlors. 36 of the licensed therapists received certificates by schools that are considered

suspect. the concern is not prostitution, but rather a lack of qualification. well, if you are driving around the bay area around noon today, you will see a giant tower rising up in the middle of the bay. caltrans is putting up the first piece of the tower that is going to be the center of the bay bridge. the project is expected to be completed in 2013. sal, there was an incident? we used to call it a gawker's block. >> i like that. good morning everybody, let's go out and take a look at the commute now, the traffic is moving along very well. we have been nice and quiet just the way we like it. not a lot going on.

here's a look at interstate 880 and a look at the bay bridge as well as the traffic is moving along very well. a pair of motorcycles and a truck in the center divide, but they are blocking the area. the traffic looks good approaching the 80 split. at 6:35, steve, i am now following you on twitter. sal, how do i get to the top tweets? >> i'll show you, come over after the weather. [ laughter ] ' plenty, a lot of low clouds and fog. it's in the just us, folks. some are cool, others are hot. it's all over the place and our temperature trend continues to be cool. a cool summer pattern with no signs of changing. the temperatures 20 degrees lower than average. you know by de fault we have to warm up a little bit, but the

weekend looks warmer away from the coast. still a few thundershowers popping up away from the coast. the direction of it is not as favorable as it was a couple of days ago, the upper air pattern. the current temperature 56, a high of 65. temperatures are inching upwards, but it's a slow process. we'll go 76 today in town. the city, there's your 65. 75 in walnut creek. 67 and 71. very, very cool. oakland, 68 and not much change there. very cool readings this morning for some. 55 sacramento eukia 51. lake county continues to check in with the 90s. you are on your own there,

everyone else is cooling down, the high pressure will start to slowly build in. not that warm. breezy to windy at times. nobad as the past couple of days. morganville, out toward brently, oakland. but for many, another cool day will continue. warmer by the coast. dave and pam? >> all right, steve. thank you, our time now, 6:37. well, there's actually some good news to tell you about concerning the oil spill in the gulf of mexico. we'll have the latest from the gulf. also, this is a sad day for the raider nation following the passing of a legendary defensive star. good morning, southbound 680 traffic moving well heading to the south bay. more coming up.

well, welcome back, here's a look at some of the stories we are following for you right now. an out of control wildfire has now destroyed 130 homes. 150 more are at risk. this is burning about 70 miles north of los angeles. the windy conditions out there may cause more problems for

firefighters today. the state of arizona is getting ready for its new immigration law to take effect tomorrow. protesters and the police will be out in force. and today, caltran's crews will be putting up the first piece of the tower that will be the new center piece of the new bay bridge. it will be the largest of its kind when they finish it. today marks the 100th day of the oil spill in the gulf of mexico. there are signs that the oil slick on the water appear to be di solving faster than expected. here's more. >> reporter: , good morning, pam. certainly, progress has been made. the number one priority for the

entire gulf coast region is to make sure that oil stays away. what are you looking for today? >> any fresh imcoming in. >> reporter: on the water, on shore. the clean up continues 100 days since the massive oil spill started gushing in the gulf, but more than three months later, signs of progress. the oil well is capped and no more crude is ill spilling out and the change in management will take place october 1st. >> well, we are learning about equipment and people and different companies. >> reporter: and about a clear time table. the officials are saying that a permanent solution to manage the leak is just a short time away. >> reporter: the officials are making sure that the land is being protected. while scientists continue to

search and collect oil samples, coast guard officials say at one point the skimmers collected just enough for one barrel. so, some good news there, but gulf coast residents still feel the economic push from this and bp continues to pay out victims. in the meantime, president obama and his family will be going to florida next month to promote some tourism. dave, back to you. >> thank you, sandra. time now, 6:44. a team is heading to northern california to help fight two wildfires. this is video of one of the teams leaving this morning. the fire is burning in hachapi.

30 homes have burned and 150 more are threatened. a second fire is burn inning the national forest. well, nasa is saying two objects floated away from the space station. one of them, look at that highlight at the bottom of the screen. they think that's a clamp left outside. the other one is smaller. nasa says neither is a threat to the space station or the astronauts living there. nearly 1400 people who work on the space shuttle fleet are getting layoff notices this week. the work force is being cut by 15% as the program shuts down.

the board of supervisors wrapped up months of heated debate over the proposal. this plan is expected to add more than 10,000 housing you aren't yews as well as retail and -- units as well as retail and commercial space. 25,000 jobs and more. jack tatum palszed away yesterday. he was a star during the glory days in the 1970s. he made the pro-bowl three times and he was involved in a pro-football tragedy in 1978. his hard hitting tackle paralyzed another player.

we are following the commute and sal is watching everything, but he had news chopper 2 over the bay bridge, right? that's right, as pam mentioned earlier, people may be -- >> gawker's. >> that's right. they may do that because they are putting up a new tower later today. you will be able to do this. some people may come up to treasure island. our jade hernandez is there. she will have a report coming up on mornings on 2. the traffic is light coming into the city right now. there's not much of a delay. also, this morning, we have the problem at highway 4 with a couple of motorcycle who have had a couple of minor things

happening. it's not doing all that well coming out of antioch toward concord. here's steve. low clouds, plenty. a crazy pattern, but it looks like it's locked in here for a while. the out look shows very cool temperatures, in fact, a below normal pattern warming up a little bit. i tend to believe the models when they are in sync that far out. today, we have a fog bank burning off a little bit sooner. temperatures will continue to be below average so 50s, 60s. temperatures below average, but about 2 to 3 degrees warmer each day if you have noticed. low overcast, sunny, breezy. i went with 80 after some below average temperatures. the cool air aloft is in place at the surface. the fog is up around 2800 feet. gilroy this morning, 51.

that's a little bit cool. vie lay hoe, crocket. 55 or 56 degrees. 50s and 60s up and down the coast. san mateo, 55 -- sacramento, 55. there's still a little bit of a delta breeze, but not the howling breeze we saw a coup obviously days ago. it was -- couple of days ago. a little bit of a spin in the atmosphere. you can see the low. until that goes through, we are not going to change too much, but it looks warmer inland heading towards friday and saturday. cool to mild to warm. cool by the coast. 84 antioch. still below average temperatures. a little bit warmer inland, but slightly cooler near the coast as we head into the weekend. all right, thank you, steve. 6:49 is the time rights now. california's biggest auto

insurer will reduce rates. the decision will put the insurance company in compliance with a state law that requires insurance companies to calulate rates based on the age of the car, how many miles its driven and the driver. let's check on wall street. the dow is down some of that because of weak orders that came in. durable goods orders were down in june indicating that the economic growth is slowing a bit. we did have some pretty good earnings coming in from companies, but boeings profits are down. general motors has set a price for its new all electric car. chevrolet's volt will have a price of $42,000, but it

qualifies for a federal tax credit. gm says it will offer a three year lease which includes gm's on star service. the first cars are expected to hit the roads by the end of the year. plans to expand wal-mart in antioch triggered hours of debate. we'll tell you what officials decided. plus, plans to crack down on

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we'll have a live report from southern california to get an update on a wildfire that has already destroyed dozens of homes and forced hundreds to evacuate. ac transit riders are caught in the cross fire of the labor dispute.

that's coming up on mornings on 2. thank you, tori. time now,6:54. the american red cross is putting out a call for blood donors. this coming saturday, there will be a blood drive. now, people between the ages of 17 -- at least 17 years old, you have to weigh at least 110- pounds. you are encourages to come and donate. the blood drive will run between 8:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. contra costa county has put a smoking ban on hold because of concerns over medical marijuana. the board of supervisors was set to vote on a ban in apartments and condos. the board decided to wait a couple of weeks to decide

whether smoke from medical marijuana would be included. meanwhile, a new south san francisco ordinance would ban smoking in many public areas including sidewalks and downtown do i think areas. the -- dining areas. the ordinance would ban smoke from indoor areas and property such as benches. if passed, the law would go in effect in november. the city council gave final approval yesterday to issue licenses to four pot growing operations. they would have to meet guidelines for electrical use, greenhouse gas emissions and the use of pesticides. the city council voted down a proposal by wal-mart. wal-mart wanted to add a 33,000

square addition to the store. people from both sides of the issue packed the area. looking at the bay bridge, dave and pam, westbound coming into the city looks good. later on today when they raise that tower, you can see there, it may cause rubber necker delay. it's going to be a significant event and a lot of people may want to see that tower go up. if you are driving to the south bay, 237 is already getting crowded. here's steve. thank you, sal. plenty of low clouds and fog. it should be slightly warmer. we are inches up on the afternoon highs. it looks like we bottomed out on monday. warmer inland, and cooler near the coast. it will be foggy instead of just high clouds. >> pretty cool july.

thank you, steve. >> thank you for watching. mornings on 2 coming up next. we are going to take you to richmond where there were two fires. we will get a live report on whether or not they are connected. jade hernandez is out by the bay bridge with an up close look at the new bay bridge tower that's being moved into place. we'll have all of the details. stay tuned. [ female announcer get extra savings

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