a crash on the golden gate bridge closes both directions and renews calls for a moveable median barrier. that story straight ahead. an accidental shooting take the life of an east bay teenager. and with two less police officers on the streets of chinatown, merchants are trying to protect themselves. we'll have that story for you. complete coverage starts now.

this is ktvu channel 2 news at news. good afternoon. topping our news this noontime. an investigation into a seven car pileup on the golden gate bridge. it serves as a reminder that this bridge could still use a moveable barrier to increase safety. good afternoon. >> reporter: i have new information. the chp has determined that only four vehicles, not seven as first reported, were involved in this crash. the crash reminded many of what a moveable barrier could do, mainly prevent accidents like this. as many as four hicles, including a big rig were involved in a collision that blocked all the lanes north of the toll plaza. both sides of traffic were immediately affected as the emergency vehicles came in. a big rig rear ended a small car which crossed into on

coming traffic, causing a chain reaction. the injuries are described as moderate to minor. a truck was able to make it off the bridge and call police from sausalito. today bridge officials gave us an update on how close a barrier is to reality. >> we were able to get funding to finish the environmental work that's required. and we'll be going into the final design work with the intent to have the moveable median barrier sometime at the end of 2011 or early 2012. >> reporter: while the barrier will decrease crossover crashes, they do say it might cause an increase in smaller fender bender type crashes. officials have been looking into installing a barrier for more than 30 years. technology has improved what can be done and how it will impact traffic flow. >> back then it was a heavier,

they were wider. and they've brought them down in width and we'll be losing a half a foot on the middle lane when we put it out there. it was a foot previously. and now it's down to half a foot. >> reporter: the moveable median barrier is set to cost the bridge about $25 million. the money has been set aside for it already. the accident rate is three times lower now than in the 1980s according to officials. they attribute that to more enforcement, slower speeds, and more awareness. live in san francisco, channel 2 news. there's also a big traffic headache on highway 17 in the santa cruz mountains. a big rig overturned, creating quite a mess north of summit road. for a time, officers diverted northbound traffic to old santa cruz highway until they could upright the trailer. they expect to reopen any

minute now. but it should take a while for traffic to return to normal. they're advising drivers to take alternate routes. oakland police have released new information about the deadly shooting of a teenager. investigators are calling it a tragic accident. they have determined that the 15-year-old accidental shot himself in front of his 13-year- old brother. it happened just before 8:00 last night while the boys were visiting their aunt's house. >> we know what happened. but right now we're trying to find out how the child got the gun. and hopefully, our investigation will be able to lead us to how he got that loaded firearm. >> police say it's unlikely that the aunt will face charges in the case. the family said it could not afford to pay for a funeral. and now a woman who saw the story on ktvu is generously

donating a grave. a man wounded in an officer involved shooting has now died. late this morning, the san mateo coroner identified the man. it happened on myrtle road near burialing game high school. officers were forced to kill him after he threatened them with a knife. several agencies are investigating including the da's office. san francisco police are trying to identify the person who stabbed a bus passenger. it happened just before 8:00 last night at sunset boulevard and yore baa street on the number 29 bus. police stopped the bus at 25th and fulton and the suspect had already fled. the victim was taken to the hospital with nonlife threatening injuries. businesses in oakland's chinatown are taking a big hit

after crimes against asian americans in the city. >> reporter: good afternoon. with two less oakland police officers on the streets of oakland's chinatown, merchants are trying to protect themselves any way they can. oakland chinatown covers a 16 block radius. the police department cutbacks forced it to pull several officers away from these streets. >> there are resources that are not at the same level they were a couple of weeks ago. we're trying to work the best we can to still provide the same service. >> reporter: the incidents did not happen here, but two recent murders involving asian americans in the city of oakland have caused some people to steer clear of this community. they are researching how expensive it would be for the business to staff chinatown with minimal security. the council will form a

business improvement district to handle funds. police in the meantime are working with the council. >> they still have their beat officers. we're still in talks with them, trying to come up with better solutions how we can provide better service to that area. >> reporter: in a play to generate more business, the oakland chinatown chamber of commerce is pushing the annual street fest, expected to be held the last weekend in august. >> to make more people comfortable, we did increase the number of private security and also we're going to have police presence. but the police presence is paid by the chinatown chamber. and it's a big expense. >> reporter: that's the executive director explaining how in years past they paid for security during the festival. and the chamber paid for the additional guards. this year the chamber is footing the entire bill at a

cost of $20,000. a memorial fundraiser is being held tomorrow night for one asian american killed outside of a dentist's office. we were told that the fundraiser and memorial will be tomorrow night at 6 p.m. reporting live. jade hernandez, ktvu news. opponents and supporters of same sex marriage in california are awaiting the next step in the fight over proposition eight. the court of appeals ruled that the marriages cannot resume on wednesday. they will remain on hold indefinitely during the appeals process. arguments are now scheduled for the week of december 6th. a santa clara professor who has been following this case says she was not surprised by the ruling. >> it's not unusual for the

ninth circuit of the done what it did which is to freeze the status quo before the original decision was made. they didn't make any comment one way or the other on the issues over the case. >> reporter: a ruling is not expected before the end of the year. both sides believe it could go all the way to the u.s. supreme court before it's decided. find out more at ktvu.com and click the gay marriage tab on the front page. san francisco has big plans for a naval base. and they'll take control in less than two hours. a warning for people who park their cars in some areas. outline burglars have been busy -- auto burglars have been busy. thousands waited before the sun came up, all hoping to be the next american idol.

we'll take you to the idol stop in san francisco coming up. [ male announcer when meg whitman arrived at ebay,

they had 30 people and an idea. meg's job was to make it happen. it took leadership. focus.

and the ability to bring people together. meg whitman delivered. named one of america's best ceo's by harvard business review, she grew ebay 15,000 strong and made small business dreams come true. now meg has a plan to create jobs. fix sacramento. and deliver results. meg whitman. for a new california. >> treasure island will be officially turned over to the city of san francisco in two hours. nancy pelosi, the 2nd will be

there. construction is scheduled to begin sometime next year. the iraqi military is blaming al-qaeda for a horrific attack in iraq today. 60 people were killed in a suicide bombing targeting army recruits in baghdad. there are at least 100 injuries. this is video of the bombing victims. the attack comes days after the u.s. announces it is sticking with the plan to end combat operations at the end of the month. a texas police station shooting connected to a community college. an e-mail went out in mckin, texas, saying that someone walked into the police station and started firing. no students or staff members

were hurt. the shooter hid in a field behind the police department and fired randomly at cars. right now it's not clear whether police cleared the shooter or whether he died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. a south carolina mother will be arraigned tomorrow in the homicide of her two sons. 29-year-old shaquan duley was described as an unemployed mother who was upset that she could not provide for her children. the two boys were strapped in the car seats with the motor running and the windows rolled up. she confessed to suffocating the children and faking the accident. a trial is underway for a man whose actions allegedly led to the death of a san francisco police officer. the attorney for steven patrilly, says her client was forced to leading police on a

high speed chase in july 2006. the attorney says he was approached by two people at gunpoint who forced him to go on a crime spree that ended when he crashed into the patrol car, killing the 39-year-old officer. prosecutors say this was not the first time that he has led police on a high speed chase through the city. he now faces murder charges. walnut creek police are looking for thieves targeting a popular shopping area. the two men hit six vehicles, smashing windows nearing euthanasia ya boulevard and oak grove. police describe who they are looking for. >> two white male suspects in their early 30s. they're associated with two vehicles. one with a dark colored passat and another a gray sedan with a wave symbol in the back window.

>> similar crimed happened at sun valley mall over the weekend. the phrase shark week has taken on a whole new meaning for a bay area kayaker. he came face to face with a great white shark over the weekend. he was kayaking in san mateo county. the shark chomped on his boat but the man managed to escape with a few cuts and scratches. let's check in with our meteorologist, steve paulson to see how warm it's getting. >> not as warm as yesterday. that's for sure. the coast has not changed. we had a foggy morning but inland the impact is being felt. the fog bank has been there for the longest time. gusting to over 30 at travis. and our ktvu tree, and you can

see it rustling in the wind. and when the fog makes it to livermore in the morning, you and i know it's going to be a cooler morning. yesterday temperatures warned up -- warmed up to the 90s. the source of the cooler pattern is the low moving into oregon. it produced a few showers near the oregon border. coastal fog, sunny, breezy to windy. instead of the upper 80s and low 90s unless you're in the valley, there'll be a lot of upper 70s and 80s. a big drop in the temperatures and the beat goes on. the second verse the same as the first. 61 in san francisco. should be 68. oakland 66, should be 74. and mountain view at 70. that's seven below. and san jose -- their average high is not even close.

63 oakland berkley. right at 70 for livermore and concord. and pa lo alto is 64. that's a cool day. reno is 88. 104 in las vegas. monterey to eureka it's a cold chilly day. there's another system that will come in right behind that. and a very strong low is going to dig down into the pacific northwest for the weekend. that might chew up the fog but it's going to keep temperatures far below averages. inland averages dropped four to 8 degrees. fog hanging back near the coast. but it sticks right there. sunny, breezy, and cooler inland. instead of the upper 80s and 90s, fairfield was 91. 81 today and winds at 30 miles per hour. 50s and 60s by the coast. our below average temperatures continue. it happened in june. we've carried it into the first

two weeks of august. and no sign of any warmup for us. as you get towards september that's usually when we get the coast, the north wind. there's no sign of anything right now through 10 days, nothing. except cool if you like that. >> some people do. thousands of people lined up outside at&t park -- not for a baseball game -- but with dreams of becoming a singing star. they are in hopes of becoming the next american idol. >> before the sun came up, hundreds, then thousands lined up. >> i want to be the next american idol. >> we came out here because she's the next american idol. >> you're convinced. >> so convinced that you'll stay out in the cold. >> until it snows, whatever it takes. >> reporter: registration will be held for two days. the die-hards came early. >> i'd rather be safe than sorry and say you can't try

out. >> it's going really well. we have a huge crowd like seven or 8000 already. >> reporter: in season 10, even registration is an event. >> a hot chocolate and kettle corn here, guys. [ cheering ] >> reporter: idol hopefuls did what they could to stand out. >> can you give us a sample of what you can do? ♪ [ music ] >> we sell these in san francisco. >> can you sing? >> can i sing? yes, i can sing. >> and singing is what is important because that's what is judged by producers. the celebrity judges are still unnamed. >> i wouldn't mind j low. >> i hope i make it through and america votes for me. >> i'm excited. i'm ready. >> give us a couple notes. >> i'm going to save it. >> oh, come on. >> save it if you must, but you

better be prepared to sing. [ laughter ] ♪ that's all right, mama. that the all right with you. ♪ ♪ left a good job in the city. ♪ >> singing bionic legs. >> it wasn't about the singing. it was about the fans. they guarantee that everyone can come back at 5 a.m. that's when audition cans begin. in san francisco, ktvu channel 2 news. and you can see clips and hear a lot more at www.ktvu.com. we posted more video right there. former jetblue flight attendant steven slater may be the star of a reality tv show. he cursed at passengers and made a get away on an emergency

slide. he has received 25 reality show offers. he hired a publicist to handle the charges and sort through the offers. a business with a name that everyone knows is looking for a lot of new employees today. and a former baseball player who made one of the most famous hits in history has passed away. [ cheering ] our real national pastime?

saving money. and like baseball people love their stats. i started bringing my lunch to work -- 50 bucks a week in my pocket. here's a good one: state farm insures 40 million drivers. more than geico and progressive combined. i saved because i'm accident-free. of course, with so many ways to save including discounts of up to 40%, having that many customers shouldn't be a surprise. so ask a neighbor about state farm, then call an agent at 1-800-state-farm or go online.

mcdonald's restaurants are looking for hundreds of new workers. the chain is holding a statewide hiring day. all the jobs are part-time. but anyone who works 20 hours or more a week qualifies for the medical benefits. managers will be conducting interviews and hiring at most of the chain's 500 restaurants in northern california. the jobs range from cooks and cashiers to management positions. the city of san francisco has unveiled an i eco-friendly website.

sf approved.org was a way to research green alternatives. after completing the research, officials have decided to open the site to the public. the site concentrates on toys, household, and food products, but there are plans to expand it. the man who hit one of the most famous home runs of all time has died. [ cheering ] the giants won the pennant! >> still exciting after all these years. bobby thompson's game ending home run took the new york giants to a win in 1951. they earned the national league pennant. he died in savannah, georgia after a long illness. he was 86 years old. coming up, bloggers are still buzzing over the jetblue flight attendant who flipped out. could that be linked to a surge

in the amount of carryon baggage. and san francisco takes control of treasure island. find out the storied history behind that small patch of land. those stories are coming up at 5:00. thanks for watching. have a great day. >> for complete bay area news coverage, stay with ktvu channel 2 news and www.ktvu.com. news and weather available any time you need it. k tvu channel 2 news at 5:00 is straight coverage. uncovering important news stories. in-depth coverage. weather forecasts for the area where you live.

>> smog and warmth. >> weekdays on ktvu channel 2 news at 5:00. complete bay area news coverage.