bruno -- maureen. >> we're live at city hall where a special council meeting is on its way. there's only one thing on the agenda and that's to approve a disaster area. it is very clear to be the that nerves are heightened around the bay area. >> we're going to take shelter in place. >> reporter: fear and panic set in this morning after parents reported smelling gas at this elementary school, less than a mile from the san bruno explosion. >> the school staff contacted pg & e on pg & e's assessment and recommendation they said we should evacuate the student body and staff. >> reporter: the 500 students at portola elementary school were taken out of classrooms and taken away in school buses. >> we got our folks out here, the first thing they did was check the meter. they found there was no leak at the gas meter. >> classes were

cancelled for the day. parents were visibly shaken as they picked up their children. >> a feeling for our safety whenever they smell a gas leak that we immediately react on it. so i think it's pretty good for a safety precaution. >> reporter: the áf at the devastated area today, homeowners in white protective suits pick through the blackened rubble of what was once their home. firefighters use a saw to get into one man's safe and retrieve several firearms, what's now left of his gun collection. >> two decades here, 20 years here and you collect things and, we have nothing. >> reporter: but then, fire fighters handed him a gold ring from the rubble. they also found his daughter's charred camera and a small buddha statute. >> i am scared to come back. but like my dad said, i could happen any where else too. but i just hope we can get back

on our feet soon. >> reporter: again that special city council meeting just about to start. we're going to head inside, we'll have a live update for you coming up at 6:00. in san francisco, a high school was evacuated in the city's russian hill neighborhood. thatted just before 1:30, gallileo academy on san francisco street. the spokesperson said fire crews did a thorough search and determined there was no gas leak. across the bay a gas leak in oakland also prompted an evacuation this afternoon. pg & e said that a cable company digging into the area punched a 3-inch gas line at east 18th street. streets were blocked between

lake marin. seems particularly cruel, preying on people who've already lost their homes and sense of security: but right now state contracting officials are combing the san bruno fire area from scammering who come to the scene looking for easy money from the fire victims. tom vacar has that story. >> reporter: some of those families combing through here just minutes ago. but we begin tonight with news of a restoration firm that was hired to clean up homes. it has to do with unhappy families complaining to the company. cepro is no longer on the job. >> any work that cepro will be doing will be honored but they

will no be doing any additional work for us. >> reporter: a couple of minutes ago i spoke to their managers, they discussed the problems and let go of those people. on a more darker note, this story is a lesson for everyone, whether you're involved in a disaster or just getting work done. >> reporter: rich veloci were posting signs, answering homeowners questions and checking licenses today. a week or so after a disaster is really a critical time because in the not so distant future, many of these barricades and police presence will be greatly reduced or gone. >> a lot of times after a disaster like this, we're going to have unlicensed contractors coming into the area to victimize the survivors that have got some property damage.

they're going to start to see business cards, fliers and stuff put on the doors. taped to the mailboxes, they'll come knocking on doors. >> we have received a lot of mailers from contractors saying you know we can help. but i really haven't had the time to look through any of that. >> reporter: con artists know they can play on the victim's emotions. >> they've been traumatized, they're trying to get their lives back together the best they can. they have somebody come and tell them, we can help you with this. >> reporter: one scam, bleed the homeowner. >> they're running under the radar, the homeowner is pulling the permit and they are responsible. >> i know there's a scam warning so i'm just trying to put that aside and just dealing with the clothes and necessities for me and my family at this time. >> reporter: besides committing the felony of unlicensed contracting in a disaster zone,

members of unlicensed group get homeowners compensation which can open homeowner up to claims if they are injured. coming up live, you will see some of the families that are out here, the first trip back to this. they are putting on these white suits because there are health issues still out there. so they'll be allowed to visit the sites of their homes and they'll be allowed to spend some time here. obviously for these people their homes are gone so it's a very sad situation, but they want to protect them from dirt and they want to certainly protect them from my health issues that are still arising out here. we did see health people out here earlier. as a result this is the sad part that goes on here. reporting live from san bruno i am tom vacar, ktvu channel 2 news. four of the burn victims from that san bruno fire are being treated at st. francis hospital in san francisco. today doctors held a press conference to discuss their recoveriful they said most of the burn patients are moving

from the emergency care phase to the second or acute phase. >> the concern here is to get rid of or remove the nonviable scar tissue. because the nonviable tissue is a source of infection. >> it'll be two months to a year before the san bruno burn victims will enter the third phase. city building and planning officials in san bruno now estimate the cost of damage done by last week's explosion and fire to be $3 million. the figure includes $31.5 million to damaged homes and other property. the rest, 6.6 billion comes from damaged infrastructure such as streets. memorials are being held this weekend for the victims of the san bruno fire. a rosary will begin at 7:00 at

st. cecelia. the funeral will be held at the same church on friday. and more information about the san bruno pipeline fire investigation and the aftermath is available on our website, just go to ktvu.com and look for the san bruno fire tab. a san jose man is under arrest tonight and two pass skwhrers passengers in his car are dead after a car chase. it happened on east st. james street near sixth street in downtown san jose shortly before 8:30 a.m. the chase began when a chp officer tried to pull over the vehicle and the driver did not stop. but officers say they had stopped their pursuit before the vehicle hit two parked cars. the two men who died were in the backseat, the driver and another man in the front passenger seat went to the

hospital with minor injuries. the driver 19-year-old jose antonio hernandez will likely be charged with driving under a suspended license and possession of a controlled substance. an unusual sight today at the bay. specifically what was caught on the bow of that cargo ship. john sasaki is live in oakland to explain what happened, john. >> reporter: actually we're standing on the northern edge of the alameda station, the naval air station here right across from the port of oakland. right there you can see that whale is still hanging on the front of the cargo ship known as the northern vitality. from a distance it's hard to tell exactly what it is and it's pretty amazing to see it stuck on the boat, especially so high off the water. here's the view from news chopper 2. fish and game

wardens and experts from the marine mammal center came out to investigate. one warden believes it may have been dead before it got stuck because it was missing it's tail. people in the shoreline could not believe their eyes. >> i didn't realize until i seen it, it's amazing. >> what do you think of it. >> it's crazy. a big whale. >> it appears to be 50 to 60- foot whale. the species undetermined at this time. currently we're working with noa who deals with these issues on how we're going to remove and take care of the whale caucus. >> reporter: there's reports that sharks have come up and taking bites off of the caucus. the preliminary determination is that this animal is a minkie whale. how it got there is unclear.

but tonight or tomorrow it will be dragged out and left at sea. live in alameda, i'm john sasaki, ktvu channel 2 news. >> daryl: you -- >> you can see video of that diseased whale on ktvu.com. 2009 census figures show that 14.3% of americans are living in poverty, a sharp spike compared to 2008 numbers. it's also the highest number since 1959. those numbers translate to 43.3 million people or one in seven living at the poverty level. the number of people without health insurance also rose for 43.3 million to 50.7 50.7 million. due mostly to the loss of employer provided health insurance. mta data quick says 68,000 homes were sold in august compared to 7,600 a year earlier. the medium price was almost 7%

from one year ago. the number of forclosed homes sold in august dropped by 8% from august of 2009. stocks finished the day up slightly as investors tried to make sense of sometimes confusing economic news. the boeing said today it plans to hire more workers while fed exsays it plans to lay off some employees. the price of gold hit a new record high which indicates people are still looking for a safe place other than stocks to put their money. the dow was up 22 points. the nasdaq inched up two points to end the day at 2,303. for more financial and consumer news go to ktvu.com and click on the business tab. it is considered one of the pivotal senate races in the country. coming up we'll show you how one candidate came to the bay area on an attack. and how her candidate managed to do the same thing on the air

wavers. and a system in the pacific has changed its mind. that's changed the forecast for the weekend. i'll tell you which states could be wet for the weekend, coming up next.

the election race the whole country is watching came to the bay area today. carley fiorina who's challenging barbara boxer was in san jose this afternoon, gardenerring a big endorsement and defending herself from a new tv ad by boxer. robert handa is joining us now with the very latest. >> reporter: fiorina did bring her campaign here to downtown san jose and silican valley, attacking her opponent and touting ads. her opponent just put out ads touting jobs and attacking her

opponent. carley fiorina came to friendly territory today. >> let me say how proud we are to endorse you for the u.s. senate and we wish you all the best and we look forward to new leadership. >> reporter: the round table asked the candidate questions about how she plans to create jobs. she says the key is creating jobs in america. >> we are destroying jobs in this state and in this nation because of the policies that barbara boxer has pursued. >> reporter: that has been the theme of fiorina's ads against boxer. and yesterday boxer put out her first negative jobs against fiorina. >> she doesn't understand that companies all throughout this valley have having to make the

agonizing choice to go some place else. >> reporter: political sign analyst melinda jackson says outsources still hits home in silican valley but says this election will be decided by the independent voter. >> whether they have more trust on a new face, someone that's new to politics and that business background or whether they want to stay with the tried and true and give boxer another chance. >> reporter: the latest polls show the two candidates in a virtual dead heat with one poll showing fiorina with a one percentage point lead. robert handa ktvu news. michael bloomberg today came to the defense of meg whitman over how much of her own money she has now spent on her campaign. she has now spent a record $119 million of her own fortune.

that breaks the record of 109 million spent by bloomburg. bloomberg says that that shows how much whitman cares for california. on the other hand, bloomberg says others spend the state's money. -- to pelosi's office and home. in return for his plea, ruisi will have to stay away from pelosi, her family and staff. sarah shourd stayed out of the public spotlight. shourd spent more than 13

months in captivity along with sean bouer and shawn pettal. in the meantime, the state department says it is still working to free the other two. >> we are focused now that we have sarah released we seek the same decision by iranian authorities with respect to josh and shane. >> iran's president says he will not intervene the in the case of the two men. they face charges for spying. we're talking about scattered showers in the forecast, really friday into saturday into sunday. none of it is really a big deal. but it will be an inconvenience for you that have a summer weekend in mind. it's going to be cloudy, drizzly, some sprinkles at times, sun at times as well. first thing we do is go into the san francisco area. that's where many of you live

out in the richmond district out toward the marina. you see land's end. golden gate park you're in the fog. as this system gets closer it has the potential to destabilize the atmosphere not rain but a heavy drizzle. sunday showers, right now sunday this is different than last night, the model changed. sunday is our best chance for significant consistent sprinkle showers. especially north bay. especially san rafael north. the rest of us are going to be dodging rain drops right around redwood city. you go farther and you won't see any rain at all. i don't think it's a deal breaker for anything you do.

maybe not a bar-b-q. i think not many games are going to get cancelled but you're going to go through the weekend with chance of sprinkles. it's not going to be cold either. tomorrow morning, 58 degrees, cloudy maybe some drizzle tomorrow mid-morning in the early morning hours. 64degrees and despite all the clouds, downtown san francisco tomorrow 66 degrees for a daytime high. it's going to be a warm weekend. highs are going to be in the 70s, but it's going to be cloudy and a chance of sprinkles. they're going to break it all down, give you the days you can expect, show you the forecast and when you need the umbrella, i'll . and the new curiosity rover will include an instrument that can smell small traces of a

foul smelling gas. words from pope benedict. what he describes as his top pry priorities. and how bay area victims of abuse are firing back. the fda makes a ruling on a new diet pill. new at 6:00, the first ever toll lanes are about to open in the bay area. but not without a lot of confusion. we're sifting through the questions to explain exactly how they'll work. only on 2, we'll tell you who's leading the way on one of the most heated mayoral races in the bay area. the new health concerns sparked by the san bruno explosion. tonight on ktvu channel 2 news at 6:00. the black widow spider's severe bite

can cause coma and even death. the african black mamba can kill a man with one bite. but there's an even deadlier predator cigarettes, produced by big tobacco, which take a life every six point five seconds. don't be big tobacco's next victim.

began a four day state visit. the visit is the first visit by a pope to england. and she is meeting with the queen. many in britain are opposed with the catholic stands on abortion. on his way from rome, pope benedict told reporters the church had not acted decisively or quickly enough to remove priests who molested children. he went on to say that this should be a time of penance for the catholic church. >> i think they are hollow statements. we've heard these statements before, they had decades to correct this problem which they

didn't do. >> joey piscitelli is a member of those abused by priests. >> what they did is they quickly hid the crimes, and shuffled the priests. and they knew all about what was going on for decades. so his statements of sorrow, they are disengenuous and the world is getting tired of it. >> piscatelli asked for the priest that abused him be removed. that priest was not removed until he was charged with child

abuse. -- jackson's family said the promoter failed to monitor jackson. an fda safety panel today voted not to endorse a new highly antipated diet drug. health experts say there's still a series of unanswered questions surrounding lorcaceren. the panel said it was troubled by tumors seen in animals studied. the fda is not required to follow the report and is expected to make its own decision by october 22nd. the clock is clicking to a new record when it comes to an overdue budget. lawmakers are behind closed doors with the governor but is

there any hope? >> and a man is shot after he was seen with an object in his hand. but tonight we learn what he was reallyholding.

it's frustrating, maddening and embarrassing. >> that's the one thing most state lawmaker can agree on. meanwhile they are still at odds on a budget plan. >> and we'll get to that in a moment. we go back to the homeowners in san bruno trying to find anything they can that might have survived the fire. tom vacar has the story. >> reporter: this shows you just how incredibly personal this becomes. if you look over here you will see folks in white outfits, these were the folks brought in

here just about half an hour ago. what they've been given are these white suits and they've been given tools so they can pick through this debris to see if they can find anything of any value, any momentos. and another family two houses from here which were not burned but the next one was burned. this is a seek family that we spoke to yesterday. they are also doing the same thing. numerous other people are along this street in their white suits trying to find anything that they can find. and that is what is really sad about this because these are the last vestages of the things this their lives that they can try to recover. when that is done then the process of destructing some of these things and take them apart and at least trying to save what they can will begin

and that stuff will be gone forever. so, taking a look back here at this family, again very sad situation. everything they had that was in that house is gone. and they are simply picking around seeing whatever they can. reporting live from san bruno tom vacar, ktvu channel 2 news. is there a time limit at all as to how long they can stay out there or can they pretty much stay out there for as long as they want. >> reporter: the time limit is probably so long as they want. i don't think anybody is going to try to force them out of there. but darkness is coming. fog is about to take over this place, so it's going to become a little untentable for a while. there might be some wind proceeding it. but that's what happens in these things, i have been to many many of these large fires, forest fire, wild land fires, this is one that just didn't have to happen. and it makes it all that much the more sad. >> it certainly es. tom vacar live at the devastated neighborhood there in san bruno, thank you tom.

and now back to the state budget. it is long overdue and lawmakers are about to set a dubious distinction. on this date two years ago, lawmakers passed what was then the longest overdue budget in california history. as ktvu's ken pritchett reports, california is about to set another record, one that no one will be proud of. >> reporter: it is day 78 without a budget. the record will be set, the empty floors of the legislature says it all. this will be a historic budget year, the record will fall. >> it's frustrating, maddening and embarrassing. >> reporter: democrats have agreed to as many cuts as possible. republicans say the budget must be balanced without new taxes. >> it could have been done in july if the democrats could have spent their demand for too much spending. >> reporter: legislative leaders met with the governor after a six day trade mission

to asian to negotiate closing a $6 million budget gap. >> i think we've lost a little momentum, we'll see if we can pick it up. >> reporter: california faces issuing ious starting next month. the governor has proposed borrowing $2 billion from calpers a state worker retirement plan. it is an idea opposed by by california's largest union of workers. even with the breakthrough of negotiations, given the logistics, the days it takes to drafting legislation and voting, it is all certain that that record will fall as well. in sacramento, ken pritchett, ktvu channel 2 news. the uc board of regions approved a plan to have uc employees to donate to their pensions. some uc employees spent the day

protesting against the plan outside ucsf mission bay campus. workers contribute 2% of their pay to the pension plan. that will rise to 3.5% by july of next year. and 10% by 2012. the protesters claim the regents are making them play more even as they increase benefits for uc executives. >> the fact that most of my coworkers are already working just above poverty level. they've been working hard for the students and patients of this university system. >> the regents say the pension contributions are necessary to save the retirement plan from an unfunding long term liability of $24 billion. unemployment claimants in the u.s. have dropped for the third time in four weeks. the labor department says new claims for unemployment benefits fell by 3,000 this

week. in economists ists have predicted an increase. the pace of economic growth has slowed since the beginning of the year. a police foot chase ended early this morning with concord police shooting and wounding a man. officers say after the suspect ran from officers he stopped and pulled out a realistic looking fake gun. today concord police released this photo showing that fake weapon that they say was found on the subpoena. ktvu's jade hernandez has our report now from congress. >> reporter: john sineburger lives a block away. >> i heard about four or five shots. and then i heard another one about 10 minutes after. >> reporter: steinburger drove away from where officers were still bothered by what woke him up. >> i heard a single shot then i saw a car coming at high speed coming this way. at that point i got concerned for my kid who's window is on the outside. >> reporter: crime lab technicians weren't the only ones that worked through the night after two concord police officers shot a man who pulled

a gun on them. the officers stopped the man around 2:30 this morning because he resembled a man wanted on several warrants. the man has over plans, and did not answer any questions. >> the man ran down and the officers pursued in their vehicles. they made it around half way down the drive when the officers confronted the suspect, he produced a weapon. >> reporter: both officers opened fire. >> it was just the officers outlooking around and saw this individual and decided they wanted to stop and contacted him that's when the foot pursuit started. we have no information on whether any shots were fired by the suspect. >> reporter: neither officer was hurt, paramedics rushed the man to a walnut creek hospital. by daylight, a canine officer canvassed the area. >> very serious i didn't have any idea it was to that extent. >> reporter: jade hernandez, ktvu channel 2 news. some of this countries best s.w.a.t. teams are competing in the best

in the west s.w.a.t. team competition. santa clara is hosting the event. more than two dozen s.w.a.t. teams from nevada and washington are showing off their talents. it's closed to the public due to safety concerns. a san francisco couple is charged with fraud involving their autistic son. we'll show you how they pleaded today. and if it's now illegal, why are more people doing it than ever before? the driver seat distraction that could put you at risk. e ret ma oilwi totr wco l wcote

illegal drug use last year reached its highest level in a decade. this according to a new federal survey. it shows from 2008 to 2009 the rate of marijuana use jumped 8% and remained the most commonly used drug. the use of ecstasy rose 37%. one federal drug control official blamed the greater number of states approving medicinal marijuana and the media down playing the use of marijuana. a couple pleaded not guilty to charges of defrauding the school district and their health insurance company over care for their autistic son.

lawyer jonathan dixtene and barkly lynne are accused of double billing as much as $400,000 for a care program they set up in their home for the boy. the charges against them include grand theft, forgery, insurance fraud and conspiracy. they are also accused of defrauding dixtenes law firm. the case returns to court on october 6th. it's illegal now to california to send or read text messages while driving. but the automobile club of southern california says people are ignoring that law. drivers face a $20 fine for the first offense but that can run up to $340 after you figure in court costs. the stanford medical center

introduced a new stronger radiation machine. in some cases reduces a course of radiation treatment from five weeks down to just one week. the device takes up an entire operating room and is one of only five being used around the world. a daily dose of aspirin can reduce your risk of colon cancer. people who took an aspirin every day for a year reduced their chances. the protective effect everyone worked for adults taking a children's dose. anti inflammatory drug also appeared to reduce the risk of colon cancer. could be a big step forward for small businesses. creating jobs is what we are here to do. why a plan could mean more

money for them and more hope for job hunters and what it could take to become law. and we'll light up rain tracker when we get back. i'll show you when that rain will visit your neighborhood. the first ever toll lanes are about to open in the area. but not without a lot of confusion. only on 2, we will show you who's leading the way in one of the most important mayoral races in the area. the flames may be out, but the problems are far from over. the new health concerns sparked from the san bruno explosion. tonight on ktvu channel 2 news at 6:00.

president obama has been pushing lawmakers to pass the legislation to help small business in need of cash and help give democrats a victory heading into midterm elections. >> reporter: the labor department says the number of

people seeking first time jobless benefits fell unexpectedly last week hitting a two month low. jobless claims fell by 3,000 to 450,000 and is the third decline in four weeks. meanwhile a measure to help small business expand and hire new workers passed the senate. >> creating jobs is what people sent us here to do and now is the time to do it. >> reporter: the small business lending bill creating a $30 billion fund to help business get loans. >> it would increase small business lending, it would help small business owners to get private capital to improve their business. >> reporter: a pair of republican lawmakers changed their positions and help democrats break a gop filibuster. >> it's time our friends on the other side got serious about jobs and the economy. >> reporter: the government lending fund in the small lending measure is another bail out. >> unfortunately the democrats

whole game plan over the past year and a half and through today is to take as many items as possible off the liberal wish list while they still have a chance. >> reporter: president obama has said he will sign the bill immediately but it first has to go through the house for approval of changes. sunny valle based yahoo will get a facelift. it will make e-mail faster as well as interface twitter with e-mail. yahoo is trying to lure their customers back. coming up at 6:00, much closer than expected, the results of a new poll on one of the highest profile local races in the upcoming election. julie haener is in the newsroom with some of the other stories we're working on. >> also at 6:00, continuing coverage on the new developments today involving the san bruno explosion.

including a threat that is forcing some homeowners to wear protective suits and masks. also ahead, more on the unusual sight in the bay of a cargo ship coming into the port. what was caught in it and what caught it. we'll see you then. julie, thank you. nasa says the weather pattern in the pacific has changed from an el nino to a la nina pattern. you see higher than normal temperatures characterize a ha nina pattern. it means less rain for a winter pattern. >> let's take a peak at it real quick. i put together a quick graphic

for you. this will show you how la nina works. after an el nino you usually get a la nina. the one thing i know about it is it gives us a cooler winter pattern. it's ironic because we're saying it's a la nina year and it doesn't mean a heck of a lot. big storms come during a la nina. highs today were warmer, we got lots of upper 70s, low 80s. here's the system i'm tracking. look at that, that's pretty significant weather system for summer. this is if last weekend of summer by the way just in case you're keeping track. tomorrow morning drizzle as this system getting closer to us. clouds increase, cloudy, partly cloudy, one of those days. still mild temperatures in the 60s and 70s. okay so as this system gets closer, the drizzle will begin to fire up. as this system moves through the area we're looking for

things to begin to get wet around here. not a big deal. don't change your plans. sunday looks to be the wheel house for this event which we could see showers throughout the area. now we switch through the actual computer model. here's your friday morning drizzle. morning commute could be impacted by that. now we roll into saturday midday, system lines up. that's basically the front. all right, it's not raining yet. maybe some drizzle, increasing clouds. but as we swing into sunday, still nothing, swings through on sunday. that's how it changed. last night it wasn't doing this. now it's moving a lot of this activity into sunday. sunday looks like the best bet for showers. this is still not a belly washer, this is .1 of an inch then it's out of here. it's getting it dialed in more, right now sunday looks like

your wettest day of the weekend. san jose, 75. partly cloudy mostly cloudy, drizzle in the morning. and mild temperatures, and even though we're seeing the clouds and the rain possibilities this weekend, temperatures this weekend is going to be in the 70s. so and you see that as you look at the temperatures, 70s, mid- 70s. it's the last weekend of summer and it doesn't seem like the last weekend of summer. >> sure doesn't. doctors are taking precautions to keep athletes from concussions. the strength of a pedal, where these motorcyclists are going and why.

you inhale, they inhale. millions of children continue to be exposed to secondhand smoke. secondhand smoke causes asthma, a disease that cannot be cured. protect your loved ones.

new legislation aimed at protecting student athletes from concussions cleared a hurdle today. the measure was passed by a house energy and commerce sub committee. it would require federal health officials to convene a conferenceover experts to set concussion guidelines for student athletes -- conference of experts to set concussion guidelines for student athletes. there's growing evidence if left untreated concussions can have a long term physical and mental consequences.

a special bike ride got under way to raise awareness for cancer through biclists. the 660-mile journey will be broken up into several legs. they'll ride more than 100 miles a way on a challenging course over mountains and through death valley. one of the cyclists is carolyn otto she's a breast cancer survivor. >> most important to me is to show people that there is hope, you can recover. i hope to give people that they can see for people that are just recently diagnosed. i just had my last chemo treatment two years ago yesterday, and look where i am now. >> otto says she's been training for weeks for the ride. on the weekends and on evening. it will take the cyclists 230 miles south. they are scheduled to arrive in las vegas next wednesday that's just ahead of breast cancer

awareness month. ktvu channel 2 news at 6:00 is next. the san bruno explosion site declared hazardous because of toxins. the threat to humans and the environment, next.

voters in oakland are about to choose a new mayor, but the way they choose could be new to voters and could result in surprising results. good evening everyone i'm frank somerville. >> and i'm julie haener. frayed nerves and fears about another gas line explosion prompted the evacuation of not one but two bay area schools. the closures came after an odor of gas in the area. >> reporter: it was a week ago san bruno was