responsible for as many as eight armed robberies. take a look here, these are one of the neighbors along i80. neighbors here say there have be so many armed robberies lately they set up their own surveillance cameras. there was a robbery just a few hours ago, meaning the nightmare for this neighborhood is not yet over. police responded to an arm robbery call. officers gave chase pursuing the suspect over the bay bridge to yerba buena island then back to oakland. officers finally managed to stop the car at about 2:00 this morning and arrested three suspects. >> all three appear to be oakland residents and the female is 20 and males are 21 and 22 years old. >> no names at this point? >> no names at this point. >> reporter: investigators are now looking to see if this morning's suspects are responsible for an overnight crime wave.

we had eight street robberies in that particular area. so that's what investigators are look at first and see if there's any connection between those seven other robberies and these particular suspects. >> reporter: neighbors along the mcarthur corridor are watching this case closely. they've been terrorized by a series of armed robberies over the last few weeks. a surveillance camera caught a pair of suspects who later held a family at gunpoint. neighborhood activists are hoping this morning's arrest will end the string of robberies and they're hoping for more information from the police in the future. >> we can start to pinpoint you know when they are happening, what neighbors they are moving through. what vehicles to look for, what people to look for if at all possible. >> reporter: now i asked oakland police if they are working with other cities to see if these suspects may be connected with similar crimes elsewhere, police say they are sharing information about their suspects mo to see if they match with other cities in the bay. if robberies here in the

diamond district not yet over. our neighborhood activist is the one who called me just a few moments ago and told me there was another armed robbery just a half hour ago. so now the hunt for those robbery suspects is under way. we're live here in oakland, christien kafton. the front entrance of an oakland church became a crime scene as police investigated a fatal shooting there. a 46-year-old man was shot and killed in front of the temple church. the man was shot several times and died at the scene. more dramatic and gut wrenching testimony today in the case of that teenage girl who was gang raped for two hours in richmond. the testimony comes on day two of the case. rita williams is live again with details on what happened, rita. >> reporter: frank, the prosecutor says she will probably call about 20

witnesses during this hearing. by the end of today the fifth person had just started testifying. under heavy guard and in shackles, the seven men charged in the alleged two hour gang rape of a 16-year-old richmond high school student walked to and from the jail and the courthouse today. the seven defendants from 16 to 43 years old listened to two more richmond police officers describe what happened after they say they found the girl naked from the waste down, slung over the leg of a picnic table after a homecoming dance a year ago. officer lewis testified that when arrested near the scene, manuel ortega, 19 at the time

was combative and drunk. later the officer said when he transported ortega, ortega said, i didn't rape her she was a grown [ bleep ] woman. i wasn't the only one, there was a hell of people. the only defendant charged with aiding and abetting and not rape turned 23 today. torreno is her mother. >> reporter: we know what kind of person my son is, we trust in god and the court that he will be cleared of this. >> reporter: still in the stand tomorrow is crime scene investigator joanna grozeti. she became emotional identifying and describing the very graphic pictures she took of the 16-year-old girl. reporting live in martinez, rita williams ktvu channel two news. after three years the two

men accused of killing shauncy bailey will soon face a judge. at the time, bailey was working on a story about the bakery's financial problems. the judge is currently considering two motions involving evidence related to the trial. jury selection isn't expected to take place until january. we're learning more about a triple shooting in vacaville that happened early this morning that left two men and a woman with a gunshot wound to her face. police say 18-year-old richard ruben caukins went to a apartment and shot two men in the head and a woman in the face. she is being treated at uc davis hospital. her injuries are not considered life threatening. the case then took a strange turn right after the shooting. >> well after that, we had a report of a male that was walking toward the police

department and actually into our lobby, holding a gun. >> police say caukins gun wasn't working and used it to break a window. a vintage car is to blame for a fire at a san carlos storage. the fire began in a 1951 lincoln continental that young has converted to run on batteries. officials were able to save 71% of the items. young thanked firefighters for trying to protect as much of his memorabilia as possible. a high school principal is under fire for keeping an ambulance from getting to a football player who suffered a concussion on the field during a game. ktvu's robert handa live in san jose now with this story. >> reporter: gasia, there are going to be some important changes here at dell mar high school and in the district

after this incident. the bottom line from one school member, when an athlete gets hurt it's going to be common sense over policy. campbell union hospital district are proud of the new all weather track and field. but now the principal and superintendent are dealing with a family's anger for what happened on that field during a football game on october 29th. kiano gallardo says he hurt his neck being tackled and had to be helped to the sidelines where the trainer called 911. >> my neck and my head, i have a headache that's been going on for three weeks. >> reporter: but what upsets keanu's family is that an ambulance was not allowed on the new track. that delayed her son's transfer to the hospital by 20 minutes. >> when he was hurt, the principal wouldn't let the ambulance on to the field. we were just looking at the ambulance right there and he -- you know my son is laying impossible on the field and the ambulance is right there --

immobile on the field. she said i can't let the equipment on the field, it's too heavy. it's going to ruin the track. i just could not believe what she was saying. >> reporter: school board member matthew dean says the situation called for clear intelligent decision which did not happen. >> it's just common sense, the ambulance should have been let down: i hold a couple of different parties culpable. number one the principal, second the emergency responders, the police, the fire department and the ambulance people they should know. >> reporter: for keanu still under observation for possible brain damage, the new policy should be obvious. >> allow the ambulance on, i might be lucky, but the next kid high not -- the next kid might not be. >> reporter: there is no provision exempting emergency vehicles. the boy's family told us they have still not gotten a formal

apology or explanation. issue that is the board member dean says will be addressed. robert handa, ktvu channel 2 news. protesters at uc berkeley were met by police at uc regents continue to discuss tuition hikes. protesters voiced their frustration over rising tuition outside. mark hudoff has proposed a 8% increase on top of a 2% increase that took effect earlier this year. >> there's been a lot of anger mounting toward the uc regents for how their managing and sacraficing the future of students. more americans are expected to hit the road this

thanksgiving to celebrate with friends and family. over 42 million people will be traveling. that's up 11% over last year. 4% will be going by air, the rest will be traveling by rail, bus or boat. the increase follows a two year slow down during the recession. you could be seeing holiday cheer from your bosses this year. company perks are slowly returning to the u.s. workplace. the forum for people performance management says 12% of companies are planning to give out thanksgiving turkeys this month. 5% say they will increase year end bonuses. six to 10% say they plan to give out moral boosters. some companies continue to cut perks. 16% did so in the fourth quarter of the year. wall street saw it's worse losses of the year following the midterm elections. concerns about the world economy including bad news from ireland, concerns about china's

efforts to slow its growth and a stronger dollar all contributed to significant losses. at one point the dow was down by significant points. it did end up closing at 11,023. also, take a look at this, how this scene affected a woman who was parked near by eating her lunch in her car. and it was warm today but certainly cooler than yesterday. there are changes coming your way. first of all you're going to notice some very cold overnight lows. we're going to show you which cities will be the coldest.

a woman is being treated for minor injuries after an

unusual accident this morning. a flat bed truck driver carrying 200 bails of hay had just exited the freeway. you see the result there, the bails ended up smashing into three parked cars. >> it just started to tip. i think the load shifted and it just, it just started to tip over. what started it? >> reporter: a woman eating lunch in one of the parked cars complained of back pain and was taken to a near by hospital. the flat bed driver did not suffer any injuries. who is going to be the next mayor of san francisco? there are a lot of different names being discussed. now the question is, when will supervisors actually start voting on the nominees? ktvu's david stevenson is live in san francisco with more on this. >> reporter: the supervisors

are still meeting behind me at city hall. they realized this afternoon that they didn't have the votes to do so. the process of finding an interim san francisco mayor has divided the city board of supervisors by those who say that the search needs to begin immediately and the public eye. >> so far it has been all behind doors, or member to member conversations or a lobbyist of interest. >> reporter: others say the process is being rushed. >> i think it's premature to do it when the mayor hasn't resigned. >> what the board is doing today is an exercise that i'm confused by. there has to be a vacancy, i'm the mayor until january. >> reporter: newsom will be sworn in january 1st. newsom has hinted he could give the board an opportunity to

announce the new interim mayor by holding off the swearing in by january 3rd. >> that's not helping the situation. >> reporter: supervisor avalos insists the current board should pick newsom's replacement. >> people elected him to be lieutenant governor, he should assume that role and let the board take its responsibility and make an appointment. >> reporter: despite different views, john avalos told us he believes the board could begin discussing the interim mayor next week. david stevenson, ktvu. nancy pelosi is facing a vote tomorrow to determine if she will retain the democrat leadership role tomorrow.

some democrats say they won't support her because they blame her for the loss of at least 60 seats. pelosi will step down as house speaker in january when republican lawmakers will become the majority. the ev charging station located at the embarcadero at battery street is the first to be installed. the mayor says that the city continues to be on the cutting edge of technology. >> what we're doing is showing cities that they can do these to grow their economy, create jobs while reducing emissions. >> reporter: it costs 3-cents a mile to operate most electric vehicles compare that to 13- cents for a gas powered vehicle. uc berkeley psychologists

say that dire warnings about global warming -- compared to just 31% who responded that way in 1997. the uc berkeley researchers found that people were more likely to believe scientific warnings if the message also included hopeful solutions to the problem. another spectacular day here in the bay area. over now to our chief meteorologist bill martin. tracking some changes on the way. >> we talked about it a bit last night. big changes and this is the time of year when you get the big swings. we had record heat yesterday. by the end of the week, we're going to have some very cool weather with snow in some of the west slope areas of the sierra nevada above 1,000 feet. the reason why, there's a low pressure. that's the gulf of alaska. most streams come from this direction, right in this area. so they are a little warmer. this weather system looks like something you might see in january. it's coming right down from the gulf of alaska. it is not going to be a gully

washer, it's going to be wet and cool. snow levels on the mountains, perhaps down to 5,500 feet. mostly clear and mild tonight. actually cool in most locations. sunny and not as warm tomorrow. it was nice today. mid-70s. cooler still, extended forecast, the cool showers get in here friday late. so i think friday evening's commute there'll be sprinkles, the showers begin. i mentioned earlier, i will show you which spots are going to be cooler tonight. these temperatures are about 5 degrees cooler than they were last night in a lot of city locations. tonight we're down, you will notice a little cooler weather pattern tomorrow morning when you wake up. temperatures trending downright into the bay area weekend. so yesterday will be our hottest day of the week. tomorrow or today was cooler, tomorrow not as warm as it was

today. mid-60s in livermore. 73degrees for a daytime high. there's a lot going on. it's been nice but bang, everything is going to switch around here as we go into the next 72 hours. i'll be more specific with the latest computer model, i will show you when the rain will be here. president obama awarded an army sergeant with the nation's highest military honor today at the white house. staff sergeant salvatore gianto was awarded the highest medal. >> i lost two dear friends of mine, mendoza and brennan. although this is so positive, i would give this back in a second to have my friends with me right now. >> staff sergeant gianto is the first living u.s. soldier to be

awarded the medal of honor in the iraq or afghanistan war. seven other soldiers were awarded the medal posthumously. several members of the bush administration were at the ceremony, all together more than 3,000 people attended the event. including about 100 protesters who demonstrated outside. one of the biggest counties in our state has joined forces with some bay area cities when it comes to the plastic bags. plus the federal government is playing it safe when it comes to energy drinks that contain alcohol. what the state's beer dis distributors to help find the person who's putting beer cans

around the necks of sea gulls. new at 6:00, a danger they never saw coming. underground explosions injurying bay area pedestrians. we will reveal what pg & e now has to change to avoid more explosions. how a transformation happening here soon could help make a community safer.

the fda is looking into the

safety of alcoholic energy drinks. >> there are 23.5-ounce cans that have an alcohol content of 12%. each can of that drink is equal to the alcohol content of about between five or six beers. >> new york senator has call on the obama administration to ban the drinks. and today he said the food and drug administration is expected to find that caffeine is an unsafe food additive to an alcoholic drink. if the fda finds it's not safe, it will start sending letters to manufacturers that they maybe fined for producing the drinks. california beer and beverage distributor offered a reward. they are challenging other beer companies to match their

contributions. one of at least three gulls were rescued yesterday. they hope to rescue more of the gulls when they get a special net launcher. under the ordnance, passed yesterday stores will not be able to give out plastic bags unless they are used to wrap raw fruit, vegetables or meat packages. stores must charge 10-cents for every paper grocery bag they give out. the ordnance affects one million people living in unincorporated los angeles county. the day you've waited for is here. crab season is open. that story still ahead. >> i don't care about your tradition. i'm trying to make something happen here. and what's happening is shaking up washington as we know it. the movement congress is on the verge of making and how it can save billions of the dollars. ♪

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from the cold waters of the bay, a sweet treat that only gets better when dipped in water. crab is coming out of the water right now at fisherman's wharf. >> reporter: just about five minutes ago, the new ray anne a sports fishing boat tied up here at pier 45, it has several thousand pounds of crab aboard and this is the beginning of a taste treat for consumers. >> it's the best crab in the world. fresh, delicate, full of meat,

easy to eat. wonderful just boiled. >> it has a sweet delicious taste to it. i just love it. >> it's very good, especially when you dip it in butter. >> reporter: the season was supposed to start yesterday. delayed when fish and game wanted tests done to see if the crabs had matured and filled out. >> they say it's really good but we haven't seen the quality of crab yet. so thanksgiving is the big push, everybody wants nice dungenous crab for thanksgiving. >> reporter: crabbers came from as far as oregon where the season starts in two weeks. >> this is the biggest pick, this is where the most money can be had. >> reporter: it continued late today. some boats making several trips putting out as many as 1,200 crab traps. >> last year the crabs were almost to the point where they were illegal. they couldn't bring them in. >> tests now show the crab have 27% meet that should fetch

fishermen $1.75 a pound. cost consumers maybe $4 a pound. >> i'm telling you, they're really good. you need to come out and check it out. >> reporter: that's great sentiment. right now the crab are being off loaded here. we'll have a great video for you in just a few minutes coming up on the ktvu channel 2 news at 6:00. the crab season starts now and running through june. but most almost 80% of crabs are caught in the next six weeks. reporting live in san francisco health and science editor, john fowler, ktvu channel 2 news. san francisco prosecutors today charged a man with attempted murder in the stabbing of a cable car operator. the attack happened on sunday inside a cable car while the cable car was stopped during track maintenance. the suspect george long was scheduled to be arranged today but the hearing was postponed because he's being held under psychiatric observation. a judge ordered long's bail set at $1 million. police say the cable car driver

suffered serious stab wounds but he is expected to survive. san francisco police have arrested five people now in connection with a string of robberies involving pepper spray. 27-year-old jones of hayward an 18-year-old carpenter were arrested on saturday along with three juveniles from san francisco. the group targeted people who were distracted then pepper sprayed them. there's been three pep pepper spray robberies. and rangel was charged with 11 counts. rangel is denouncing the verdict as unfair. in a statement he said that any failings of his conduct were nothe result of criminal actions but quote good faith mistakes. the 80-year-old rangel is not expected to resign, he faces

possible sanctions including a fine and denial of privileges. the government will stop adding thousands of so called pet projects worth billions of the dollars. as scott mcfarland reports, local communities may lose out on important funding. >> the san francisco police department, homeless programs in san jose, an jose state university all were set to get hundreds of thousands of earmark dollars next year but now those earmarks and pet projects nationwide could be eliminated. this decision has the tea party's fingerprints all over it. they protested against government spending. and they helped elect these people, many that told me they campaigned against earmarks. >> we were sincere about shaking things up. i don't care about your tradition, i am trying to make something happen here. >> reporter: earmarks spread nationwide on highway projects, university expansion, public

school works program. the most senior members of congress get the inside track of funneling that money back home. it's a financial lifeline for some communities, but critics say. >> for every one project that's coming to your state and community, there's thousands of other projects that you are also being forced to pay for across the country. i'm balanced very few local communities really come out ahead. >> reporter: it's congress's job to earmark money. to decide which roads, which railways, which hospitals need federal funding. the senate's top democrat didn't endorse this earmark today, saying instead. >> the american people elected us to get along. the american people elected us to do something about this economy. >> reporter: house republicans have already banned the earmarks and that's not trivial. republicans will control the house come january. >> looking through all these earmarks we also spotted one for $4 million for work along

oakland harbor. these projects and earmark nationwide now in limbo at least until january. scott mcfarlands, ktvu. buster posey he's already a fan favorite in san francisco. but now after being called the rookie of the year, he may be more popular. any item with posey's name was flying out of stores. > a new partnership, why fizer is choosing ucsf for a new deal. and boxer says there's no shame of taking other state's left overs if it gets crucial california projects done. >> we need to change our very dangerous behavior. and a call for change along with a heartbreaking new video focusing on the n toll of distracted driving. the number of lives lost across the country in the last year is

staggering.

senators diane feinstein and barbara boxer is pushing to get federal funds. they say if other states cannot use federal funds give the

money to california. in a letter today to transportation secretary ray lahood, feinstein and boxer said california is committed to building a rail system from san francisco to l.a. and could use the extra cash. a lawsuit was filed in san francisco superior court to block the planned sale of state owned appellate buildings. in an effort to close california's huge shortfall. the state alleges that the plan is illegal because it has not received approval. the suit was filed by two former state building appointees who say they were dismissed after voicing concerns over the plan. the department of transportation today launched a new campaign against distracted driving. it's a web video features the tragic stories of people who have lost family members in distracted driving accidents. nearly 5,500 people died in

distracted driving accidents last year alone. transportation head says that the deaths came from a few minutes of texting or distraction. >> that touches your heart. that gets you thinking, we have to do something about this. we have to take action, we need to change our very dangerous behavior. >> the government is asking people with distracted stories to e-mail their stories faces of distraction.gov. we have a link to that website on our website ktvu.com just click on web links. the feizer company is partners with ucsf scientists. ucsf is the first of a number of universities that will take part in this program.

the fda has approved a new drug for breast cancer. the same drug is being tested for effectiveness against prostate cancer and some form of lung cancer. prince william shows all of england his beautiful bride and the ring. what we're learni about that beautiful sparkler and the wedding, up next. and i'm tracking systems around the state. we'll show you which cities will be the wettest. new at 6:00, a danger they never underground explosions injuring bay area pedestrians. rereveal what p g & e has to

change. we're hearing a family's tearful plea for help. >> i'm begging, if you're out there, just give the family closure. and hope is sprouting up in a bay area city. how a transformation happening here soon could help make the community safer. tonight at 6:00.

the long awaited royal engagement has been set. prince william and fiancee are ready to be wed. >> at st. james' palace, prince william introduced kate middleton as his fiancee. on her finger, was the same ring worn by princess diana. the couple met in 2002, both were students at the university

of st. andrews in scottland. news of their engagement broke early tuesday morning in a statement made by the princes' father. >> it's true, thank you very much. >> reporter: according to the royal statement, the prince and middleton were engaged in october during a private trip to kenya and the wedding will take place next spring or summer in london. british prime minister says the upcoming royal wedding is good news for england. >> the government stand ready to make sure the great day of national celebration will be a great success. it was wonderful to pass on my best wishes to him and to everybody else. >> reporter: perhaps most important, the queen approves. word from buckingham palace is that queen elizabeth and husband prince phillip are

quote absolutely delighted for them both. in washington, i'm samantha hayes. it remains california's only uncalled statewide election race. the now both candidates for attorney general are accusing each other. harris retained a lead over cooley. thousands of ballots still need to be counted. counties are required to have a final vote count by december 3rd. the greatest scrutiny is being placed on los angeles county which has 93,000 uncounted ballots. the substance abuse and mental health services administration says drug use among young african american teenage girls rose from 7% to

10% between 2008 and 2009. among hispanic teenage boys use rose from 10% to 13%. >> when teens get the right message about staying away from drugs, they really do listen. >> reporter: the obama administration says parents, teachers, coaches, religious leaders and community leaders must all take action to protect those at risk groups from lifelong problems of drug use. the group that has been given thousands of the dollars to create a community farm. they will need every dime when you hear where this farm will be located. >> reporter: coming up at 6:00, he was killed in a hit and run incident earlier this month. the tearful plea from his family, and the one important clue that could turn out to be key for catching whoever is responsible. how many manhole covers do you think there are in all of san francisco? tonight pg & e is in the

process of replacing each and every one. why it's happening, how much it's costing and what's being done with the old covers. we'll see you at 6:00. california condors are facing a new hurdle to their survival. as the birds are showing -- condors are eating fish and sea lions migrating from the coast where ddt was pumped into the ocean. back now to our weather, we've been talking this week about big changes this week. what are we looking at tonight bill? >> things are changing. the biggest thing you'll notice tonight it's just going to be

cooler. overnight lows will be in the upper 30s, lower 40s. today was a little bit cooler, tomorrow will be a little bit cooler too. cooler in most cities by about 5 degrees, 8 degrees. livermore right now in the valley, it's 68 degrees which is relatively warm. let's take a peak at what we're tracking. of course today -- actually the last three our four days we had low pressure. this low pressure dropped. it will start on friday, but saturday, sunday your main event. your weekend is going to be wet. tomorrow will be dry to warm, mostly sunny. you will notice a cool start, 40s, maybe some upper 30s in the north bay and mild daytime highs. you start cool and end up with a few low 70s. we're not just getting into this jarred event this weekend. it's going to feel like

december and january. this system originates from the gulf of alaska. as it moves in it brings in a lot of cold air. cold air doesn't hold a lot of water. over the course of two or three days, an inch at the most. snow levels will be down to below 6,000 feet. mainly on friday night into saturday and then a little bit more into sunday. here's what the latest computer model shows. friday morning, you will see not bad. friday afternoon the commute sprinkles, showers, not a lot of rain. so we're going to start to sort of cement this in. looks like friday afternoon is going to be a wet one. friday overnight then we get into saturday morning early. it's raining, it's snowing in the mountains, down below 6,000 feet. probably a winter storm warning. winds start to kick up on saturday. saturday night is the bulk of

it. the storm if you will. sunday we get into scattered light showers. it's all going to change, timing is going to change a little bit but the basics are here. friday afternoon into saturday, and sunday starting to break out and become scattered showers. that is kind of how it looked like night too. 74 in morgan hill, 73 in gillroy. the five day forecast is slowly cooling. lots going on this weekend. >> the sunsets have just been spectacular. coming back at 6:00, what are you going to be focusing on. >> we're going to show you the computer model and looking specifically at saturday because that's going to be the wettest day. some dire predictions about the future of lake tahoe. that's according to a new

report from uc davis. it says rising global temperatures will cause a drought. by the 22nd centurythee snow pack could drop. we have new disturbing information tonight about the number of families who are going hungry here in california. [ female announcer keurig has over 200 varieties

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yahoo announced it's partnering with group on to offer local deals to consumers. group on offers deals to merchants from across the united states. this is a series of partnerships yahoo has built to make its website more compelling. the economic downturn has left an increasing amount of california families struggling to put food on the table. in california more than 1.8 million households has trouble affording food over the last three years. that is the highest state average since the agency began collecting data in 1996. today a local food advocates in washington, d.c. said that fewer californians will go

hungry once the state relaxes it's restrictions on the food stamp program. like requiring fingerprints. >> these are barriers that get people on and keep them on the program when they are eligible. because we have one of the worse participation rates in the country. >> figures show that in california last year more than 9% of households received federal or state food assistance. the u.s. department of agriculture says the number, the average number of california households struggling with hunger exceeded the national average. there is much more news just ahead. ktvu channel 2 news at 6:00 is under way. we will show you how a program is going to offer new jobs and food to an under served community in the east bay. and we're going to bring you new information about a

grandfather that was hit and died here.

i'm asking and i'm begging if you're out there just give the family closure. a tearful plea tonight to catch a hit and run driver after a 83-year-old man was run over and killed. tonight the crucial piece of evidence that might lead police to the driver. it is out with the old in san francisco tonight. the new effort to replace manhole covers, why it's been done and at what cost. good evening i'm julie haener. >> and i'm frank somerville. police say they have exhausted their leads so tonight they are asking the public for help. authorities are searching for a driver who hit and killed an 83- year-old man who was out on his morning walk. today the family had an emotional message for the person responsible. maureen naylor is live in freemont with