proceed to trial. a hearing wrapped up less than a half hour ago, a judge decided that there is enough evidence to proceed with rape charges against three of the seven who were originally accused. the judge also ruled that those three defendants will also face gang rape charges, meaning the alleged rapes occurred with the others. the other suspects in the case will face a variety of lesser sex charges, one robbery charge and one assault charge. a judge also ruled that there is enough evidence against 20- year-old elvis terente to go to trial, but that he left before the alleged gang rape began so he is now eligible for bail at this time. five of the defendants in this case, still face the possibility of life in prison. those suspects will be charged in this case and they are due to be arranged here to face formal charges, that is set to occur on january 10th. five of those suspects due to return here to martinez to face formal charges in this case and the new details in this case

just keep rolling in. i just finished talking to the assistant district attorney who is prosecuting this case and she let me know that she is not going to be continuing as the prosecutor on this case. she has been demoted from her position. she will actually be retired from the district attorney's position and she will not be proceeding as the prosecutor in this case. this case has already gone on for quite some time now. there were seven defendants in this case. you can only imagine how complicated this case will be. again a new wrinkle in this case that a new assistant district attorney will have to pick up this case to continue. reporting live, christien kafton, ktvu. a south bay woman says two pit bulls attacked her just outside her home. tonight authorities are trying to find the dogs before someone else gets hurt. robert handa talked to both the victim and the man who helped save her. he's live tonight in san jose with our report, robert.

>> reporter: by the house where the attack took place, the victim was rescued by a neighbor who used makeshift weapons like these and now she's inside her home trying to recover physically and emotionally. >> animal control crews have been searching since last night for those two roaming pit bulls. the victim said she had just returned home from taking her children to the dentist. she described how the two dogs with clipped ears crossed her path. >> the kids, the dogs are coming to me. i said go inside the house. >> reporter: the neighbors saw what was happening but before anything could move. >> the dog bit me here. i ranked to run up to the house and he bite my hand. >> reporter: neighbor valencia rushed over. dog was shaking her ll on the

arnold. i was yelling so loud, maybe that shocked him. maybe that stopped hip, threw him off. when i finally got a clear shot, i hit him. the dog that had her released. i picked up the rock and i hit him again on top of the head. >> reporter: the dogs ran off. one neighbor told us just before the attack the dogs had come after her family. >> it seemed like those two dogs were truly angry. yeah, like really angry. they jumped in on the garage door. they were like that, they were like really angry walking around here. and i could hear like [growling noise ] >> my kids cannot come out the house right now. we're going to be watching all day long. i hope the neighbors get together and go house by house to see who those dogs belong to. >> reporter: animal control believe the dogs live in the area and have already been

conducting backyard searching. robert handa, ktvu news. and we've got a pretty powerful storm headed our way. it's been a nice day so far. the clouds are thickening up. showers are showing up north of the area. we have showers developing in the forecast as we go through time. what that means, we're looking for rain showers basically to develop in your region. probably over the next six to eight hours, so here's the satellite loop. you see the main rain up to the north of us. that rain is going to continue to spread south. just offshore, i'll go off a little bit here. that big coma cloud is going to move into our area. that's going to increase the winds, and we're going to see that winter storm warning most likely go into effect in the mountains. so hold on, more coming. we go to the mountains right now, we're live up in truckee. there's snow up in the side of the road. there's no winter storm warning, there's a snow watch up there. a winter storm watch will likely go into effect in the

next few hours. it's an overnight event. could impact the morning commute. when we come back i have the computer models, i have the tracks, we have it all ready to go, we'll be back in a few minutes. and crews hit the streets this morning to survey the aftermath of the latest storm and prioritize what needs to be done now. the biggest work is clearing up gutters. with only a small crew, they rely on the public to help out. >> as soon as we find out about flooding conditions, the quicker we can get out there. >> crews have also restocked the city's fire stations with sandbags. heavy rains are pouting southern california bringing flash floods and mud slides. tonight the fire department has

ordered the evacuation of 200 homes. they are in the foothills of la crosenta. that's the area where vegetation was burned off by a fire. swift water rescue crews have also been deployed to pull people from swollen creeks and flood control channels. about 20,000 people have been without power sparatically. there are a lot of travelers this week and they've been dealing with lots of delays. at san francisco international airport, many arrivals were behind schedule by more than an hour. on a day that's exacted to see 124,000 travelers at sfo. that's 15 to 25,000 more than

on a typical winter day at the airport. ktvu's ken pritchett is at sfo tonight, he'll have a complete report coming up live from sfo at 6:00. construction crews are working to repair a levee. construction crews began work a few minutes ago at low tide and have just three hours to repair the leak before the tide returns. no homes or farmland are threatened by the leak. for the very latest weather in your neighborhood any time be sure to log on to our website ktvu.com. just click on the weather tab. new information tonight about what happened in the moments just before oakland police shot and killed a teenagers following a high speed chase. authorities are also painting a troubling picture tonight about the suspects background. patti lee is back in oakland with our report, patti. >> reporter: oakland police say

the men who drove into this fence then fled on foot were known members of a gang. one of which aimed this pistol at a police officer willing to fire. oakland's assistant chief jordan explains how efforts to arrest gang members led to the a officer shooting. >> the occupants were armed with an assault weapon. >> reporter: opd painted a dark portrait. saying the four suspects that crashed this car were known members of a violent west oakland gang. >> they've been involved in well over a dozen homicides. multiple shootings on a weekly basis. >> reporter: with that background established, police justified how two officers chaising 19-year-old suspect edwards on foot ended up

killing him. >> during this pursuit, mr. edwards stopped, coming face to face with an officer. he drew that pistol you see on the paper and the officer fired at him. >> reporter: they say they found a loaded assault rifle in the car. >> we're trying to protect the community, we did everything we could to stop these individuals from going out and killing innocent people yesterday. >> reporter: police say two of the four suspects managed to escape. although they do have one of the men under arrest. coming up at 6:00, we'll learn more of the gang war that led to the shooting. patti lee, ktvu channel 2 news. the latest shooting is the sixth officer involved shooting in oakland this year. four of those shootings were fatal. last week the fbi agreed to an

investigation. the department said an outside probe -- a procedure move, the senate , 11 republicans joined the democrats. but still face partisan divide. >> this administration has been uneven and uncertain when it comes to missile defense. >> it would reduce the amount of weapons pointed at the american people, and would in fact, not just in my judgment

by from both parties make us safer. >> senate leaders say they expect a vote on the treaty itself tomorrow. two bay area lawmakers today demanded action from the government after a report found a cancer causing patient in tap water. dianne feinstein and barbara boxer wrote a letter to the epa asking for better public protection from what's called chromium six. senator boxer says she plans to write new regulation on chromium six. and the city of oakland is poised to make a big move to keep the a's in the city of oakland. what city leaders will be doing just hours from now. it holds one of the largest collection of asian art, but

there's new findings about the collection of san francisco asian art museum. and there's a big hit and it's coming tonight. i'll let you know when it gets here.

the oakland city council is scheduled to vote tonight whether it will pay for an environment impact study for a new stadium for the oakland a's. the council's community and economic development committee voted 3-1 to go ahead with that study. the financial crisis at the world renowned asian museum may be on its way to bankruptcy. >> reporter: museum officials just sent me this update within

the last few hours, and it contains details on how they're working tonight and over the next few weeks to resolve this museum's serious financial problems. >> we had no idea there was this kind of collection in san francisco. >> reporter: the treasures inside this hall were worth millions of the dollars, but tonight san francisco's asian museum is also filled with junk bonds. triggering concerns about the museum's financial future. >> i'm worried about saving it, then we will get to the second concern of how we will restructure it. >> reporter: the museum faces accelerated payments on its debt. which it may now have to pay back in five years instead of over the next 24 years. museum officials and city attorneys dennis herr era says

the museum was hobbled by its insurer. >> there's a combination of things that we're looking at, both in terms of looking at how the debt is structured and what cash flow is available at the asian art museum to meet its obligations. >> reporter: sam singer says the insurers bond had little to do with the museum woes. >> this museum is very popular but it dun doesn't mean that it's gaining a lot of money nor does it have a financial strong footing that the academy of sciences have. >> reporter: the museum's chief financial officer told us that the museum is stepping up fund raising and is in works with a deal to save the museum.

the update we've just received from a museum spokesman indicate it is museum has agreed to a 30 day forbearance allowing them all to work to restructures this museum's debt. david stevenson, ktvu news. walker lynne has won the first legal round. this week, a federal judge gave them until mid-jan to file more documents to add two plaintiffs to the case. lindh is currently 32 years old, right now is in the process of serving a 20 year prison term. two suspects arrested, both arrested around the ring of

fire circling the pacific basin. the first one was off the coast of the indonesia. later, came a 7.4 magnitude tumbler off the coast of souther japan. a tsunami warning was issued. on to the weather now, we got a little break but more rain is on the way. >> pretty good here tonight. i mentioned this last night. the southern jet, the moist portion of it right into southern california. you heard us talking about that earlier. we still have stormy weather coming our way. but it's not as bad as it could have been had that moisture tap stayed put. we have a few showers trying to stay offshore. that's what's really going on up there. in the mountains we have no winter storm warning yet. but you give it a little time. i think they're going to have to issue one here pretty soon. let's back it up. i want you to see this system

teed up on shore. you see the watches and warnings, gail warnings, small craft advisories, in southern california, look at all that. that's flood warnings, flood advisories, flood watches. like i said earlier they are not set up for this. here's the comma right here. early tomorrow morning, you look outside it's shaping up to be. you can see it getting closer. now we're in san rafael, marin county and you've been watching the sky for very long here you know that's an unsettled sky condition. it's going to get here about the 10:00 news. i have some green to show you on the storm tracker. accumulations half inch to an inch of rain. so another good hit but it's not as wiig big as it could

have been. i think we'd have more rain and flooding concerns as well. in the mountains, the snow is there. let's watch for that winter storm warning. see you back here. a state agency is criticizing the plan to pay for the doyle drive project of the golden gate bridge. the $488 billion second phase is being funded through construction firms. caltrans and the san francisco transportation authority will pay that group $170 million up front then the rest of the money over 30 years. according to the legislative analysts office, the project will benefit from the more traditional funding plan. in a new report, the office said the agreement puts too much financial risk on the state, puts scheduling projections in doubt. and breaks up the continuity knewty of the project since the first phase was funded in a

traditional matter -- continuity of the project. police say a gmc truck sideswiped a honda sedan and both cars then slammed into a tree. firefighters had to use the jaws of life to get the driver out of the handa and police say it appears that the driver had two broken legs. the driver and passenger in the truck were also taken to the hospital, all are expected to survive. the polar bears at the san francisco zoo got a special treat today just in time for the official start of winter. lots of snow, the san francisco ice company donated 10-tons of manufactured snow for the bears as they do most every year at this time. the bears also got some edible treats with a holiday theme of course. the plan to save moffet's field hanger one is in jeopardy tonight, we'll tell you why. the census results are in, what they mean for california and whether california will get any new seats in congress.

a family's missing dog found beaten and shot. >> i don't know what type of person could do that. >> we're talking with the owner about how his dog survived against all odds. a 90-year-old woman and a 5- year-old boy, we reveal the surprising holiday heros making a difference to families in need. and racing against the clock. why holiday travelers may have a small window of opportunity to avoid flight delays, tonight on ktvu channel 2 news at 6:00.

palo alto congresswoman anna shu -- the official 2010 census numbers are out today in a new population count trance translates in a shift of political power. >> not enough to lose the election but certainly make it a little more difficult. based on the new census figures 18 states will gain or lose seats in congress, as a result republicans will have an edge in the next congressional elections. california's population rose 10% in the last decade to more than 37 million people but not enough to add any u.s. house seats. california officials say the state's own numbers show a higher population than the federal census and that discrepancy can be painful with fewer federal dollars for local services. >> all the individuals that need help, mental health services, social services, physical health services they

are also going to be hurting because there's less money. >> reporter: more specific state data are due out next year and projections are that california's latino population will show a big increase. the new census numbers mean more electoral votes in the next presidential race. toyota will pay a fine to settle two investigations on to how it handled the recall. the japanese auto maker has agreed to a $32 million fine. toyota did not report safety recalls within the five days allowed. federal agencies a big illegal shipment in los angeles this week. $465,000 worth of plastic bags

from china. constructed of more than 50% polyentholine are violating dumping laws. brace for an emergency, find out what san francisco will do to get its power now that its only power plant has been shut down. and it's the home stretch for shoppers, some stores will stay open until the end. that story coming up.

we spent many days with supervisors discussing these things, i believe it can happen. today it happened. as san francisco officials announced the closure of the oldest fossil fuel plant. come the new year, one of the state's most polluting power plants will seize operation. sal castaneda is live now on today's very big announcement. >> reporter: you can see the smokestack from the power plants from many neighbors in san francisco including paternal hill. many people in that neighborhood say the smoke from this plant has been affecting their health. many at today's ceremony say they have waited for this for years. eddy catrell and his wife

brenda who live near by say it was about time. >> it's great to not see that smokestack, all that pollution in the air. >> reporter: already city leaders are speaking of future plans for the site. >> we're going to shut this down. revitalize it, redevelop it. >> reporter: the closure is a victory for several neighborhood groups who felt the pollution from the fossil fuel burning facility was responsibility for an increase in respiratory problems. >> not only are we closing down moran but we are building turbine engines in the bay view. >> reporter: but closing the 35- year-old planet was delayed several types, because regular toys wanted to make sure the city had enough -- because regulators wanted to make sure the city had enough power in case of an outage. >> we're going to tear down a dirty power plant here, and

we're going to help show other california cities how to do it elsewhere. >> i started working on these plants when i took office, now the plants are leaving with me. >> reporter: to brenda catrell says all those meetings, trips to city hall paid off. >> i spent many days with the supervisors discussing these things. yeah, i believe it could happen. >> reporter: it's unclear the people who worked here, 30 to 40 workers will be laid out of or reassigned. we also don't know when that smokestack will be coming down. sal castaneda. a cement plant is stirring up controversy in cupertino. residents are concerned that

the cement is releasing mercury. the plant's operators say their mercury discharge is closely monitored and is well below the level that is considered unsafe. well, with so many of us up to our necks in things to do before christmas day, one major retailer is going the extra mile for customers. it is enbarking on the shopping efforts like never before. tom vacar is here to explain it to us. >> the place is toys r' us. example, if you were to buy this designer doll set, this would cost you $35, at midnight it would cost you $13. >> we don't have any more of those and we're not getting any more. >> reporter: sensitive to it's customer's needs and it's bottom line, toys r' us will stay open round the clock until

christmas eve. late night advantages, shop when you want and fewer shoppers. >> for some people it's a good idea. >> i don't think that many come that late. not during the day. so we can bring our kids. >> reporter: for some, late night shopping is either impractical or delaying the inevitable. >> i would do that but i don't have anyone to watch them at night, so i had to bring somebody. >> i mean it's a benefit to be able to come if you had to come at 2:00 in the morning and less crowds. but probably better to get it done early. >> reporter: for toys in high demand, the justin beiber singing doll. >> the girls love justin beiber, they go crazy for him. >> reporter: so it's worth it? >> yes. >> reporter: but with no big hits like last year's zuzu pets, discounts rule the day. and if you text for additional

deals, the company will text them back to you. >> christmas time, time to spend money. >> reporter: now if you have one of these bar code readers that i have like on my phone that will show you all the different prices at all the different places, you have to be careful this late in the season, why? you may find a better price some where else but they may be out of stock. in this case, a bird in the hand is truly worth a bird in the hand. san mateo supervisors unanimously approved a resolution today. the resolution urges gavin newsom to vetoe his city's ordnance. that ordnance would eventually mandate -- the mayor has up to friday to sign the bill or

vetoe it. cb bank announced it's buying chrysler international. more than two stocks rose for every one that fell on the new york stock exchange today. the dow jones was up 55 point, the nasdaq rose 18 points. christmas came a little early to some san francisco children today. for one hour. clyde memorial church became a christmas site. clyde says it has seen demand for it's toys rising. as the working poor and the newly unemployed try to make ends meet. >> this year is very difficult for families. even working people who can't afford to buy toys and gifts for their children. we have seen them standing in line since 2:00 this morning. >> my kids wanted toys out here

so we came from oakly california to try to participate in this wonderful giving and blessed christmas. clyde will also serve holiday meals to those in need on christmas eve and on christmas day. is your internet service providing blocking your access. tough new rules were handed down today. what they will do to your view of the worldwide web. and another hurdle for former hp ceo mark hurd. why the fec is now looking closely at how he left his former company.

there are more problems tonight for former hewellet packered hurd. the fcc has launched a probe to determine whether hurd shared sensitive information about the company's acquisition back in 2008. investigators believe the leak might have been made to a former contractor to hp who later accused hurd of sexual harassment. hurd is now copresident at oracle. the federal communications commission okayed new tough rules for at&t and comcast are now

b a n ned from blocking or limiting access to legal website, services or applications. steve wasnack says the rules will encourage invasion. >> i think for tech companies, allows people to have little money have a chance to get on the internet with their products and not wind up shunted out by those who are more well known, established already. >> reporter: some members of congress are considering legislation to repeal the new rules with one threatening to cut out the funds necessary to implement the new policy. apple expects to reach a milestone this week in its sales of apple tv. according to the cupertino based company, sales will top the 1 million sale mark. the popularity of apple tv shows it is gaining action and bringing tv to the web. apple tv users are now using or

renting 150,000 movies each day. the birthrate for teenage mothers is at it lowest level in 15 years. in 2009, there were 39 births for every 1,000 girls age 15 to 19. that is down 6% compared to 2008. the teen birthrate has declined 16 of the past 18 years. tv shows that portray the difficult of teen motherhood may be a factor here. along with the pressures of a tight economy. cancer patients who smoke appear to feel more pain than nonsmoker cancer patients. making history in the nation's capital. >> isn't this a joyful day? isn't it exciting? >> abolishing don't ask don't

tell is one step away. coming up a look at the celebrations already under way. and tracking a storm headed your way, rain is in the forecast tonight, perhaps for tomorrow morning. i'll have the specifics back here with the computer model. a family's missing dog found beaten and shot. >> i don't know what type of person could do that. >> we're talking with the owner about how his dogs survived against all odds. also, a 91-year-old woman and a 5-year-old boy. we reveal the surprising holiday heros making a difference to families in need. racing against the clock. we're learning why bay area holiday travelers may have a small window of opportunity to avoid major flight delays. tonight on ktvu channel 2 news at 6:00.

spector was a long time republican who switched to the democratic party last year only to be defeated this this year's primary race. in a bitter speech on the floor, spector condemned the floor for working against each other calling it a form of cannibalism. and president obama will sign into law the don't ask

don't tell -- nancy pelosi signed the bill repealing the don't ask don't tell. but the military expects to take several months to implement the new policy. california senator barbara boxer says she tried to repeal don't ask don't tell 17 years ago when it first became law. >> in my heart i think about the 14,000 brave men and women who got kicked out of the military for this horrible policy. >> one of those on stage was a retired guard sergeant. >> it's so emotional for those of us who have been fighting for this social injustice for so long. i don't know if i'm going to be able to contain myself. >> reporter: president obama is scheduled to sign the bill

tomorrow. but it could take months before the military implements the bill. the military says they will slowly dismantle the laws. all seven members of the california supreme court today recused themselves from hearing the case. an appeals court has stalled the sale while it reviews the deal, but the governor warns that unless the state can close education crow by the end of the year, the sale may well disappear forever -- can close escrow, the sale may well disappear forever. one woman from napa told us today she was completely surprised with what she found at sfo this morning. julie haener is live in the newsroom with some of the

stories we're working on. >> reporter: we have new information about a deadly police shooting that began as a car chase in oakland. what police tell us the suspect did just before officers opened fire. a dog owner wants to know why someone shot his pet. and he's the youngest person in the country to do this, what a 9-year-old from california just accomplished. we'll see you then. and what could be a prime breeding habitat in santa cruz county for mosquitoes. a 12 member crew has cleared tons of native plans. vector control officials say the plants choke the lake and provide a prime mosquito habitat. the effort will improve water quality and give recreational boaters better access to the lake. some of us needed the umbrella today, but you will

probably should keep it handy because there's more rain on the way. >> i think you will hear it in the bay and along the coast as the winds pick up. maybe some thunder and lightning. we go outside and there's live storm tracker 2 waiting on the showers. you're starting to get a few light showers as well. that's pretty much it. daven port you are seeing showers. that's where the rain is, that's all going to slide south. this is the system right in here. here we are, right here. and this is all swinging in over the top of us in the next six to 12 hours. it's going to be wet around here tonight. overnight, that could have an impact on the morning commute just by virtue of wet roadways. i suspect by 7:00, 8:00 a.m. we'll have the system moving in. it's moving pretty good. it'll be out of here by 2:00, 3:00 in the morning.

late tonight, we'll get the showers. clearing tomorrow, your saturday looks like your next best bet for rain in the bay area. here's how it breaks down. as we head into the 11:00 hour it's starting to rain. for parts of the bay area, that's around our 10:00 newscast, you'll be seeing rain on live storm tracker 2 for the coastal area and half-moon bay. at 11:00, i think that's when it'll be at its heaviest. the computer model, that looks about right. that's tonight. you see the clear swap behind here. 2:00a.m., overnight, kind of going. this is it is one with the most instability. here you are wednesday morning, your morning commute looks pretty dry. that looks good. this thing is progressing out of here pretty rapidly. the showers keep going into tomorrow night as it kind of

lingers in the mountainous areas. then friday here comes saturday's system teeing up offshore. it's been a wet period. you're looking at the overlows forecast for tomorrow morning kind of cool. had it not been for that moisture plume, it would be a whole different story around here. we're still getting rain and it's still stormy. that tropical plume heads south. has it stayed with us, it could have been a pretty big deal in terms of some of the river issues. that hasn't happened, that's the good news. we're getting rain, we're getting plenty in the buckets, plenty in the reservoirs. plenty of snow, there'll be 10 feet of snow by sunday. >> 10 more feet? >> 10 total. but that's still a lot. geez. >> thanks, bill. a police sting in the north bay this morning. why authorities say it's like shooting fish in a barrel.

police in sonoma county say it's like shooting fish in a barrel. they're talking about catching dui offenders behind the wheel just minutes after they've lost their license. -- often times just minutes after they lost their license. a dui task force staged a stink this morning outside the sonoma county courthouse. officers say it's not uncommon for offenders who lost their driving privileges to walk right out of the courtroom, get in their car and drive away.

members of the task force say they've heard all types of excuses for why an offender didn't arrange for a ride but they say it doesn't matter. >> if they haven't learned already that we're serious about impaired driving and dui in sonoma county, they're going to learn today that we're not going to wait for them to drive drunk again. >> all ten had their cars impounded for 30 days. it's made up of all 13 law enforcement agencies. and it conducts similar stings several times a year. >> there's much more news to come. more on the person who shot and beat a family pet. we'll hear from the owner coming up next on ktvu channel 2 news at 6:00. this is called santa's workshop in the south bay. coming up the give aways today and some of the people who are

making this all happen.

new details tonight about the moments four officers shot and killed a man in oakland. the tip investigators say they received that prompted a police chase. and after weeks of graphic testimony six men now headed to trial for the richmond high school gang rape. the serious charge that was thrown out today against one of those acued in the case. -- one of those accused in the case. good evening everyone i'm frank somerville. >> and i'm julie haener. this afternoon police defended their actions and described the moments that led up to that deadly shooting. ktvu's patti lee joins us now, she's in oakland with late details. >> oakland officers say even before officers moved in to detain the four suspect that is plowed into this fence, they said they knew those suspects may be heavily ard