this is the 10:00 p.m. news on ktv. channel 2. president obama leaving tucson arizona tonight after paying tribute to 19 shooting victims and trying to console a grieving country. >> the hopes of a nation are here tonight. good evening, everyone. >> we have new developments tonight in the tucson arizona shootings. president obama offered words of comfort and revealed encouraging news about congresswoman gab rel giffords saying for the first time she opened her eyes today and we

have new information about the suspect jared lee loughner and what he did before he allegedly opened fire at the shopping center. ktvu's heather holmes is in oakland where community leaders tonight condemn the shootings but we begin in arizona. more now on what the president had to say tonight. paul? >> reporter: julie, frank, here is what the president said tonight. he came in and delivered a speech after visiting the congresswoman giffords at the hospital. president obama and the first lady joined mourners in tucson ontario witness speaking at a memorial before residents, lawmakers, relatives of victims, the president offered words of comfort. >> what we cannot do is use this tragdy as one more occasion to turn on each other. >> reporter: before the memorial the president met with the survivors of saturday's

mass killing including gabrielle giffords who remains in critical country. the president delivered this news. >> a few minutes after we left gabby's room and some of her colleagues from congress were in the room gabby opened her eyes for the first time. >> reporter: the young man credited with helping save her life intern daniel hernandez said thursday he doesn't deserve any special credit. >> the real heros like i mentioned are the people who have dedicated their life to public service. >> they remind us that heroism does not require special training. heroism is here in the hearts of so many of our fellow citizens. all around us, just waiting to be summoned. as it was on saturday morning. >> reporter: back here live now. president obama and a congressional delegation including nancy pelosi went inside the hospital room today

and met with congresswoman giffords. they say they saw her open her eyes and some are calling it a miracle. frank, julie. >> all right, thank you. live in tucson, arizona, tonight. new details about how suspected gunman jared lee loughner spent the hours before the tucson shootings. jared lee loughner went to two wal-marts. cnn is reporting he tried to buy ammunition at one store but the clerk refused because of his erratic behavior. however, at the second store he was able to buy the ammunition. that morning jared lee loughner was also pulled over for allegedly running a red light but the officer ended up letting him go with just a warning. new details about previous encounters with law enforcement. outlining strange incidents and outbursts. the county sheriff's department had nine contacts with jared lee loughner or his parents and jared lee loughner was arrested twice on misdemeanor charges

for alcohol or marijuana. a federal judge based in california are oversea jared lee loughner's trial. the head of the 9th circuit court announce today larry burns will preside over the case. burns is based in san diego. the judge who selected burns says he comes highlyrecommended. . >> i wanted somebody that was well respected. >> all the federal trial judges in arizona recused themselves because their fellow job was among those killed in the shooting. it hasn't been decided yet where the case will be tried. coming up a little later in this newscast some top judges here in california share their thoughts about what the tucson tragedy means for the judiciary. the house passing a resolution honoring the tucson victims. >> our hearts are broken but our spirit is not. >> speaker of the house john baynor said this is a time for the house to lock arms in

prayer for the fallen and wounded. some republican and democratic lawmakers say the mass shooting underscores the need to limit access to guns or to high capacity ammunition clips. lawmakers, community leaders and residents of oakland came together tonight for a candle lie vigil and to call for change. heather has more. >> reporter: frank, 800 miles from arizona but oakland says it feels tucson's pain. more than 100 people gathered here. they made a circle in front of city hall to not only remember the victims but to also make a desperate plea to stop the violence. >> we looked up the names of the victims christina taylor green, gabe zimmerman and phyllis fishing. >> reporter: names of people that no one here in oakland had ever heard of until saturday when they became targets of a

gunman. >> let us stand in solidarity this evening for gabby, for the victims and survivors of this unspeakable act. >> reporter: calling for nonviolence. >> we should also fight for gun control and for gun safety measures. >> reporter: whether it is tougher gun control legislation or more services for the mentally ill, those who came tonight to remember the victims say something must be done. >> we have got to turn this around. i mean, you know, this kind of violence should not happen in our society. >> reporter: outrage over deadly actions that cause pain over state lines. >> reporter: as oakland offers a friend to those suffering

from such a tragic loss. one speaker here went on it say it is time to turn a new chapter of hope, a new chapter of love and most importantly a new chapter of unity. reporting live tonight here in oakland. i'm heather holmes ktvu channel 2 news. another vigil is scheduled for friday evening in walnut creek. the justice center says it hopes to show respect, compassion can end violence. corner of broadway and civic drive. jean quan, oakland mayor, saying she will push for a ban oon assault weapons when she attends the conference of mayors in washington, dc, next week. >> we have see the re emergence of automatic weapons and they are more likely to kill someone. >> in 1994 senator diane finestein has a bill passed. it was equipped with a magazine

that holds up to 31 bullets. the old federal ban prohibited the manufacture or import of new magazines holding more than 10 rounds. and later this hour, sarah palin breaks her silence on the shootings in tucson. how her comments today have sparked even more controversy. plus, our coverage continues online with president obama's address in its entirety. just look for the u.s. news tab. san jose police released surveillance video of a hit and run incident that injured a 15- year-old girl on saturday. on the top right of the screen the video shows a car striking the girl as she crosses camden avenue. she is still hospitalized. bliss would like anyone with information about the hit and run to please contact them and you can get another look at that surveillance video on our website ktvu.com. just look for the video viewer on the home page. a san francisco man is a free man tonight after spending

18 years in prison. 40-year-old connolly's murder convictions were thrown out after it was determined the star witness in the case lied on the stand and police detectives knew it. ktvu's is live now at san francisco's hall of justice with more on what this reversal means for other murder cases. debra? >> reporter: well, when connolly left the jail here today he had very little to sail. focused on getting reacquainted with his family. smiling walking into the sunlight and freedom. [ applause ] >> reporter: accompanied by attorneys who worked several years to free him and relatives waiting with hugs. connolly was asked what his plans are. >> take it one day at a time. >> reporter: then into a waiting hummer. a saga that began with two people dead and connolly convicted after a drive-by shooting in 1989. >> i don't understand how -- what he is talking about. >> reporter: a judge after days

of deposition found former san francisco police chief early sanders who was lead homicide inspector back then suppressed evidence and let the prosecution's paid witness lie on the stand. >> these types of things need to be disclosed. >> reporter: the law firm helped connolly like another san francisco plan. now they want to dig into other cases. >> given that there are two men now who have come to light who are innocent and who have been vindicated. >> reporter: frank jordan, police chief then, expresses surprise paid witnesses perjured them systems. >> there is no way that time can be replaced. >> it was a happy day for him and he wants to spend the time with his family. >> he is overwhelmed as you can imagine and it is quite a lot for him to process.

>> reporter: his attorney said when connolly went to prison the walkman was the hot new gadget on the market. clearly he has some catching up to do. reporting live in san francisco, ktvu, channel 2 news. an earthquake aftershock this afternoon about three miles south of san john measuring 3.0 coming after an earthquake that rattled the area. 4.5 earthquake was the latest in a series of quake centered near fremont peak straight car east of the town of prunedale. the quake was felt from vallejo and south. it hit near the transition zone at the san andreas fault. >> we have 2s and 3s and occasionally one of these magnitude 4 events. >> a quake on friday was on the

calavaris fault line located 40 miles from the epicenter of this morning's quake. scientists tell us the two quakes are unrelated. exactly one year after a local musician was gunned down the highway patrol announces that four suspects are in custody for murder. the twist that led to their arrests. and six months since major changes to bay bridge tolls. the impact they have had on drivers every morning. and a wet commute possible tomorrow as this next weather system tees up offshore. there is rain in the forecast. investigators in san francisco tonight...

a base guitar player that toured. he was gunned down on january 12th, 2010. today, on this first anniversary of his death investigators announced they have arrested four suspects. the highway patrol says all are members after gang and it appears duey tucker was shot and killed by mistake. >> they drove from sonoma county to contra costa county for the purpose of killing a rival gang member. the victim dewy tucker was not the intended target. >> reporter: the break in the case came this past weekend when one suspect, 19-year-old raul vega of santa rosa was arrested in connection with a

fatal stabbing at a santa rosa elementary school. investigatorses believe he is also the gunman who fired shots at tucker's car last year as he drove to church down interstate 880 between crockett. >> it doesn't bring him back but then you know why he was taken from us. >> reporter: for family an friends it was painful just seeing the faces of the murder suspects. >> i mean, it hurts. it hurts to look at him. >> it hurts more than i can even express. it is really surreal today. >> reporter: the four suspects are facing enhanced charges for a gang related crime and tonight are being held at sonoma county jail. in vallejo, ktvu, channel 2 news. in the south bay san jose police say they arrested a man today wanted on attempted

murder charges. 4 the 41 year old was taken into custody just before noon inside his house. he is accused of attacking his wife with a knife on saturday in an effort to prevent her from leaving the house. authorities say they found the suspect hiding in a closet under a pile of cloths with a self-inflicted cut on his throat. police say he was taken to the hospital for treatment. also in san jose police today identified three men killed last weekend in a shootout at a nightclub.say the antonio alone andmanuelmendoza were found on the floor of the mexi club. a body was there a nearby suv. investigators say three men had gone to the club to kidnap its ovarian because of the a debt. the club owner was wounded in the shootout. since is the tucson shootings there has been plenty said about the rhetoric as a potential moative. such talk is regularly heard on t.v. and talk radio and tonight that

was the topic of discussion in santa clara university. live now tonight with the report. >> reporter: frank, two of the brightest minds, judicial minds in california spoke at santa clara university tonight on a topic in has captured the attention of the nation this week. civil part san discourse. newly seated california state supreme court chief justice and u.s. ninth circuit court of appeals chief judge shared their ideas tonight on courts in a contentious climate. the judge was a friend of the federal judge who was killed in the arizona shootings. >> some sense we are all at the mercy of freak accidents or people who are -- want to hurt us. can get to us if they want to. >> reporter: the state supreme court chief justice was here with visible security. >> judges have become more public. people have taken greater

attention. cases call attention to a judge's roll. >> reporter: both jurists agree that the judge killed in arizona does not appear to have been targeted and that the suspect appears to be mentally unstable and not influenced by part san visitr partisan. >> our willingness to express ourselves politically in a passionateway. >> we are aware of our decisions and we are away that they can be sensitive and that they have an impact but never theless it doesn't detour froes doing what's right and that is follow the rule of law. >> reporter: federal judges are appointed for life but voters here in california decide if and how long state judges remain on the bench. live in santa clara, ktvu channel 2 news.

it appears the morning commute across the bay bridge to san francisco is getting a bit quicker. a transportation official says congoes pricing is decreasing the average wait time before the metering lights. higher tolls could mean fewer drivers during the commute. since july when the toll rose by $2 for the morning rush the wait has dropped from 27 minutes to 23 minutes. this finding was released in a new report by the bay area toll authority. >> you think it is working? >> it is less congestion. >> since congestion pricing was created b.a.r.t ridership between 5 and 10:00 a.m. has increased 8%. in marin county the sheriff says he will not enforce the county's ban on pg&e smart meters. the sheriff bob doyle says marin supervisors had no