at this hour, communication problems continue with ditch patchers between police and fire i'm out here to support education. >> teachers are continuing their crusade. the rally is a prelude to a much bigger event later this afternoon parents at one high school are upset about the punishment students are receiving after

this food fight on wednesday. good afternoon. we begin with the computer problem for san francisco's first responders. ktvu's claudine wong shows us how computers were not working in patrol cars this morning. now, we have continuing coverage on the issue. claudine says that the source of the problem has been figured out has not been fixed yet. >> reporter: the problem has been traced to a pointer. if you need call police, call 911. go ahead and do this. the dispatchers say that the communication problems is inconvenient for fire and police but not a deal breaker. things seemed to be moving smoothly this morning. you could not tell from

watching them that the main computer is down. >> our responders are trained like this if the system has a problem. they do train on that manual mode and that backup system quite frequently. we do have to take the system down for regular maintenance. so in that case, they switch to the alternate mode. so they are used to doing their job in that way. >> reporter: within a couple of hours, a backup system was online and operational. the public would not have noticed a thing. all 911 calls were going through just fine. a main line of communication between dispatchers and police and fire remained down hours later. normally, information from a call goes on the computers here at the dispatch center and straight to computers here inside police and fire vehicle. but with the primary system down, that was not happening. >> it's not affecting public safety at all as far as police response to emergencies. the way that it affects the

police department is that instead of information being relayed from their cars, police to write down their information. >> reporter: and police are prepared for that. if the computer goes down, they go ahead and use the radio. and if the radio goes down, they have another radio. so if this computer is down, they can still function. >> it's kind of an old school type policing right now. >> reporter: when will this be fixed? techs are working on it right now and they are hopeful it should be back up and running by this afternoon. >> thank you, claudine. an elderly woman is in the hospital after house fire in concord overnight which started shortly after 2:00 a.m. at a home in edmonton way.

the 81-year-old woman fell asleep while cooking. >> the initial report came in from a neighbor to the rear of the building, say that they saw heavy fire involvement in the kitchen area. and that's where the most heavy damage was. it was a cooking fire that started accidentally. >> the woman is being treated for smoke inhalation. firefighters say that her home ace total loss. a federal magistrate in san francisco issued a no-bail order for a man accused of trying to storm the cockpit of a jet headed to sfo. authorities say that 28-year- old riagai almarisi tried to force the cockpit door open and was yelling god is great in arabic. a public defender says that the former yemeni teacher is suffering from mental problems and asked him to be released to a family in vallejo.

but the prosecutor said that he is a flight risk and a public danger. we are now finding how osama bin laden was able to e- mail other members of the network without leaving a trace. bin laden would type messages and put them on a flash drive. then, a courier would take the flash drive to a distant internet cafi to send an e- mail. the cia is now reviewing the thousands of messages between bin laden and his associates around the world. 80 people are dead and 120 others hurt after an attack by two suicide bombers in pakistan. the taliban stays that it is behind the bombing of the paramilitary training center. taliban leaders say the attack is revenge on the pakistani military for not stopping the u.s. raid that led to osama bin laden's death. the taliban also warns it plans to attack americans living in

pakistan a memorial service will be held today for omar ahmed, the san carlos mayor who died of a heart attack on wednesday. the public is invited to join the memorial. the 46-year-old had become mayor in november after serving on the city council since 2007. teachers are preparing for a huge rally in san francisco later today to fight against more budget cuts. say hey. >> they have been rallying all we can in preparation for this afternoon's big eend including a gathering of teachers on the peninsula. hundreds turned out in sequoia. teachers want lawmakers to vote on tax extensions to avoid deeper cuts. a sequoia union trustee says that schools stand to lose millions of dollars without those tax extensions.

>> to sky quo union high, it means that, next year, we are cutting five million dollar out of our budgets. >> the demonstrations are part of a california teachers association's state of emergency campaign. this afternoon, three general rallies take place in front of san francisco city hall from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. the punishment does not fit the crime. that's the cry of students and parents after a school food fight led to the cancellation of a prom and another graduation events at a high school in hayward. ktvu's allie rasmus spoke to teachers and students and parents and lets us know if there are changes in plans there. may be some sort of compromise in the works. >> as early as 8:30, there was a group of 15 parents that came to the leadership conference to ask the school to lighten the punishment for that food fight. as soon as that meeting wrapped

up, and it wept on for two hours, another meeting started, and that meeting is still going, this time, parents also asking the deep to reduce punishment. all of this because of a food fight that happened. this is video one of the student took of that food fight. hours after it happened, the school dean announced he was canceling senior prom and canceling the seniors' graduation trip to disneyland. parents say it was not fair to punish all 150 seniors on campus when only 30 or so were involved in the food fight. but, according to the parents, the desist is that the seniors will have a chance to choose

whether to have the grad trip or the program. they say, oh, we deserve the same punishment because we are family, that's not true >> reporter: we don't know exactly when that senior class vote will happen. some of the parents said that they were told it could happen as early as today, but we have tried several times this morning to speak with the school's dean and the principal here and we are told that they are busy and not available for comment. but, again, that second parent and staff meeting is going on right now and the school's dean and principals are inside so that may be the reason why we have not been able to talk with them. they have been wrapped up in meetings all morning long. ktvu's robert handa has been inside all morning the san jose sharks held on for a game 7 win and now they are moving on in their quest for their stirs stanley cup. proud shark fans lined up outside hp pavilion to purchase tickets for the western

conference final. tickets didn't last long, selling out in just 30 minutes. one fortunate stand told our crew he weatherd in line for four hours to get his ticket. >> the shot, the save, the rebound. patrick marlau. >> that goal from patrick marla suh who had been pointless scored the winning goal ahead, this morning's reaction from the local american idol contestant who was booted off the show. dozens of bay area volunteers were on the streets rolling up their sleeves today. we'll tell you th reason. an unusual forecast in the middle of may. we'll have the forecast and what will be happening in your neighborhood. and we'll have our people

in the blue costumes this year. >> what police along the beta breakers will be looking for during sunday's race.

oakland police say six people were hurt in a crash involving an trans sit bus and a van. the accident happened late yesterday east of downtown oakland. police are still investigating but witnesses say that the van driver ran a red light and smashed into the bus. emergency crews took both drivers and four bus passengers to the hospital with unknown injuries. the ride on b.a.r.t. could soon be a little cleaner and a little quieter. the new budget for the transit agency calls for hiring new cleaners for b.a.r.t. trains and replacing wool fabric seat covers. the budget also calls for more money to soft en the loud grind. b.a.r.t. says that the state could still take away the money it needs for the improvements. it could soon take just one message to report a problem on b.a.r.t. the board president wants to set up a special phone line where people can report unruly passengers, broken doors or

suspicious packages. the messance would be relayed to a central call center. b.a.r.t.'s interim general manager will start investigating the proposal. san francisco's muni says that it is on pace to exceed it project. they are down about 3200 drives on any given day. muni officials say they either miss runs or pay drivers overtime. the overtime spending still falls within the agency's overall staffing budget, the head of the agency says. san francisco supervisors want to hear a specific plan for reducing overtime spending. dozens of volunteers are cleaning up the streets of oakland right now as part of a national effort to keep america beautiful. of 0 people volunteer -- 60 people volunteered to keep their city beautiful. they say most of it is fast

food litter that's easy to pick up, but would be just as easy to keep off the streets in the first place. one neighbor offered her reaction to the cleanup. >> when i came outside today and i saw, and i saw involving teerks i think it was marvelous. i said, i wonder how they are doing that. i was thinking about doing myself. >> oakland is about one of of many communities running through the neighborhood green effort the latest on the fire in monterey shows it is almost con tanks burning near highway 186 east of soledad. the fire is about 80% contained. it began as an 80-acre grass fire, grew to 600 acres by 11:00 p.m. cal fire says it has now burned over 200 acres. officials believe that the wind

knocked power lines together and created sparks that start add fire. rising waters along the mississippi river causing more problems today. the white house announced this morning that president obama will immediate with flood- stricken residents in memphis on monday. farther south, around vicksburg, mississippi, residents are bracing for the rivers to crest at record levels. a dozen roads have been blocked, including highway 61 which is a major highway for the state. engineers in louisiana are considering opening the morganza flood gates. and the bay to breaker race organization is wrapping up. mayor ed lee presented

organizers with a proclamation. in exchange, lee received bib up in 1200. >> it will be in the at that significant that they will be. you can wear any whacky uniform that you want. >> for many, the event is more party than race. because of that, this year's running will have some major changes, including a banning of alcohol and floats on the course. it may be wet for sunday's bay to breakers and california's bike race is beginning and they may dealing with snow. they may have snow in lake tahoe. snow and chilly conditions are forecast. race organizers say they do have several contingency plans and have made it clear that safety will be their top priority. good afternoon to you. giving you a life look outside our doors. we have got a beautiful looking day as we start our friday but

the nice pleasant weather is about to come to an end. our weekend looks very active, giving you a view of our winds at this hour. oakland reporting a 13 mile-per- hour wind, a little gusty. temperatures starting to rebound by a few grease by yesterday. fur getting outdoors any time soon, 55 in san jose, 67 areas right around livermore, upper 50s, low 60s closer to oakland and the peninsula. backing it up, high pressure still in place, it's about to be squeezed out. do you see this here? that is the beginning of those changes that we will actually begin to notice by tonight. satellite and radar showing you this in motion. backing it up just a little bit. it's the storm out of the gulf of alaska that is going to continue to swing our way. that will bring us the rain chance by saturday night. the center of circulation you see spinning here, that's going to bring us the possibility of even thunderstorms by this evening. a very active pattern in place. that will run you through the

next couple of days. notice by this evening, we start to get by the high clouds that we see ahead of the storms. by tonight, partly to mostly cloudy. it's not until saturday night that the rain arrives and we are looking at it to fall in the overnight. sunday morning, we are looking at a break. notice how scattered it is. sunday, noon time, this is when we will see some of the coldest and unstable air move through. again, leading into the possibility of maybe thunderstorms on sunday. your afternoon high for today, widespread 60s along the coast. 64 in berkeley, 66 in vallejo and we are looking at 70s inland. 70s in san jose and areas like concord expected to hit about 72. the extended forecast here, a nice mild day today. it's going to be cooler tomorrow. it's going to be chilly on sunday in addition to the thunderstorms and we remain a little unsettled, moving into monday, even tuesday, but the weekend with everybody having plans these days outdoors, it could be a little tricky.

could be that type of system where, one minute, it's sunny and then the next minute, you are running for cover. so be forewarned. >> be prepared >> thank you, rosemary. >> okay. in two weeks, we will know who will be the next american idol. but we do know it won't be james durbin of santa cruz. he was sent home last night. >> truly an inspiration. take a deep breath. we have been blessed to have you. let's watch james -- >> durbin had the fewest votes. he was emotional after learning the news. this morning, he told us he was happy and surprised that he made it as far as he it >> everything happens for a reason. and i'm still standing, you know. this is only the beginning. ♪ we've only just begun "". >> the city of santa cruz has canceled a james durbin celebration tomorrow.

it would have made it if durbin had made it through. we have the full james durbin interview. look for the american idol tab on ktvu.com and idol fans outside hp pavilion said they are also sad to see fur bin go. dozens lined up to be the first to buy tickets for the american idol live tour. durbin along with ten other singing sensations will perform tuesday, july 12th at the oracle arena and the follow night at hp pavilion. ahead, how you can help people all over the nation feed the hungry. and why a popular children's restaurant is being accused of illegal gambling.

bree: sis, help me create my oasis. marcy: ok, romantic garden? bree: oh, is there a castle nearby? marcy: no, but there's a charming farmhouse. bree: right next to my posh castle! i'm sensing a theme here. well, i am the queen, dear sister.

not a great day for wall street taking a hit as the dollar is strengthening due to global uncertainty causing a commodities drop. dow is down 103. nasdaq down 30. facebook is publicly admitting that it hired a public relations form to get bad publicity for a major rival. they said that they should have been more open on the down side

of google network policy. chuck e. cheese is being sued. the claim is that the popular children's restaurant is a center for illegal gambling. a san diego mother alleges that many of the games at chuck e. cheese are actually games of chance. under california laws, it makes those games illegal, slot machines. if it wins, it will force the restaurant to take out some of it money and pay back people. chuck e. cheese says that the suit has mo merit. tomorrow, the annual stamp out hunger drive starts tomorrow morning here in the bay area and nationwide. you can help by putting out canned and nonperishable foods by your mailbox. the stamp out hunger drive is the nation's largest single day food drive. coming up on ktvu channel 2 news at 5:00, this is a live picture from the bay bridge

where the new eastbound detour is set to open by the en of the month. we'll have a sneak preview of the tell prayry roadway and a look at how it will change the way you drive between oakland and san francisco in the next two years. that story will be coming up on ktvu at 5:00. thanks for watching. have a great weekend.

the fresh tasting california sour cream your other food loves.