return of our colleague, who is the personification of courage. >> coming up later we will have more on reaction to congresswoman gabrielle giffords return and when the senate is expected to vote. a young woman dies in a 600- foot fall from half dome in yosemite national park. ktvu's rob roth is live with how wet weather may have contributed to her fall. >> reporter: experienced hikers say climbing up and down half dome is a risky experience and it's one that ended the life of a woman. >> reporter: hailey laflamme loved the outdoors and hiked half dome last year and went again and two friends. this video of half dome was taken by a hiker a year ago. yosemite national park rangers said he was descending half

dome yesterday. >> she fell approximately 600 feet off of the cables. rangers were dispatched and pronounced her dead. >> reporter: therehad been stormed earlier in the day and the rocks could have been wet. hikers use cables to get up and down half dome and there are signs cautioning people about the risk of wet weather. >> thunder and lightening rain storm occurred and continued throughout the morning so the area was very wet with rain and the rocks were slippery at the time. the accident was the second time in two years that a hiker was killed at half dome. that victim slipped in wet weather. hikers must show rangers their permits before they climb. >> they let them know there was weather and it was raining and climb half dome is not

advisable given the weather situation. >> reporter: hailey laflamme graduated from castro valley high school. a relative said she loved yosemite national park. coming up at 6:00, we will hear from a experienced hiker about the difficulty coming down half dome. rob roth, ktvu channel 2 news. we have breaking news to tell you about right now a fire is burning year fairfield. this is at central and sandia. closer to cordelia off interstate 80. you can see the smoke. a three alarm grass fire. no containment has been made yet. structures may be threatened. right now it's consumed about 15 acres and you can see it is still burning and there is a wind involved in this, which is always a problem when we are talking about grass fires, they can move quickly with the wind.

let's check in with chief meteorologist bill martin. >> blowing at 15 miles per hour. it's a westerly direction so you are increasing humidity. 35-40%. temperatures in the low 80s and it's not a horrible fire day in terms of red flag warnings. nice moist atmosphere. if you look that smoke plume, it's breezy out there and those winds aren't coming off the hill, that's a moist wind off the bay. temperatures today running below the average. firefighters with these conditions hope efully will get a good chance on this. 15 acres and if you know that area, right by scandia. that's the reports on this fire. >> yeah. amusement park there with 680

joins interstate 80. if you look down wind you can see there are power lines, rooftops of buildings in that area so firefighters will work to keep the fire from reaching that. we will keep you posted on what is going on there. a young mother and her friend became the city's latest homicide victims. >> lovely person, always go to church, happy. always take care of her kids good, you know? hurtful. >> rose mcfadden and her friend were driving into her apartment complex this morning when someone opened fire on the car. she died that scene. her boyfriend, or friend, died this afternoon. they became the 22 and 23 homicide victims of 2011. there were 21 in all of last

year. neighbors and community leaders say the violence must end. >> we will have to step up the pace in stopping all cars when we have problems as guns coming into our area. i know people think that's profiling but i think that it can be done in a positive way. >> police say the victims were doing nothing wrong that time of the shooting. detectives have no motives and suspects. dozens of oakland police officers going back to work. ktvu's john sasaki live with why resident are calling on them to step up. >> this is a big day for the police department. we were the only news crew to join 25 officers laid off last year as they went back to the job today. soon they will get their cars before heading out to protect the streets. >> reporter: this neighborhood was rocked by gunfire this morning that left one man dead.

his was the 65th homicide of the year. we need jesus out here. >> the police department may not be able to provide a higher power but today it's close to providing something else. >> this morning the police chief greeted 25 hours who were laid off last year but back on the force starting today. >> friday 637. put 30 on top of that. >> several others will join the force later. mark is a returning officer. >> hopefully be more of a presence in the community, people see more of us and hopefully it helps to stop the problems. >> wonderful thing to hear. real great. >> reporter: they gathered outside the site of her nephew's killing yesterday, she was shot to death. >> senseless. we need the police to step up. >> reporter: the new officers

will allow them to step up. >> to target these most violent areas and try and get a handle on the crime. >> reporter: most returning officers will hit the streets starting this saturday. john sasaki, ktvu channel 2 news. back to developing news. the debt ceiling vote became very emotional with the aexperience of congresswoman gabrielle giffords on the house floor. information on when the senate is expected to vote and where we can see the deepest spending cuts. >> reporter: good evening. seeing congresswoman gabrielle giffords was one of the highlights on the floor tonight. and the house dit pass the measure. 269-161. now it's the senate's turn. >> the bill is passed. >> reporter: the bipartisan deal to keep the united states

from defaulting passes the house but not without reluctance. >> i am voting for this bill. not because i like this bill, although it does do some things that i think need to be done. we need to bring down the deficit, address the debt. return to fiscal responsibility. but default for the united states of america is not an option. >> reporter: democrats made it clear they weren't in favor of the deal that would extend the debt ceiling and decrease the deficit by 2 trillion dollars. biden spent time talking to wavering members but perhaps bigger than the applause for the bill's passage was a standing ovation for congresswoman gabrielle giffords who was shot january and critically wounded at an event in arizona. >> her presence here as well as

her service brings honor to this chamber. we are all privileged to call her colleague, some of us privileged to call her friend. >> reporter: this was the first time congresswoman gabrielle giffords has returned to the floor since january and she did cast a vote in favor of this legislation. as soon as it passed the house harry reid announced the senate will vote on this at noon tomorrow. >> we will have more on the debt ceiling at 5:30. we will hear from barbara lee about what she says was left out. documents shedding light on the attack offastbustler. after the game louie sanchez threw perv punches at three giants fans before facing san francisco giants' fan bryan stow. the pair then kicked stow while

he was on the grund unconscious. stow-tam iffy says this has been a difficult week. they said there has been minimal response. they said excess fluid has been building up and he may need a drain or a shunt but they continue to play music to him. the woman accused of breaking into the san francisco marriott marquis room of alex trebek says she is not guilty. lucinda moyers entered her plea today. authorities say she stole cash and jewelry from the san francisco marriott marquis hotel room. she has been quicked twice for burglary and that could make a difference in this case. >> our office has yet to make a decision as to whether or not

we will pursue this case as a third strike. we will review that separately and make a decision. >> alex trebek hurt himself while chasing her out of the room. new video of two uc berkeley graduates charged with spying in iran. the reaction of family and loved one waiting word on joshua fattal and shane bauer's fate. >> reporter: in video released by the iranian court we see the two americans during their court hearing yesterday. >> reporter: you see here it shows shane bauer and joshua fattal on the two year anniversary of their detention. the attorney expects the court to announce their fate charged with spying this week. today a state department spokesman said the obama

administration says they hope they are released soon. >> they have been held far too long and waterers they should be released. >> reporter: they were hopeful since this is the month of ramadan when pardons are handed down. >> with the grace of god, if they are found guilty their sentence will not exceed the jail term they served and ultimately will be released. >> reporter: they arrested them along with sarah shourd two years ago. they say they were hiking and not aware they crossed into iran. sarah shourd was released a year ago and continues to rally for her friends' release. >> if it wasn't for them i wouldn't be standing here today. >> reporter: the chairman of uc berkeley said it might be too

early for rejoicing. it's a bad sign iran didn't release them immediately. the first day of ramadan and he said officials do not decide court cases on legal issues, rather on what suit them political. rita williams, ktvu channel 2 news. we want to return to breaking news taking place, news chopper two arrived on the scene of a three-alarm fire that is burning near scandia, interstate 680 meets interstate 80, south of fairfield. as you can see the fire is still burning. gone to three alarms. burned about 15 acres. the winds are out of the west at 15 miles per hour. you can see the wind is pushing the smoke down low to the ground. the wind is a concern for firefighters and you can see homes on the screen but the

fire is burning away a from the homes and there are other structures in the area down wind. firefighters on the scene of this burning grass fire that is taking place off interstate 80 and 680. we will get an idea of what is down wind. there is a couple of dirt roads. firefighterdize use those to get their vehicles in there. and that's interstatatey at the top and you can see the farmland below. not a lot of structures in the immediate path of the fire. we will keep an eye on this and keep you posted throughout the newscast. ed lee edges towards a run for mare new questions about the group that wants him elected. >> i will be back with the forecast and we will keep an eye on the fire and have the

latest on that as well.

. new informationane breaking news story, you see here news chopper two. near fairfield with a grass fire burning and we just hung up with fire officials, they say the fire is now at five alarm. we had information then that it was a 15-acre grass fire. at this point the fire grown to five alarms. you can see there news chopper two is getting in close showing one person attacking the flames with a hose but there salarger effort here. we will bring chief meteorologist bill martin back and he will explain what winds and humidity might have to do with the grass fire happening right now. we will have nor information in a few minutes. is ed lee running for mayor? that question has become a

political football in the city. ktvu's david is live with this story. >> reporter: ed lee has till august 12 to walk to the elections office to pick up his candidacy papers but the possibility is already raising serious allegations here at city hall. >> this next 10 days or two weeks i have a chance to talk to people to see where we go. >> reporter: ed lee stood next to david chew. >> he committed to san francisco and all of us members of the board of supervisors he wasn't going to run. i hope he is a man of his word. >> reporter: they want the ethic's commission to investigate. the group behind the run ed run campaign. >> they might have been involved in shake downs of corporations and city contractors, the extent there

which there was illegal coordination. >> who are you to question the integrity of ed lee. >> reporter: its leaders insist they have done nothing wrong. >> acted with integrity. released information that was not required by the commission and we look forward to clearing our name. >> looks like a campaign. >> reporter: commissioners will take up whether progress for all misclassified its true purpose. >> made claims they are working on community education, the impact of their committee is that ed lee is a good candidate. >> reporter: ed lee supporters announced they gathered 51,000 signatures, all htmled at encouraging ed lee to run. reporting live, david stevenson, ktvu channel 2 news. in the mean time, ye announced today another solid

fund raising period. he raised $100,000 in the past month. bringing funds to $900,000. his office said the campaign spent $350,000 so far. >> back to breaking news coverage of a five alarm fire burning. burning near interstate 680 and 80 where the freeways meet. let's bring in chief meteorologist bill martin. >> john fowler was just in here and we were talking about it, winds out there right now, not as high as they would be normally. winds at 15 miles per hour out of the west and some southwest winds. that's half of what we usually see in this area this time of night. the winds are light. the temperature right now, 83 degrees. humidity, this is high, 35%, coming up on 40%. the winds are there.

ken mentioned this, winds is always an issue for firefighters. but, you know, definitely helping. to the left you see highway 80. scandia, behind it. this area is very -- not remote, the freeway is there, not a lot of homes in the direction of the fire. as a matter of fact you will see it's open space out here, good news. you see the development to the left. i believe that is scandia. yeah. to the right of the fire, burning off into, as i look, an open space interface area. come in closer. you will get a feel for where this area is. right here. if i come in closer, bear with me. you will see scandia right here. see? and this is where the fire is in this area. hilly. you can see that. the winds now, if i pint paint the winds in, out of the west,

something like more south. something like this. if you look around, you are looking at lots of, from what i can see, looks like open space. so the hope is, of course, there is no structures that are in danger. temperatures 83 degrees. winds at 15. humidity 35%. that is not a bad fire condition. we will watch it for you. winds will be increasing over the next 20, 30, 40 minutes, this is the time of night. so we will have the latest on this and i will get back to your local weather as well. see you back here in 15 minutes. >> thank you. plans to double the ties of one safeway store left a community divided. why some say the convenience doesn't outweigh the cost. and a list colleges may not be proud of, one california

school being recognized for its parties. charming farmhouse. right next to my posh castle! i'm sensing a theme here. well, i am the queen, dear sister. get your annual ikea catalog today.

. over the scene of a fire happening right now. these are live pictures coming to you. it's right where interstate 80 and 680 meet. near fairfield. at this point, latest word we got, this fire has grown to 5 alarm. we did get reports it was 15 acres at the beginning the of newscast. 25 minutes that have passed we

are trying to get in touch with fire officials to get an idea how much it's grown. as you can see here, a wider picture, that's 80 there that bottom. you can see some flames and a lot of smoke. a lot of drivers likely seeing what is happening right now. the fire is moving eastward and there may be structures threatened. we have no confirmation of that activity happening. we will brin you more information as we get it. if you shop at safeway you may have noticed remodeling they are doing. now residents are saying no thank you to their plans to upgrade a store in their neighborhood. >> i think it's a great idea but berkeley and college avenue is so congested as it is.

>> safeway plans to double the size of the store in the rock ridge area, wider aisles and a rooftop garden. a lot of customers seem happy but neighbors signed petitions opposing the plan based on its scale and a fear it will clog streets with cars. >> they should be able to build and expand their store. i have issues with stop lights here. i think it will ruin this business and the store across the street. >> the public has till august 15 to comment on it. the counselee will take up the issue next spring. the death of a soldier in afghanistan. we will have that up next and we continue to monitor a fire that has grown to five alarms.

we are getting more information for you and we will bring you that in just a minute. okay, kids, we can record one more show. who should get it? i really love jennifer. yeah, she's great. yeah. yeah. kyle's got that thick head of hair. and that should be rewarded. okay, moment of truth. on "three," say which kid you love the most. ooh, fun, yeah. one, two, three. jennifer. jennifer. whoa. wow. she's so pretty. yeah. or we give it to kyle. it's really all he's got. [ male announcer ] switch to at&t u-verse and record four shows all at the same time. just $29 a month for 6 months. at&t.

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complete bay area news coverage continues, this is ktvu channel 2 news at 5:00. thieves struck one neighborhood repeatedly, taking something the last thing you think they would want to steal. plants. a picture of a bear spot after someone ripped out a plant from someone's yard. this happened several times. ktvu's noah walker has this

story live. >> reporter: surveying your yard and noticing there is a lot of things missing like plants. here, here, here, here, here. the neighborhood is post card perfect. well man cured lawns, homes and rolling hills with city views. you just want to take a piece of it home with you and some thieves doing just that. >> somebody came and helped themselves. >> reporter: you need your imagination to appreciate her yard. >> another one. a display of what was. >> cut them. before thieves started shopping in her garden. >> they took the whole plant and as you can see they probably been at it again. >> reporter: her house has been hit three times. if you had to guess how much was stolen from your yard?

>> god, with the planters, we replaced them a couple of times, at least at $300. >> that's just her house. they have a lot of active community groups and one has a blog. eight people reporting similar thefts. police are now getting involved. he has his officers on an unusual luke out. >> anybody walking around with plants without a root or anybody walking in the area with plants, find out, especially in this area. >> police are looking for this man, a resident posted it on the community blog. anna suspects her plants might be getting resold as valuable clippings. >> they just came in with their shovel, dug it out. >> reporter: what the ladies

have done is put up this light and they will install a camera over here in hopes of being able to catch the thief. reporting live, ktvu channel 2 news. a soldier has been killed in afghanistan. the department of defense said william died yesterday. they attacked his vehicle with an ied. american women are about to be able to get their birth control for free thanks to the federal government. ktvu's john fowler is here to tell us why government officials feel it's a good idea. >> reporter: new data show fewer than half of pregnancies are planned. experts say unwanted children, especially the poor are costly to society. >> to lower the pregnancies in

the united states would be a fantastic cost saving. >> reporter: a year from today, all approved forms forms of birth control will be free, no co-pay, under all insurance plans. the expense would be shared by all. >> i think that's -- that people should be allowed to have birth control and not pay for it. >> it's a right to get access to those things. and they are very expensive. >> reporter: men we spoke to were not unanimous. >> there is a cost and they should bear some of the cost. >> a lot of women don't have money for this kind of pills and everything. pregnancy is not a disease, fertility not an illness. advocates applaud the new rule. >> once again, what it will

help is the insurance who are on medicaid and medi-cal. >> reporter: half of women don't use birth control because of cost. a year from now it's free and it's a major step towards health care equality. john fowler, ktvu channel 2 news. the senate will vote on the new debt limit measure tomorrow at noon, 9:00 a.m. our time. the house approved the bill by a vote of 269-161. congresswoman gabrielle giffords appeared to cast her vote in favor of the measure. this was her first appearance in congress since she was shot six months ago. the bill could cut spending by $2 trillion over 10 years and doesn't raise taxes. raises the debt limit by $2.1 trillion.

barba lee voted no, she believes something was left out of the debt deal. >> we must look at how to make sure we close these tax loopholes, taxes that have been so low for billionaires. i think we need to have that discussion on the table. >> the bill cuts $1 trillion in spending right away and a committee will find another trill-in in cuts by november. so far no cuts to medicare and medi-cal. the california highway parole issued an amber alert for a 16-year-old boy who was carjacked and abducted less less than an hour ago. he was the driver of a 1996 black two door gmc yukon. 4way499 is the license plate. the boy is african american,

4'8", 130 pounds, wearing a red cincinnati reds baseball cap. red jacket and black genes. -- jeans. a 1996 black gmc yukon. useerance plate 4 way 499. rescuers are asking for help tonight, what they want from the public, also back over the scene of breaking news a fire in the cordilia area, we will give you the latest information on the five alarm fire. ford issue as recall of more than a million trucks. we will tell you the problem that already caused several accidents.

sis, help me create my oasis. ok, romantic garden? oh, is there a castle nearby? no, but there's a charming farmhouse. right next to my posh castle! i'm sensing a theme here. well, i am the queen, dear sister. get your annual ikea catalog today. . want to bring you up to date on the grass fire in cordelia. right next to interstate 80. looks like a lot of the fire and smoke has diminished since we first brought you the story at 5:00. it has grown to five alarms but we don't have an update on the

acreage burned. where 680 and 80 meet. remember scandia, that is the area that has been burning but hasn't burned any structures in the area. looks like firefighters got a good handle on it. you can see the wind has been blowing the smoke about 15 minus out of the west. chief meteorologist bill martin will give us the latest on the weather conditions at that fire. pregnant facebook users can announce they are expecting now. they allow you to add an expected child to the profile and they added new options for relationship status. in its efforts to stalk up on property google is buying patents from ibm. they cover a range of technology, including the

fabrication and architecture of memory to other areas including servers and routers. according to documents, the purchase is aimed at shoring up defenses against lawsuits. ford is recall because of gas tanks can fall off and cause a fire. the problem is that straps holding up the tanks can rust and fall apart. ford reported eight accidents. the recall covers certain models from 1997 through 2004 2004. how rooms kept some wineries afloat throughout the recession. that story ahead. >> with your weather forecast and back to the fire near

cordelia, west of fairfield, the latest on that. in here, anarchy meets order.

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back again to our breaking news. the five alarm fire burning in cordelia, near 680 and 80, you can see firefighters made progress. not as much smoke as we have seen since we reported this at 5:00 but the fire is still burning and firefighters are trying to get a handle on it. first report, 15 acres were

burned. we haven't received an update yet on how many more acres were burned. this is near scandia park, right there where 680 joins 8 a. and there is very heavy traffic on north bound 680 and eastbound 8s -- 80 right in the area of where the fire is burning. people may be slowing down to look at it. chief meteorologist bill martin will give us the latest on the weather condition. napa valley wine prices burr bottle are above average. ktvu's tom vacar live now to show us sales are steady and one method in particular is really taking off. >> reporter: you know, when it comes to reputation napa's purple grapes are truly gold. >> reporter: off highway 29,

the winery gets 40,000 visitors a year, they are the reason they made it through the recession, because many become repeat customers. >> last year we sold 90% direct to consumers. >> i buy a bottle or two or three. >> reporter: they have been analyzing the winedry for 90 years. direct to consumer sales leave leave -- become more crucial every year. >> establish relationships with the consumers and service them year after year. >> reporter: wine clubs help a lot. >> the only way for a small winery to be able to make people understand what is behind the wine. what heart, what passion. >> reporter: california wines, especially napa winds command prices far, far higher than the

national average of $37 a bottle. >> average price is $57 for the napa wineries. and you look at cabernet, $58. >> they have a phenomenal reputation and that's why they are able to command high prices. you know, i think worthy prices for their wine. >> reporter: this direct consumer trend is more and more valuable. reporting live, tom vacar, ktvu channel 2 news. julie haener is live with the stories we are working on at 6:00. a man is missing near the grand canyon. what may have happened to him and the phone call ed lee is waiting for from the white house. how the call could spell good

news or bad news. and parents struggling just to buy paper and pencils for back to school. the effort underway to help them and why time is running out. those stories in about 10 minutes. new details about the amber alert issued. the 16-year-old who was abducted was not the driver of the vehicle. he was working when a man carrying a shotgun walked in, robbed the business and abducted the teen. the 16 is a african american, 4'8", 130 pounds, wearing a red cincinnati reds baseball cap. at this point we don't have a description of the abductor just yet but the chp is looking for a 1996 black two door gmc yukon. 4way499 is the license plate. all right.

we want to look that weather now and the particular concern is the wind in the cordelia area. we have an update from fire officials. the cord delia road exit off 680 has been closed because of drifting smoke. there is a traffic backup. north bound 680 near 80 and eastbound 80 at the junction with 680. lots of traffic. firefighters standing by. they knocked out the flames in that section but this has gone to five alarm. let's check in with chief meteorologist bill martin. >> not a lot of fires lately so i am sure they jumped on this lately. what you are looking at here, the live picture. you can see it's a hilly location. johnny f -- john fowler knows

this location, it's hilly. like we see around the bay area, the hilly dry california hills. tough to fight. tough to get people in. the winds in the area are still very, very light. i will show you the area now. as we go in, here is scandia. right here. this is scandia. this is the area. this is where the fire is. you can see it. there is not lot going on from what you can see in terms of housing developments. this is the area. you can see the trails we were talking about. the winds out of the west, southwest like this. we are seeing -- focus. the fire burning up the hill. it will have a harder time burning down the hill. that's the natcher of the -- nature of the fire. we got the 6:00 broadcast, we will update you on the

developments. right now, the fire does look as though the firefighters are getting a good handle on that. drizzle tonight. cool out there. stays cool as we go through the next couple of days. this weather forecast for tomorrow is what we had last week. just the way it's going to be. fog forecast in your -- much of the bay area early morning hours. plenty of fog and low clouds. highs tomorrow in the low 80s. five-day forecast, one that firefighters like, this fire -- they are getting a handle on this. typically in that area winds blowing 30. it's 80 degrees. 79 degrees, humidity is way up. >> delta breeze. >> thank you. still ahead. how these community safety

workers are create agricultural bridge.

. back again live. we want to give you the latest on the developing news in cordelia. we have ground cruise that just arrived on the scene to cover the fire. and news copper 2 is over head. you can see smoke is still coming out of the area and firefighters are still on the

ground. looks like firefighters got a handle on this. it did go to five alarms. ficially it was 15 acres burning but it has superintend beyond that since 5:00 when the calls came in. fire still burning in the cordelia area where 680 and 80 come together, by scandia park that you see from the freeway. we will give you the latest in a few minutes on the ktvu channel 2 news at 6:00. there are some homes in the area but they have not been threatened at this point but we will get the latest in a couple minutes right here on ktvu channel 2 news at 6:00. officers are returning to the streets, ktvu channel 2 news at 6:00 is next.

s great. yeah. yeah. kyle's got that thick head of hair. and that should be rewarded. okay, moment of truth. on "three," say which kid you love the most. ooh, fun, yeah. one, two, three. jennifer. jennifer. whoa. wow. she's so pretty. yeah. or we give it to kyle. it's really all he's got. [ male announcer ] switch to at&t u-verse and record four shows all at the same time. just $29 a month for 6 months. at&t.

. developing news in fairfield where the smoke can be seen from miles. our crew just arrived, find out if homes and businesses are at risk. the sacrifice police officers made that got 25 men and women back in patrol cars.

complete bay area news coverage starts right now, this is ktvu channel 2 news at 6:00. good evening i am ken wayne. frank somerville is off. >> and i am julie haener. more on the fire burning in fairfield right now. not far from 80 and homes. ktvu's paul chambers just arrived. what have you found out? >> reporter: i can tell you we are in the middle of the command center. we can show, that's cal fire. they have a chopper on stand by. they have 80 crews here. this is a five alarm fire. you can see a five alarm fire. you got crews all here. we are told it is over 50-70 acres that have been burned. you can go with video