a search is underway in the east bay after a group of teens escape from a juvenile detention facility that's one of the top stories ahead. good afternoon. we begin with the release of two cal grads held in iran, expected this week. and there's real relief but also caution among their friends and family. ali rasmus is live to explain what needs to happen in order for the two cal grads to gain their freedom. >> reporter: for many them it seems an about-face for the iranian government. just last month a court sentenced shane bower and josh fattal to eight years in prison for espionage and now it appears they'll be heading home this week. a court agreed to set bail for the two hikers at $500,000 each, if they come up with the money they'll be free on thursday. iran accused the men and their friend of spying for the u.s. government after they crossed the border on eye hike.

sarah shourd was released last year. all three are uc berkeley graduates. >> it's great. that's awesome. like i said, i hope it's -- especially around campus, kind of a tough subject. >> she was a journalist in iran and spent two months in the prison where they're held and followed their case choicely and thinks the timing is political. >> the fact that the hikers are being released prior to ahmadinejad's arrival to the u.n. shows the political nature of the case. >> iran ann president mahmoud ahmadinejad is coming to new york this month but where will they get a million dollars for bail? he says in the case of sarah shourd the government of ahman helped her release. >> the king of ahman mediated and somebody who knows who, delivered the bail. >> i talked to the spokeswoman for the families and she says

they're not ready to comment about the hikers' possible release yet. i also got ahold of sarah shourd and she also cannot comment right now. ali rasmus, ktvu channel 2 news. >> thank you, ali. in washington, u.s. secretary of state hillary clinton says the u.s. was encouraged by the comments of the president of iran. >> we obviously hope that we will see a positive outcome from what appears to be a decision by the government. >> the state department says it is not such with swiss envoys to get more details from the iranian authorities. and some say iran may have timed the decision to coincide with president ahmadinejad's u.s. trip for the general assembly of the united nations. shourd's release lasts year happened just as he was heading for the annual gathering of world leaders. oakland police are investigating a bold daylight shooting that sent a senior citizen to the hospital. police say a man in his 60s was

getting out of his car on his way into work on 86th avenue and g street when he was confronted by an armed robber just before 9 this morning. witnesses say the gunman shot the victim in the stomach. his condition has not been released. the only description of the gunman is of an armed man wearing a baseball cap. just minutes ago, oakland police announced the arrest of four oakland teenagers in the may 21st fatal shooting of antonio torres as he was mowing the lawn on 34th avenue. police say this surveillance video of four young men running from the scene helped them break the case. torres was robbed for his ipod and gold necklace. >> based on the interviews we conducted, your, these individuals were out looking -- hunting for victims. we obtained information that they were involved in other robberies as well as maybe a few burglaries. >> the identities of the alleged robbers have not been released because all are under

age 18. police say they have seen an upsurge of robberies as the price of gold hit $1700 an ounce and urge people to reconsider wearing gold on the streets. the search continues for four teenagers who escaped from a boy's rehabilitation center in the east bay. the teens disappeared from the youth rehabilitation facility around 8:30 last night. a staff member discovered one teen missing and when sheriff's deputies arrived they discovered three more had escaped. ktvu news spoke with the mother of one of the teens this morning who says her boy called twice after he escaped last night. >> i told him what were you thinking? what's wrong? what is going on? you need to go back to the ranch. they're making things work for you. it's danger, where anything it happen to you. you can get hurt. he said i can't go back there, they're treating me badly. >> the sheriff's office issued a shelter in place alert for

residents, but that advisory was lifted about 5 this morning. officers are most concerned about one teen who is mentally disabled. he has a conviction for violent offense and is one of two african-american escapees. the other two teens are hispanic. anyone with information should contact the contra costa county sheriff's office. a st. mary's student arrested in connection with a sexual assault of a fellow student. the 18-year-old sophomore was arrested yesterday around noon. he is suspected of raping early sunday morning. police say the victim was able to provide them with critical information and identify the suspect. he is held on $100,000 bail. the san jose state university campus is on alert after two sexual assaults in just one week. on sunday, a female student reported being sexually assaulted near ninth and east san salvador streets. on labor day, another student says she was sexually assaulted

in eyalee near campus. now campus police are increasing patrols and encouraging students to be cautious. >> we're always concerned when anything happens to our students in our university communities. so we actually are hoping that the campus community can help us in involving these crimes. >> campus police say they do not believe the two incidents are related since the two suspects descriptions are different. san jose police have also joined the investigation. a school dress code is dampening the spirit of cheerleaders. the high school in san jose decided the uniforms miniskirts are too short. tara joins us live with some reaction to this move. tara. >> reporter: piedmont home game will be here in two weeks, and the cheerlead isers will be sporting their skirts. but in the classroom that may be cut short. this is youtube video over the past few years. you can see how short the skirts are. the principal here says she thinks it's too much skin so

she's asking them to wear sweatpants underneath. but the girls say it's too hot and looks do,y. the captain of the squad pictured here seconds from the left contacted local media, saying the girls felt they were being treated unfairly. they paid $300 per uniform and their school spirit was being trampled on. but the school is sticking to its dress code. >> what is distracting is that it's so short that it takes away from the learning environment. i mean, they're young women. they're no longer first or -- second graders where you don't pay attention. these are young women and when they leave campus and walk down the street, we're talking about their safety of this point and how they represent themselves. >> the rule says they should go below mid-thigh but some ordered shorter skirts just as administrators were cracking down, conducting dress code sweeps. officials say students were complaining the cheerleaders were skirting the dress code while they got in trouble. sometimes even being sent to

the office. but the principal says she and the cheerleaders have patched things up and she says she would be willing to let them wear biker skirts if they asked. >> thank you. mosquito fogging is set for tonight in concord after some mosquitoes and dead birds tested positive for west nile virus. the contra costa mosquito and vector control will be treating an area near treat boulevard and oak brief rolled. it will begin about 7:30. so far, 11 birds with the virus have been found in contra costa county. there are no reported human cases of west nile virus in the county this year. a fiery rescue caught on tape. we'll she you the dramatic efforts to save a life. taking a look outside, we've got more sunny warm weather today. rosemary will be here with a cooldown in the works. and things are heating up in washington, as lawmakers try to find a trillion dollars in

cuts.

an amazing rescue in utah was caught on tape. police say a motorcyclist hit a car in logan yesterday and became trapped underneath as the wreckage caught fire. several people returned to push the car on to its side.

the motorcyclist was pulled out from underneath and taken to the hospital. he is said to be in critical condition. the driver of the car was not hurt. oakland fire investigators are looking into an apartment fire near lake merritt. a ktvu viewer send us pictures of flames shooting out of the building on newton avenue around 8:30 last night. firefighters say the fire under control in less than 45 minutes. one man was hurt but firefighters say his injuries do not appear to be serious. a man and woman found dead inside a burning oakland home sunday morning suffered stab wounds before the fire started. that's according to an autopsy performed on the bodies. firefighters found the man and woman after responding to a fire in a second-floor apartment in a building near coolidge and nicole avenues. investigators believe the fire was started to cover up the crime. a witness reported seeing several people running away from the building after the fire started.

state law enforcement officials say over the past year california's crime rate has declined in every category. the state department of justice says violent crime is down 6.9%, and this includes homicide and rape. robbery is down 10%. car theft is down 7.6%. the total arrest rate is also 6% lower than last year. that number includes juvenile and adult arrest rates. this information is based on data from police and sheriff's departments from all 58 counties. redevelopment projects in pittsburg are credited for the drop in crime there. the crime rate fell to a 50- year low. pittsburg has also not recorded a homicide this year. since 1985, they have had at least two a year, with a high of 10 in 1992. the drop in crimes comes after a seven-year construction project to revamp the city's

downtown area. this includes a new elementary school, several restaurants, specialty stores, if townhomes. members of a congressional super-committee are gathering once again today to try to figure out how to trim over a trillion dollars from the deficit. ktvu's allison burns is in washington, d.c. with a report on the sobering message they got from today's only witness. >> reporter: the deficit cutting super-committee is drawing its battle lines today, and in just the last few hours we heard democrats say they want to see more tax increases. republicans demanded nor spending cuts. here's a look at today's hearing. the head of theman partisan congressional budget office is the only witness. he is delivering a sobering warning that the country's debt is unsustainable and big changes are needed to bring it under control. the committee must find $1.2 trillion in deficit savings, and the political divide was clear in the members' opening statements. >> we have a spending driven

debt crisis. the deficit reduction will be a jobs plan. we need to ask ourselves, was it the senior citizen, the student, or the wall street banker who received the benefit of this spending binge? when we have our answer we should ask the appropriate person or group to pay their fairer fair share to right the wrong. >> president obama's new $450 billion jobs plan is complicating the committee's work. he wants more spending on schools and struggling communities, while the committee is looking for places to cut. reporting from washington, d.c., allison burns, now back to you. transportation secretary ray lahood will hold a news conference today at the oakland airport, push for more money to keep the federal aviation administration operating. one of the projects in jeopardy is building the new air traffic control tower at oakland airport. congress reached a temporary deal last month after furloughing thousands of

workers in july. but the temporary extension expires at midnight this friday. right now a conference is underway in the south bay to talk about the economic future of the silicon valley. it's called game changers 2012, and it's held at the santa clara convention center. panelists include gaff in newsom, san jose mayor chuck reed and other business leaders. they're discussing ways to improve the business climate and reduce the 10% unemployment rate. mayor reed says the crew is to bring back companies that have gone abroad. >> profits all over the world that would be heavily taxed if brought back into the u.s. and invested in the u.s. so congress needs to make an adjustment in the tax rate on a temporary basis so all those monies can come back. it would more than double what the president proposed in terms of economic impact. >> audience members are encouraged to participate by flashing green or red signs they like or don't like an idea. the conference wraps up in less than an hour at 1 p.m.

regents with the university of california will meet thursday in san francisco to consider more big tuition hikes. uc officials say fees could go up at least 8%, or as much as 16%, every year through 2016. the annual undergraduate tuition would rise from 12,000 right now to $22,000 in four years and that's not including books, room and boards. uc says it needs some money to cover state budget cuts and to help grow enrollment. a new york to phoenix flight was diverted to st. louis this morning because of suspicious activity by three passengers. u.s. airways flight 457 landed around 6 a.m. pacific time at lambert field in st. louis, missouri. federal agents questioned the three passengers and then searched the plane. none of the passengers were detained, and nothing was found on the aircraft, which continued on to phoenix later. the tsa has not said what the passengers were doing that made the flight crew suspicious, but

there has been a heightened awareness in security around the 9/11 anniversary. southern california firefighters are gaining ground on a number of fires in kern county that burned almost 8,000 acres. hundreds of firefighters are battling five major fires, located in southwest kern county and the tea tehachapi area. they gun over the weekend after lightning and thunderstorms. hundreds of homes were evacuated, but so far no homes have been destroyed and evacuation orders have been lifted. in texas, the mammoth bastrop county fire near austin is slowly giving way to firefighters who now have it 70% contained. while many areas remain evacuated, some residents have been allowed to return home only to finds out they don't have one. >> it's really kind of dever state to go see that -- everything is gone. >> i took some papers, my good pants.

my only shoes. and of course i couldn't forget my hat. >> about 1500 structures have been destroyed. and those who returned home are being told to boil water until tests show the water is safe to drink. it's not clear when the fire will be completely out. a lot depends on mother nature and which direction the winds blow. good afternoon to you. if you enjoyed yesterday, i have a feeling you're going to enjoy the weather today. giving you a look there, mostly sunny skies over the district at this hour. little bit of a slower burnoff but some a few degrees cooler than we were 24 hours ago. but we're going to make that up into the afternoon. some of us will be warmer than what we saw yesterday. right now a northwesterly breeze right around sfo. northwesterly in san francisco and this northwesterly flow will be with us over the next day or two, before we start to see some changes and a cooldown is on the way by the end of the week. right now it looks like still dealing with a little gray sky over daly city, san francisco, pacifica, half moon bay, santa

cruz reporting mostly sunny skies at this time as well as the north bay coastline. you can see it there. 61 degrees san francisco right now. upper 60s redwood city, mountainview, san jose. 71, 76 already areas around livermore, concord, fairfield upper 70s. upper 60s around the north bay. 74 in santa rosa. 64 degrees at this hour in oakland. so that system, the disturbance that's been south of us, brought on the lightning and triggered some fires over the weekend. it's crawling to the east. we are going to remain dry, but looks like the sierra still a chance for thunderstorms into the afternoon. meanwhile, here at home we're going to be mostly sunny, slightly warmer and today through tomorrow, and then changes for again the end of the week. afternoon high today, nice one, 81 degrees expected santa rosa. 80 degrees for sonoma and napa. upper 60s, low 70s for the east bay, around san leandro, alameda 70 degrees, oakland, and 80s and low 90s inland.

low 90s right around antioch, and santa clara valley a nice day, 78 san jose. 78 santa clara. and along the peninsula, no complaints here. mid-70s in san mateo. 66 in the city. low 60s along the coastline. the extended forecast, temperatures very mild to warm. near normal for this time of year. so this is kind of weather we like, right? we're going to see just a little dip there. you see thursday, friday more notable for inland areas, upper 70s in the forecast, but in time for the weekend temperatures will be rebounding, even upper 80s low 90s expected which the end of the weekend for inland areas, 60s along the coastline. nice! >> thank you. >> you're welcome. just ahead we'll have a check on stocks and preparing for the unexpected. fema and the red cross talk to amtrak riders with a kickoff of national preparedness month.

tag a live look at the big board on wall street. numbers have been fairly mixed today, back and forth a little bit. there's been some good news, general electric other industrial stocks are higher today as well as financial stocks. but there's still concern about the european debt crisis and the future of the u.s. economy right now. the dow currently down 1 1/2, nasdaq up 25, led by apple gaining 1.6% now. s&p is up 5. the cencus bureau today reported americans living in poverty jumped to a 27-year high.

in 2010, almost one in six people were living in poverty. this is up 14.3% since 2009. the number of people without health insurance also climbed to 49.9%. u.s. drivers are on pace to spends the most amount of money on gas ever. reports say this number could hit $491 billion by the ends of the year. analysts say it's because of expensive oil and increased exports of gasoline and diesel. they say prices should drop between now and mid-october, at the pumps. but three likely climb back up to nearly $4 a gallon by spring. and triple-a reports gas is already nearly $4 eye gallon for local drivers and it's risen in the last month. the average price of regular in san francisco stands at $3.99 a gallon. that's up 16 cents from a month ago. it's $3.93 in san jose. up by 19 cents. and gas jumped 20 cents a gallon in oakland, where the

average price is 3.93 a gallon. today kicks offer national preparedness month. officials from fema and the red cross were at oakland's jack london square, amtrak station this morning. they were telling passengers how important it is to be prepared for any potential disaster. >> we want to remind people this is a 24-7 situation. that preparedness thought and preparation is not limited -- shouldn't be limited to any day of the year. >> fema is attaching safety information to passenger tickets and the red cross representative is showing the items people need for emergency kits. fema officials say this year being prepared is on people's minds more than ever because of the recent september 11th anniversary. thousands of people across the bay area are expected to volunteer their time this weekend for the 27th annual california coastal clean-up day. clean-up activities are scheduled to take place at waterways across the bay area. this is video from last year. 30 clean-up events are set to

take place. and our next newscast is ktvu channel 2 news at 5. thank you for watching. have a great day!