complete bay area news coverage starts right now, this is ktvu channel 2 news at noon. >> is domestic violence a laughing matter? >> of course not. >> he is fighting to keep his job and today he is doing it from a witness stand. the ross mirkarimi case is one of the top stories. i am tori campbell. we will have more on that in a moment. first breaking news in san francisco.

firefighters are booting a three aheart apartment building fire. -- three alarm apartment building fire. ktvu's tara moriarty is live. good afternoon. >> reporter: good afternoon. a elderly person suffered smoke inhalation. she is expected to survive. if you look here, investigators are trying to figure out what started the blaze. the fire happened next to that tall building where they have that latter rigged. it broke out at 10:00 a.m. this morning, forcing does toons be evacuate -- dozens to be evacuated. these flames were shooting at the 44 unit apartment complex, 7 stories high, it took them 40 minutes to get the flames contained. he smelled burning and went to his roof to get a better look. >> i see flame and smoke from

the backside of our bidding. i try my back to come back here and called 911. >> reporter: officials say the fire ignited in a light well lined with metal. >> what you see sometimes in these pipe areas, light wall areas, there is garbage, cigarettes, something like that, not to say that is the case here, but that has been the case in many fires like this, so. >> reporter: you can see that crews are breaking down right now. 10 apartment units were damaged. no word on how many people are without homes, but the red cross is helping them find places to stay. streets should be open shortly. if you are in the area, expect

a traffic jam here. live in san francisco, tara moriarty, ktvu channel 2 news. >> thank you. a fundraiser will be held sunday for survivors of a apartment house fire in the mission district on may 6. 37 tenants lost their homes. many have found new places to stay but others are still in need. a family of 12 is in public housing. the fundraiser will be held that lounge at 3:00 p.m. suspended san francisco sheriff ross mirkarimi gave more testimony this morning in the second day of a hearing over his future. ktvu's allie rasmus lets us know if the mayor has taken the stand yet. good afternoon. >> reporter: good afternoon. mayor ed lee is scheduled to testify in the hearing but they haven't gotten to him. right now suspended san francisco sheriff ross mirkarimi is on the stand, she

answering questions at city hall, and about 10 minutes ago he appeared to get choked up when he explained why he should be able to keep his job, now he has seen both sides of the process and that makes him an asset. >> reporter: the hearing started at 9:00. before it began dozens of people lined up to make sure they get a seat. suspended san francisco sheriff ross mirkarimi greeted his supporters on his way in. >> reporter: what are you expecting? >> you know, i shouldn't talk to press because i am still on the stand. >> reporter: how are you holding up? >> you tell me. >> reporter: he faced a second day of questions. yesterday he admitted he bruised the arm of his wife ellana lopez during an argument. a neighbor recorded this video of ellana lopez describing the incident and today he focused on how he learned about the

video from his wife. >> she told me she felt betrayed by the neighbors because they went forward to call authorities. i could see my wife was scared. concerned. and angry. >> reporter: he focused on a comment ross mirkarimi made while he was under investigation. he described the incident as a private matter between he and his wife. >> when law enforcement tells the public that domestic violence is a private family matter that sends the wrong message to victims? >> yes. >> reporter: ellana lopez may end up testifying at the hearing although there is still a question on house. she in venezuela. the only way she will testify is if she able to fly back to san francisco.

there is question whether or not the city will pay for the plane ticket. allie rasmus, ktvu channel 2 news. >> thank you. the man accused of beating a former priest took the stand this morning. under oath william lynch admitted two years ago he punched reverend jerold linder at retirement home. william lynch described how he says reverend jerold linder sexually assaulted him and his brother when they were boy. testimony is expected to continue this afternoon. church pastor accused of child molestation. robert ruark was arrested last night at his home. someone representing st. timothy orthodox church in fairfield alerted police to the allegations. they involve at least 5 victims and date back to 1994.

investigators in san jose say they do not expect arson in a home. it was reported last night in a vacant home near san jose state. we got the video of the fire this morning. the first fire crews saw smoke pouring from every window. homes were evacuated and dozen firefighters fought the flames for two hours. >> huge. huge. that is a big home. two stories. probably has basement as well. and that house, my god. it was -- it was going. >> no one was inside and no one was hurt. the cause is still under investigation. san jose fire officials say two recent trash can fires were the work of an arsonist. coming up, the campaign investigators launched this morning to solve this crime.

we have new details about the officer involved shooting that left a 35-year-old man dead. it happened yesterday afternoon. ktvu's claudeeen w tells -- claudine wong tells us more. . >> reporter: police gathered evidence at the home. >> he was a nice person. >> reporter: telling them he was going to kill himself, a police officer and he may have already killed a police officer. police say he came out armed with a gun and he fired. police say he was standing in his driveway when he fired a single shot. it went across this yard and through the other side of that fence, then threw this fountain and then finally ended up on

the other side of her yard. >> and then i heard shots. probably about, i don't know, probably about 15, 20 shots. >> reporter: when it was over he was dead and his family in shock. >> i don't know what you would call this, but he is not a violent person. >> reporter: bullet hole steles the story. -- tells the story. >> a couple police officers were back here and fired. >> not more than a couple. 2, 3, maybe 4. >> i am still shaken by it. i don't know, i think it will effect me the rest of my life. >> reporter: shaken by what could have happened. claudine wong, ktvu channel 2 news. >> reporter: the back lash intensified today over the decision to uphold president obama's healthcare reform act. >> the present said he would never raise taxes on the middle

class. this is a middle class tax increase. >> republicans say the mandates mean as tax. -- means a tax. now lawmakers are going to repeal the law. a move that democrats vowed to fight. >> that would open all of the healthcare threats to women, people with preexisting condition, and to small business whose are using the tax credits to provide healthcare. >> republicans already set a vote for after the july 4 break to repeal the affordable care act. the house of representatives this morning passed a bill that will keep the interest rate from rising on student loans and will provide funds for highway project. the rate on loans would have doubled if they didn't reach a

compromise. democrats gave up environmental provisions. rates will stay at 3.4%. and $100 billion for highway programs and projects over two years. it will save 2.8 million jobs. the bill passed on a vote of 373-52. passing out flyers. giving information. >> firefighters went door to door to criminals they hope to catch with the community help. and mark tamayo will tell you how the weather will be for the weekend and a wild ride as a new attraction opens in the bay area.

nasa released this video of the fire devastated area around colorado springs. the fire left one dead and three missing. destroyed 350 homes and forced 3500 homes to evacuate. the worst fire in colorado's

history. the fire is 15% contained and president obama is surveying damage in colorado. he arrived aboard air force one. president obama has declared it a disaster area. investigators confirm a huge fire near a oakland bart station was deliberately set. the fire burned down a housing complex that was under construction and damaged bart tracks. they know where and how it started but they llwinot release details till they make an arrest. it caused $25 million in damage. san jose fire officials are fighting a war on arson and today they reached out to the public for help. >> do you know anything or hear anything, give the number a call. >> san jose firefighters went

door to door handing out flyers and asking people to keep their eyes and ears open. they battled a series of fires that were intentionally set, including several trash can fires that damaged homes. they hope the public can help start the arsonist. >> we believe there is somebody out there that has the information. lives are at stake. >> the fire department and counsel are offering a $1,000 reward for information. police are hoping a new reward will property someone to help them solve a cold case. the victim michael jones was shot as he walked into a friend's house. witnesses saw several people drive away with a blue saturn after the shooting. police and crime stoppers are offering a $5,000 reward in the

case. george zimmerman, the man who shot trevon martin will have to stay in jail for today. today a judge said he will not issue an immediate ruling on his request for bail. the judge said he needs time to weigh the evidence. the court heard a tape of his encounter with trevon martin and the father said the voice of the man screaming belonged to his son. earlier his bail was revoked after he misled the court about how much money he had. toyota expanded a recall due it acceleration. they are adding 150,000 lexuss from the 2010 model year. toyota recalled 14 million other vehicles to fix problems. the safety agents says people

should remove the driver side floor mat till they can take them in. aaa is expecting a record number of people in california to travel by car for the forth of july holiday and some are hitting the roads today. this is a live look at interstate 80. aaa is projecting 3.8 million californians will drive. that is the highest number since 2003. 54% of those say they plan to start today. a drop in gas prices is one of the factors in the jump. today workers are putting the finishing touches on the fair that opens tomorrow. they celebrate the agricultural routes. you can enjoy cheese tasting,

tractor displays and the new pavilion and rides and fire works every night. it rubs through the -- runs through had forth of july. a new super man ride and tara moriarty was live taking a run. [ screams ] >> look at that. 150-foot drop. >> it is the tallest roller coaster west of the mississippi. speeds topping 60 miles per hour. it is a heart stopping 1 minute trill ride. looks like she had a nice view, low clouds and fog. marine layer making a come back. you can see that live. the fog beginning to thicken up, as a result, if you don't see it, you can feel it. temperatures cooler across the

bay area. no 90s. warmest locations around 80 this afternoon. over cast. half moon bay, pacifica, point reyes, san francisco, the cooler on shore breeze, here is the winds as you could expect towards fairfield. sustained at 23 miles per hour. as far as headlines for today, weave this, more -- we have this, more fog coast side and around the bay. this weekend, fog and drizzle first thing tomorrow morning. temperatures bottom out saturday. next week a little bit of a bump in the numbers, but no major heat waves in the forecast. current numbers, you can see the 70s towards fairfield, concord, clear skies. still over cast towards san

francisco, 61. san jose reporting 70 degrees. high pressure has been keeping -- warming up the bay area i should say but this is on the way out as low pressure moves in. areas of fog targeting the coast and the bay. temperatures this afternoon, 3- 6 degrees cooler than yesterday's highs and this pattern sticks around into saturday. we will warm up by sunday. here is the forecast, over cast on the increase late tonight and tomorrow morning. look that over cast first thing saturday morning. we could have drizzle tomorrow morning, especially around the coast and bay. temperatures this afternoon, san francisco 64. brentwood 80 degrees. san jose tops out in the 70s and morgan hill, upper 70s. here is a look ahead, five-day forecast with your bay area weekend in view. cooler for your saturday. that is the coolest day of the weekend. warming on sunday but that is the beginning the beginning the

of warming trend. monday and tuesday, temperatures warm up a little bit and getting a better handle on forth of july, mild to warm out there. cool temperatures, beaches, inland 80s. looking good at this point for the forth of july. >> cooler this weekend and warming up again. >> yeah. >> thank you. starting sunday it will be legal to get on a muni bus if you have a clipper card. riders who have cash or tokens will have to board through the front door and they plan to hire more inspectors. it is the first to have an all door boarding system. when we get back, big news from the entertainment world, two well known stars breaking up.

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stocks surging after european leaders agreed to prescriptions eased helping their debt crisis. live look, the dow up 230, nasdaq up 75, s&p27. most cola drinks contain alcohol. they tested 19 brands of soda. 10 of them, including coke and

pepsi contained low levels of alcohol. the alcohol is likely from a naturally fermented fruit and it is safe to drink. competition is tight at the gymnastic olympic trials in san jose. the top three men have less than 2 points separating them after the first day of competition. the women start their events this afternoon. u.s.a. gymnasting is using 5 pen and women -- 5 men and women who will represent them at the london olympics. on www.ktvu.com we posted photos. tom cruise and katie holmes announced today they are divorcing after 5 years of marriage. the pair is splitting. married in 2006 and have a six- year-old daughter. third marriage to tom cruise

and first for katie holmes. so far they have not filed divorce papers in los angeles county. today on ktvu channel 2 news at 5:00, the man accused of beating a former priest takes the stand, we are in court for the testimony, find out what he admitted to this morning. thank you for trusting ktvu channel 2 news we will see you the next time news breaks, and we are always here for you on www.ktvu.com and on mobile www.ktvu.com. have a great weekend.