try to avert a bart strike. time is ticking. and we are hours away from the deadline. >> that's not the only strike for commuters. the possible second blow they could face. >> a heat warning. and this hot weather is bringing high fire danger to one popular destination. >> a record crowd turned out for this year's pride parade. why so many felt a need to be part of history. >> complete bay area news coverage starts right now.

this is ktvu channel 2 news at 5:00. >> goodly evening. i'm ken wayne. >> good evening. union workers set to strike at midnight. unless of course a new contract has reached. negotiations resumed a new time ago bringing new hope bart's new strike in 16 years will be averted. we have team coverage for you tonight including options for commuters in the event of a strike. we begin with ken with the latest on negotiations. >> reporter: this has been a day of changed locations waiting for these negotiations to begin. representatives of bart and unions are inside the cal trans building here. they arrived here about 3:30 this afternoon to resume those talks. and just a few minutes ago a bart spokes person came out and gave an update. and alicia joins me now. what can you tell us about

what both sides are doing? >> the good news is we're in the same building talking and that's different from this morning and last night. we're trying to avoid a strike. we don't want to burden the area. we're going to be here through the evening down to the wire. hopefully we can extend talks. the last thing we want is a strike. >> bart came forward with a new deal. i believe that deal was ready yesterday. it was presented to the union today. can you give us the highlights of that offer? >> we doubled our offer. we went from 4% to 8%. all we want to see is just show us a little movement. come and meet us in the middle and let's get this done. >> what are your feelings about whether a strike can be averted? >> at this point they are pretty working towards that strike. and we're just hoping to convince them otherwise. we don't want to drag the bay area into this.

let's try to prevent this from happening in the first place. >> spokes woman for bart. thank you for joining us and giving us that quick update. i did talk with union representatives as they were walking into that meeting. they were not exactly sure what bart was going to offer. but from what they heard that offer was not acceptable. both sides were still far apart. but the union said they too want to avert a strike that obviously will cause great difficulties for tomorrow morning's commute. that's an update from negotiations here in downtown oakland. back to you. >> thank you, ken. of course we're going to continue monitoring this all throughout the news cast and into the night and bring you the latest. if bart workers go on strike, there might be no easy way in the bay area. >> talked to commuters and has some of the best options. >> reporter: traffic flowing this freely will be a distant

memory come monday if bart workers go on strike. >> well, it makes life complicated. >> she's among many hoping to take advantage of expanded ac transit service. but with bus drivers demanding a new contract by midnight, even that's not a sure thing. >> then i don't know what i'll do. i may have a day off. >> if there is a strike, bart station parking lots will likely be empty. people are being encouraged to park here for free and arrange their own carpools. pick up a phone. >> get on the compute her and tele commute to work if possible. >> san francisco bay ferry will expand capacity from 20,000 to 50,000 passengers a day and direct trips to san francisco from oakland and alameda. buses at the amtrak stations will also offer rides to the city. bart will offer free charter buses at its stations in el cerrito,

walnut creek. but only 2 to 4,000 passengers a day in each direction. >> this cabdriver says he'll be busy too but even he's hoping a strike can be averted. >> they will be busy. it takes time. so it's not so good. >> ktvu channel 2 news. >> we posted more information on the looming strike at ktvu.com. click on the bart strike tab. you can sign up for bart strike alerts online for the latest information and ktvu team will send out media letters as it happens. just follow ktvu on twitter or hit like on the ktvu facebook page. >> also bring you complete coverage tomorrow morning with a special edition of ktvu channel 2 morning news. begins at 4:00 a.m. >> coming up at 5:30 why commuters aren't just concerned about a bart walk out. the other mass transit system on the verge of going on strike. >> it was yet another day of

triple digits across parts of the bay area. >> we're having a heat wave, a tropical heat wave. >> made the best of today's hot weather. she pulled out her umbrella to keep herself cool. we talked to a walnut creek resident who says he stays wet. >> i head for the coast. the only reason i'm not doing it today, i'm hung over from a party last night and need to recover. i'll go there tomorrow morning. supposed to be hot through wednesday. >> long exposure in triple digit temperatures isn't good for anyone. and recommend going to a shopping mall, library, movie theater or restaurant or a senior center to get a break from the heat. in san jose park rangers closed all public access due to hot weather and increase fire danger. rangers hope the emergency closure will reduce the potential for fire and heat related emergencies.

the park is usually closed on mondays but expected to reopen on tuesday. mark tamayo is here with how the conditions are right now around the bay area. >> hi, there. still very hot temperatures inland. cooled off a few degrees from yesterday's highs. here's a look at the map. do you see how broad this area is with excessive heat warnings including parts of the bay area right now in place for the north bay valleys, east bay valleys, santa clara valley is. here we go with some of the current temperatures for the 5:00 hour and still talking about 100 in fairfield. cooler than yesterday. yesterday around 105 degrees at this time. concord upper 90s and sea breeze kicking in with help of fog near half-moon bay and san francisco. san francisco in the upper 60s. we are focused on the heat inland. right now 102 in brentwood. mid to upper 90s out towards lafayette.

down to the south bay, morgan hill and gilroy in the mid to upper 90s. very hot temperatures for the inland parts of the bay area and still a factor as we head into tomorrow. this is the big controlling factor. this area of high pressure, strong high pressure building in. coming up, the two days we could have temperatures around 108 from the hottest portion of the bay area and when the heat warning may finally expire. >> thank you, mark. there were scary moments for two dozen people when their boat began taking on water. the crew of the 50 foot charter fishing vessel called for help around noon. the crew was able to stop the leak and the boat made it back to shore safely. about 27 miles west of san francisco. >> we have new information tonight on the proposition 8 case. the supreme court today rejected a request from prop 8 supporters to halt county clerks

from issuing same-sex marriage licenses. the 9th circuit court acted prematurely in allowing marriages to resume. which usually comes within 25 days of the ruling. justice anthony kennedy denied that request. san francisco city hall stayed open all weekend for couples who wanted to tie the knot. scheduled to close at 8:00 tonight. court houses in contra costa, alameda counties will reopen tomorrow to large numbers of same sex couples wanting to get married. alameda opens at 8:30 and santa clara will open at 9:00 tomorrow morning. >> a drug company voluntarily pulls thousands of bottles of baby aspirin off store shelves. what a pharmacist found that prompted that recall. >> a hot air balloon goes down on southern california freeway.

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charge ahead of the rest in the hov lane. we have some breaking news to tell you about out of san jose where a fire broke out in the last few minutes in a dump. you can see a live look at the fire burning near highway 87 and interstate 280. white smoke coming up near the freeway intersection which could be a distraction for drivers. we don't know how big the fire is. doesn't look like it's a very big fire at this point. but we'll be continuing to monitor this fire and bring you the latest if anything else develops. we have new details about a story we told you about last night. investigators have identified the man who jumped off a train into the creek and died. 26-year-old allen chung was with friends when the accident occurred. divers recovered his body around 2:30 yesterday afternoon. no foul play is suspected and autopsy is

set for tomorrow. disciplinary order against a pilot against the oil tanker that hit the bridge is expected tomorrow. state agency that licenses and regulates the pilots is expected to vote on an order against captain guy cleese. became a bar pilot and at the helm when it struck the bumper of a tower of the western span. >> drivers in southern california got quite a surprise when a hot air balloon fell out of the sky and on to a freeway. it came to rest near the fast lanes of highway 56 in the neighborhood of san diego. the balloon touched down on an overpass between east and westbound lanes and dropped to the road below. >> dropped right in between these two overpasses in this area where they had just enough room. it was like threading the needle. >> that man said he heard

people on board cheer with relief yelling we made it. no one was hurt. it's still unclear what caused that balloon to land off course. a popular travel web site found san francisco is one of the hottest travel destinations for 4th of july holiday. more than 30,000 hotel room booking requests and san francisco's fisherman's wharf came in as 4th most popular spot. union square ranked 25th. new orleans came in at number one. follow it'd by chicago and new york city. >> higher after california gas tax goes into affect tomorrow. the state gasoline tax will go up 3.5 cents. almost 72 cents a gallon. funds from gasoline taxes go toward highway and mass transit projects across the state. gas prices around the bay area have dipped slightly

despite that looming gas tax hike. in san francisco drivers are paying around $4.07 a gallon. in oakland and san jose about $3.97. that's about 6 or 7 cents less than last week. >> the real estate market appears to be roaring back. realtors say they are seeing bidding wars on homes that were once hard to sell and increase in buyers offering cash for homes. home prices across the country rose about 12%. and in san francisco, home prices are up by 24% compared to the same time last year. >> the market has changed drastically. everything has a steady trend upwards as far as the sales price and also competition for buyers. >> industry experts say the recent rise in mortgage rates could slow momentum. >> a pharmaceutical company recalled more than 16,000 bottles of baby aspirin after a

mix up. voluntarily pulling rugby label coated aspirin tablets. a pharmacist opened a bottle and found a 500 milligram acetaminophen pill. can be ngerous to children and adults with certain conditions. >> can have an allergy to it or preexisting liver condition, that would add to the toxicity and potentially harm them. >> the aspirin was sold nationwide. the company has not said what caused that mix up. >> we continue to follow the bart negotiations currently underway. a live report coming up in a few minutes.

we continue to follow that breaking news in san jose where a fire broke out just in the last few minutes in a dump. want to give you another live look at this fire. it's burning near highway 87 and interstate 280 pretty much downtown. you can see a large ploom of smoke near the busy freeway. we don't know yet how big this fire is or how far it has spread. we are checking in with san jose fire officials to find out exactly what started this. how many crews there are on the scene. and if anything is threatened in this area. you can see that it's surrounded by highways. doesn't appear as though there are homes in the vicinity.

if you do look over to the left hand of the screen, you can see flames there. obviously, fire officials concerned. it is very, very hot in san jose. i'm looking over at the maps with mark tamayo. what's the temperature there in san jose? it's 84 degrees right now. fire officials concerned about the temperature. we are continuing to monitor this fire and as soon as we get more details we will bring them to you live. >> u.s. secretary of state john kerry says significant progress was made to get israel and the palestinians to restart peace talks. kerry painted his visit in a positive light, at the end of intense talks, there was no breakthrough to start formal talks. kerry did not detail sticking points but did say he was leaving staff behind in the mid east in hopes of getting both sides to the table within the next few months. >> prime minister both engaged

constructively, carefully, seriously. we considered different approaches. and i am hopeful we are close to an approach that will work. >> the peace talks have been stalled for years. return to negotiations if israel stops all new construction in the west bank and east jerusalem. israel says peace talks should resume without preconditions. tens of thousands of people remain in the streets calling for the resignation of president mohammed morisi. filled the square surrounding the presidential palace. the protestors accuse the country's president to fail to attack security problems. and a series of bomb attacks killed 49 people. the bombings came as british prime minister was in the capitol vowing to do all he

can to help fight radical extremists. the deadliest happened in quada. the first blast was a hand grenade. >> we are just hours away from a possible bart strike and our crew is there monitoring the negotiations. we'll have the latest on why the two sides seem so far apart. >> it's a recipe for a commuter nightmare. the other transit strike that wou be a double whammy for those who rely on public transportation. >> the ktvu ipad app is ready you to download plus get traffic, bay area weather and video of breaking news any time anywhere.

we are following the bart labor talks. union workers set to strike at midnight unless a contract is reached. karen is standing by at those talks to give us the latest details. ken >> reporter: what happened today is not only both sides come back together inside the same building but changed locations. these negotiations were taking place inside the bart headquarters. today they moved to what both sides are calling neutral ground. this is the cal trans headquarters. both sides arrived here at 3:30 this afternoon. a bart spokes woman came out a short time ago and told us about the offer they put on the table today.

twice the pay, pay raise offer. the raise increment increased by -- doubled, rather. and increase pension and medical benefits. the union said that offer is not what it seems and at least on first flush they said it was not acceptable. with this deadline coming, it's worth noting these groups did not meet friday. barely met at all yesterday. and today they did not gather until 3:30 this afternoon. and it's not even clear what they are doing inside the building at this point if they are actually negotiating at this point or preparing to do so. we do know both sides walked in there at 3:30 this afternoon. bart says it will continue these meetings, they will talk to midnight if that is what it takes. that is the strike deadline coming up at midnight. and both sides going in to these negotiations says that is one thing they want to avoid is a bart strike.

obviously, because it would be disruptive and costly to the bay area. ken pritchett, ktvu channel 2 news. >> there's a certain amount of posturing that goes on with these kinds of things. and both sides will say something but that doesn't necessarily mean that's what's happening. can you read body language? are you getting any other indicators of how this is going forward? >> reporter: well, to be honest with you, i think that would be rather dangerous for me to guess what they are thinking. and you are right about the posturing. there's always posturing going into these negotiations. they are keeping us informed about what their take is on this. the union had their take on bart's offer. but even they said they weren't entirely clear everything bart was putting on the table. they seemed to indicate the pay increase was not acceptable to them. both sides are saying they want to

get something done today to avoid a strike tomorrow. it's not clear if that can happen. one of the negotiators said of the two sides even with bart putting this offer on the table today, of the two sides, he said they are still very far apart. but you can take that as you will, as you said. that could be posturing ahead of what will be a public relations situation. certainly tomorrow should this strike take place. >> all right. ken pritchett live in oakland. he will stay on top of it and keep us posted on how things are going. more details on what bart says union workers already earn. the average union employee makes $71,000 a year. also get $52,000 worth of benefits. bart says union employees get an average of $11,000 a year in overtime. plus receive 10 to 12 weeks in paid days off including

vacation, holidays and sick time. there is no contribution to retirement which pays a retiree after 30 years of service more than $42,000 a year. transit workers say they've made concessions in the past and what they are asking for is fair. stay with ktvu for complete coverage. we will send out media letters on the strike decision as it happens. just follow ktvu on twitter or like us on the ktvu facebook page and we'll bring you a special edition of ktvu morning news beginning at 4:00 a.m. >> we are also following another developing story tonight on transit workers. they too are threatening to strike tomorrow. if they walk off the job, it would be double trouble for east bay commuters. union workers just held their own emergency meeting. erik? >> reporter: that meeting just broke up in the last hour. we were not allowed inside to listen to what they