. now at noon police in the south bay are searching for a serial bank robber. only on 2 the unusual disguise investigators say the suspect is using. the man accused of setting fire to the chinese consulate in san francisco makes his first court appearance. why he told investigators he set the fire and what neighbors are saying about him. and new concerns about the spread of the flu with students returning to class from winter break. what one south bay school is doing to minimize the spread of germs.

good orange. i'm tori campbell. san jose police are on the hunt for a bank robber who has robbed at least five banks the past two months throughout the south bay. robert handa joins us live with the unusual description that investigators hope will lead to an arrest. good afternoon, robert. >> reporter: good afternoon, tori. we are here a the latest bank hit by the serial bank robber. police say this bank on south park victoria drive in millipede december was robbed yesterday afternoon and they need the public's help to identify the suspect for various reasons. the first obvious mystery that needs solving is who the suspect might be and if the person is a woman or a manual. as you can see -- or a man. as you can see from surveillance pictures, the suspect is being described as a black female or possibly a male, black curly hair which could be a wig.

descriptions from tellers have been mixed. some believe it's a woman. others thought it might be a man in disguise. police say the person started the string of robberies at a wells fargo bank in millipede december november 9 and hit two banks a few weeks ago before returning to two more following one in late december and the one yesterday. >> initially the suspect will approach the tellers and engage in small talk and is very cordial. then at some point then her demeanor changes and it's -- she gets down to business. she basically brandishes a gun and tells them it's a robbery and sometimes has even threatened the tellers. police say just because the robberies have taken place in the south bay doesn't mean the suspect lives here which is why the alert is bay area wide. there's a $11,000 award being offered. coming up on 5:00, more on the robberies and how the suspect's

behavior has changed from crime to crime. live in milipedes, rocked handa, ktvu channel 2 news. the man accused of setting fire to the chinese consulate in san francisco made his first court appearance. terry moriarty was at the hearing and also spoke to the suspects neighbors. good afternoon. >> reporter: good afternoon. no cameras were allowed in the courtroom but yan fang looked rather faint. he didn't say much as the judge assigned him a public defender. the f.b.i. says 39-year-old yan feng admitted in a 911 call january 3 that he was behind the arson attack on the chinese consulate new year's day. >> i would never have thought of anything. i feel bad for the family. >> reporter: a woman who lives next door to him in the west

lake district of daly city didn't want to be identified. she says he has a wife and two small children. >> i just saw the cops swarming around the house and almost like a raid. >> reporter: the neighbor shared this cell phone picture of police cars on the street two days after the fire. >> it was insane. never know who your neighbors are. >> i've seen people come in and out of the house fairly younger than me. i am surprised. i was kind of shocked. >> reporter: the f.b.i. says he's the figure seeing --er is certain. he said all the voices he had been hearing in chinese and the chinese consulate had to be involved. he is a chinese national with permanent residence status. none of his family appeared in court. his next appearance will be january 15 to set a date for the preliminary hearing. live from san francisco, i'm

terry moriarty, ktvu channel 2 news. it's a turn around story for richmond now that that city's homicide rate hit a 2323- year -- a 33-year low. just 16 people were killed in richmond in 2013 and there had been five months with no homicides at all. that's about one-third the number of homicides just a few years ago. and it's encouraging news for residents and business owners like the man who operates pascal cafe. he's now thinking about expanding his coffee shop to other parts of richmond. >> it's much safer now than before. before it was -- i was not aware of this area pretty much. now i know it's not what we hear. it's a very different area now. it's very cleaned up. >> police credit the drop in violent crime to a multipronged strategy that includes better community relations, the hiring of younger officers and programs for at risk youth and former gang members. today's federal hearing in the case of 13-year-old jahi

mcmath has now been canceled. the hearing was scheduled for 1:00 p.m. today but a federal judge canceled the hearing say the issue is moot since jahi was transferred yesterday from children's hospital oakland to an undisclosed medical facility. however, the family's attorney says jahi is in, quote, bad shape after nearly a month at children's hospital. jahi has been declared legally brain dead. the coast guard is searching for a crew member who apparently fell overboard from a cruise ship sailing from san francisco to hawaii. the coast guard says the man is a 34-year-old filipino national but did not give his name. he was last seen last night. the shipping was on, the grand princess has joined other ships and a coast guard helicopter in searching an area about 1100 miles northeast of hilo, hawaii. a weather avert. the polar vortex, the

dangerously frigid temperatures have spread east. highs are expected to be just in the teens in washington, d.c. and new york city. new york's jfk airport recorded a record low for the date of 6 degrees. still major problems for air travelers. sal castaneda joins us live from san francisco international airport where travelers are still grappling with the effects of this national weather. good afternoon, sal. >> reporter: good afternoon, tori. nationwide more than 8,000 flights have been canceled or delayed because of this extreme weather. airports simply cannot keep up with the demand. as we go into sfo, just about anywhere you look, you see people camping out on the floor or in lounges waiting for delayed or rescheduled flights and the last half-hour we spoke with airport officials who tell us there have been 18 cancellations today primarily the airports in boston, new york, and chicago. officials categorize those as

spillover from yesterday which had many more. even those not traveling to the midwest or the northeast say they are keenly aware of the problem. >> you may not be coming from cold weather but if you're waiting on a flight coming in that's coming from somewhere where it's cold, then you're delayed. the dallas airport was pretty busy where i left today and there were a lot of people on delayed flights. i noticed that even just calling in when i called to get gate information, there were long waits on the phone. sometimes 45 minutes to an hour delay. >> reporter: as you heard that gentleman say, even getting someone on the town foan is a tough proposition. then -- phone is a tough proposition. then there is the luggage. dozens of passengers have not made it back here even though their luggage has. it will likely be a few days before it's all sorted out. the cancellations and delays has led to short tempers at the

airport which leads us to the most humorous passenger at the airport. >> mom gets mad at times. >> reporter: what do you think about all the waiting? >> he's terrible to wait with. >> reporter: again the best advice is before you come to the airport and do a lot of waiting around here, it may be best to check with your carrier if your flight is delayed for hours. for example, you might want to sit at home for a little bit of that time. check with your carrier by phone, the internet or any way that you can to make sure that your flight is still leaving and not delayed severely. live at san francisco airport, sal castaneda, you can -- ktvu channel 2 news. more than 500 passengers who opted for amtrak were stranded overnight because of heavy snow blocking the tracks. this after trains from los angeles, quincy, illinois and the bay area all became stranded about 80 miles west of chicago. crews were brought in to clear

the tracks and other trains arrived to pull the stranded trains to their destination. the passengers we mained on board and were kept warm and fed by the crew. amtrak now says it is limiting service to and from chicago because of the weather. prosecutors in new york have charged more than a hundred people with fraud saying they filed phony claims for social security disability benefits. most were arrested this morning. authorities say they faked mental disabilities such as post-traumatic stress disorder and many pointed to the september 11 attacks as the cause. the 106 defendants include 74 former police officers and eight former firefighters. investigators say the defendants collected 30,000 to $50,000 in a year in disability payments, many while working at other jobs. the los angeles county sheriff lee bacah announced his retirement. it comes one month after

federal prosecutors filed criminal charges against 18 sheriff's dependencies accused of beating jailed inmates and visitors. the 71-year-old has served as sheriff since 1998 and would have been up for reelection this coming june. as 1.3 million americans wait to find out if their long- term jobless benefits will be extended, the senate takes a crucial vote on the issue. >> it's cloudy and a little cooler outside in the bay area. rosemary will be here to tell you there could even be a chance of sprinkles in the forecast. >> it's the first day kids are back to school after the holiday break and health officials are saying the flu is spreading fast. we'll tell you about their warning.

a bill to extend jobless benefits to the long-term unemployed cleared a key senate vote this morning. 60 senators including six republicans voted to move forward with debate on the bill. it would extend benefits for three months. president obama this morning continued his campaign for passage of the bill. >> this is not an abstraction. these are not the statistics. these are your neighbors, your friends, your family members. it could at some point be any of us.

>> many republicans support extending the benefits but only if the cost is offset by other cuts in the federal budget. if the bill passes the senate, it's still not clear if it will pass in the house. it is the first day back at school for thousands of kids in the bay area. just in time for the height of flu season. jeanine de la vega tells us how some schools in the south bay are trying to keep the virus from spreading. >> reporter: as kids came back from holiday break this morning, they were reunited with friends and they were greeted with a friendly reminder. at this elementary school in san jose, they don't want germs spreading so hand sanitizers are used and the principal even starts the day with this announcement. >> we're entering the cold and flu season so i want to remind everybody to be sure that you're washing your hands. clean hands are extremely important. >> reporter: the strain of flu circulating right now is h1n1 known as swine flu, the

pandemic that struck back in 2009. a local registered nurse says she's already noticing a spike in the illness. >> we're getting a lot of calls with cough and colds, adults cough and cold, children with cough and cold and flu. >> reporter: last week health officials reported that a 41- year-old woman was the first to die of h is n1 in santa -- h1n1 in santa clara this season. the vaccine is closely matched to prevent the strain. they're earning people to get vaccinated now. >> it's already the new year and i haven't taken all the kids in my family to go. i still would like to get that done. >> reporter: the principal here says he finds parents still send their children to school circumstance but now is not the time to do it because of the chances of the virus spreading. in san jose, jeanine de la vega, ktvu channel 2 news. a gas leak prompted a brief evacuation at a school. firefighters first responded to

the leak at colonial acres elementary just after 8:00 a.m. parents arrived with children who were told to evacuate the area and stay away from classrooms. it did not take long for crews to cap off the leak but one parent told us that the smell of gas has been an ongoing problem at the school. >> i smelled the gas. it's a problem that has happened in the past. parents have complained about it and then it seems like it keeps going. >> he said it's been a problem for about six months. the evacuation only lasted for 45 minutes. in napa county, one town is already taking measures to prepare for another dry year. the city of calistoga is now asking residents to restrict their water use. the request comes as the only reservoir in town remains about 50 feet lower than average years. while the restriction is not mandatory, many calistoga residents think it is a reasonable request. >> we all need to conserve.

it looks awful to see the hills that were lush and green all brown and burned. >> i don't think it's a crisis but we have to be smart. >> other agencies including northern marin are asking residents to conserve water but at least for now there's no mandatory rationing in the bay area. however, water levels on the american river will be dropping for the next several days. that's because operators of the folsom dam plan to reduce the amount of water released from the lake into the river the next few days. the reduction is good news for nearby communities where water rationing is already in effect, but officials predict by friday the american river could drop to its lowest water level since the 1977 drought. biologists say they will monitor the effects on salmon and other wildlife. a cool, cloudy, mainly dry pattern will remain in place

the next few days. giving you a live look at all the clouds this hour. the clouds will be with us through the remainder of today. the temperatures a lot like yesterday within a few degrees or so. 65 right now in oak -- 55 right now in oakland. for the inland east bay, 55 outside. 57 in livermore. the south bay 56. san jose and along the peninsula 53. 54sfo and 54 degrees half moon bay. so the ridge of high pressure that was in place for the weekend bringing us the unseasonably mild weather now out of our way. it is beginning to dissipate and that will be the case as things continue to roll over the area. the first sweeping through today. we are mostly cloudy, even a few sprinkles a possibility but if you do get a passing sprinkle, consider yourself lucky because this is about all we're going to get. mainly dry conditions with plenty of cloud cover lasting through your entire tuesday. i'm going to run you through the next few days because we will have a better possibility of seeing a few scattered showers if you bare with me for

just a little while. picking it up at this hour, mostly cloud eye the entire day. you can see just a few sprinkles off the coast here as we get into tonight and early tomorrow morning. but tomorrow a lot like today. in and out of mostly cloudy skies. mainly dry conditions but now i'm going to stop it here wee hours of thursday morning. that will be our best possibility. notice a few showers popping up over parts of the north bay. as it slides south while we sleep, the possibility of a few scattered showers as we get going thursday morning. looks like it's already out of here. we may wake up with a few wet roads. so we're tracking this for you. all in all not going to be anything from what we need but just a few scattered showers perhaps in the forecast late wednesday night into early thursday. between now and then, the on shore breeze will be with us. cloudy, cool conditions. temperatures actually right about where they should be for this time of year. we've been so unseasonably warm for so long. it feels cool out there. 62 santa rosa for today. 63 in nap pa. our we -- napa.

you're looking at 36 for berkley. as we slide south just a little bit, 63 san jose. livermore 63 for the afternoon with mostly cloud eye skies. the extended forecast here showing you again more of the same. temperatures will continue to cool just a little bit as we get into wednesday, thursday. could wake up thursday morning with a few sprinkles but it looks like we're drying out for the second half. with your bay area weekend always in view, partly cloudy skies, low 60s in the forecast. >> all right. sounds good. thank you, rosemary. you got it. playoff fever is heating up across the bay area as 49 fans look to book last-minute trips to see their team take oned carolina panthers. nemo of vallejo is a diehard niners fan complete with a tribute room inside his home and this weekend he's planning his first ever cross-country trip to see the niners play in north carolina. >> kept thinking, man, i missed out on, you know, all the fun they had last year. then i missed out on the last game at candlestick. let me go out with a bang at

least, you know. >> tickets for the game cost him $152 and airfare and hotel costs were about 600 bucks. ticket brokers say there are plenty of tickets left for the game but the real demand will come if the niners win and new orleans beats seattle this weekend setting up one last game at candlestick. and you can watch the niners- panthers game on sunday right here on ktvu. we'll have a live pre-game show from north carolina. the road trip to a championship begins at 8:30 a.m. followed by fox sports coverage at 9:00. kickoff is set for 10:00 with mark ibanez and point after following the game. the consumer electronics show gets into full swing in lass having. coming up the high-tech trends involving fitness and wearable badge jets that are emerging this year -- gadgets that are emerging this year. ♪ in touch with the ground

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stocks higher on wall tree after the worst start to the year since 2005. the u.s. trade deficit fell in november according to a report out this morning to its lowest level in four years. that's an encouraging sign for the economy. health care and technology stocks rising the most today. taking a live look at the big board, the dow currently up 117. the nasdaq is up 41. a full 1%. and the s&p is up 11. it's all about smart technology in las vegas this week as the annual consumer electronics show is under way. more than 150,000 people are

expected to attend the four-day show which kicked off today. you never know what you'll find there but many began jets connect to the internet and feature digital intelligence. trends this year include wearable technology and devices that promote fitness. >> the google glasses and the height of sophistication all the way down to a pedometer at the lower end where it's just tracking how many steps you took that day and a device can fall anywhere along. >> curved tv screens are also big you a long with surveillance drones. the show runs through friday. professional skier lindsey vonn will not be competing in this year's sochi olympics. the star american skier made the announcement today saying her knee is just not strong enough to compete after tearing two ligaments in her right knee last february. vonn is a four-timeoverrual -- time overall world champion and won two medals in the vancouver

games. the games kick off next month in russia. today at 5:00, more on the story you saw only on 2. a serial bank robber who has hit several south bay banks. the robber may be a man dressed as a woman. we're working to learn more and we'll have the latest for you today at 5:00. thank you for making ktvu your choice for news. we'll see you the next time newsbreaks and we're always here for you on ktvu.com and you can follow us on twitter and facebook. have a great day.

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elizabeth: masters of illusion. the world's largest touring magic show. the most amazing magicians you can see on tv. this is a coin falling down. this is a coin falling up. (gasps) that's me, elizabeth, with my friend, taylor gray. y we're on the set of masters of illusion in hollywood, california. all right, so, now, this you have to see to believe. we're going backstage for an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour. right behind me is where the real magic happens. we'll see an amazing escape artist. teach us a trick. learn all about the art of magic. how did that get from there to there? nice. what? did you see that? no. no? i'm just as amazed. just before it. and discover how a live stage show becomes television. tonight we're going to see some amazing, mindboggling illusions,