nearly five years after the deadly shooting of oscar grant at an oakland b.a.r.t. station, the former officer at the center of the case gets ready to take the witness stand. east bay police are searching for a man accused of punching an 89-year-old woman in the face, stealing her purse and then taking off in her car. now we're hearing from a witness who came to the woman's aid. plus -- red light cameras throughout the city of oakland that are supposed to catch traffic violaters now no longer operating. the reason they are offline.

good afternoon. i'm tori campbell. another trial tied to the 2009 deadly b.a.r.t. police shooting of unarmed passenger oscar grant is now underway in san francisco. ktvu's tara moriarty has been in court all morning and joins us live as the former b.a.r.t. officer at the center of the case gets ready to testify. >> reporter: that's right. any minute, johannes mehserle is expected to take the stand. first up, we heard from the b.a.r.t. train operator who was there the day that oscar grant was shot and killed and then up right now is actually oscar grant's best friend. mehserle entered the courtroom early this morning. he did appear to have gained some weight since the last time that we saw him in court. we did not see him go into court. we did see his attorney, however. now, mehserle is wearing a suit. he has appeared very calm in the courtroom. grant's father, on the other hand, who filed this civil lawsuit, he's also wearing a

suit, he's been very fidgety in court. grant's attorney must prove his chient had a relationship with his son. his client was been in prison since before oscar grant was born, serving a life sentence for murder. this is a look at the cell phone video from that new year's eve in 2009. it's interesting to note that when the cell phone video played in court, the actual shooting, mehserle made a point to look down and turn away. mehserle, of course, was convicted of involuntary manslaughter for the shooting and killing of grant. his attorney says that his client mistook his gun for a taser. now, again, we don't know if mehserle is going to be testifying immediately after oscar grant's friend. we don't know if there will be a break sort of in between but we have a reporter, allie

rasmus, in the courtroom and she'll have more for you coming up on the 5:00 news. tara moriarty, ktvu channel 2 news. >> thank you. within the past 40 minutes a judge denied bail to raymond shrimp boy chow. ktvu was there as chow made the brief appearance in the federal courtroom in san francisco. chow is currently in county jail accused of money laundering and plotting to sell stolen goods. he's one of 29 defendants linked to a federal corruption case that also includes leland yee. the search is on for this man who police say viciously attacked and 89-year-old woman and stole her car in an el cerrito shopping center. ktvu's alex savidge has more on the victim's injuries and the evidence police hope will lead to an arrest. >> reporter: veaf the say this is the man behind a brute -- investigators say this is the man behind a brutal salt.

terrance hardy, a parolee, remains on the rub after police say he punched the victim in the case, stole her purse, then carjacked her. it happened sunday outside this cvs drugstore on san pablo avenue in el cerrito. marion torres just happened to be driving by. >> he pulled her out, threw her -- tossed her on the ground, got into the car. the door was still open. he pulled out and he swerved -- she was still halfway in the stall, ran over part of her body. >> reporter: the surveillance video shows the speeder speeding off in the victim's stolen car. the elderly woman has several broken bones but is expected to survive. friends describe her as frail, weighing less than 100 pound. >> they could have picked her up, set her aside and taken the car. why knock her down? why punch her? why do that? >> i hope he's off the streets. it was vush shus. it was really wrong what he did. >> reporter: police are searching for the woman's

stolen white 1992 toyota camry. it has california plate, 26789 znr 291. police are also asking you to be on the lookout for the suspected attacker in this case who is facing charges of carjacking and elder abuse once he's caught. alex savidge, ktvu channel 2 news. well, mayor jean quan got in a car crash over the weekend. some people wanted to use the red light cameras to see if she wanted to run a red light. that's when it was discovered the city dropped the red light camera program. brian flores is live with the reason why. good afternoon, brian. >> reporter: good afternoon. many people were raising these questions because he wanted to get to the bottom of the mayor ran the red light or not. it turns out many of the cameras including this one on 27th and north gate are not operational. 11 others are not operation am. it's been like it for some days

now. the city decided not to renew the contract with the company out of phoenix, arizona. the last time the cameras were used was back on may 20th and they haven't been on since according to the company. reportedly the issue was the cameras were not generates enough money for the city to continue to use them. we did reach out to the camera operator and they said, red flicks continues to be willing to work with oakland after filing a records request, they did retrieve the necessary breakdown revenue and shared the issue. the data showed that the program revenue covered the coast of the program. it remains unclear how much was made for the city. >> if i made dog biscuits, i can tell you they are the best and make your dog the happiest in the world. that's part of marketing. the sames with cameras, he's

gonna say the cameras are gonna make things safer. at the end of the day, it didn't make anybody safer. it was a revenue source for the city. you didn't know you got a ticket. you got it in the mail. >> reporter: the company disputes that saying the red light cameras make it safer it's also being reported that some on the city council while not big fans of the cameras were left wondering why this was not put up for public debate. we did drive by 26th and market where the car accident occurred involving mayor quan. there why no cameras there. we have tried contacting the city as well as oakland police about this specific issue. after several attempts, we did not hear back this morning. brian flores, ktvu channel 2 news. >> thank you. san jose city council is cracking down on medical marijuana dispensaries

approving the toughest rules for pot clubs in the state. >> 7-3, the motion is approved. >> city leaders voted to prevent the dispensaries from operating within 1,000 feet of schools and daycares, limit hours of operation, have around the clock security and grow and process the marijuana locally. marijuana advocates say about 70 of the city's 80 or so dispensaries will have to close their doors or move their locations. and that's created mixed reactions. >> it is really hard to get medicine and with what they are doing, the oils, i need i can't find anywhere. now i will have to drive to san francisco. >> i think we need to regulate everything. there's too much wild west going on. what they are doing has the potential to do exactly what happened in 2011, where the voters can overturn it. >> medical marijuana supporters say they will try to get the

issue directly before the voters with the ballot initiative. after a stunning defeat in a virginia primary election last night, the second most powerful republican in the u.s. house now plans to resign his leadership role. eric cantor is expected to formally announce today that he will step down from the post next month. an official says cantor intends to tell the party's rank and file during a closed door meeting, many thought he would easily win the gop primary race last night but he loss to dave brat by more than 10 percentage points. chuck hagel is answering difficult questions about a controversial prisoner swap deal by the obama administration. the defense chief testified before a house committee today, dwiferping lawmakers -- giving lawmakers their first chance to question an administration official about the swap. many lawmakers are furious that congress was not consulted about trading five taliban

prisoners for captured army sergeant, bowe bergdahl. hagel said that communication could have been better. but also said the urgency of the situation took precedence and that all members of the president's national security team were consulted. >> the secretary of state, the attorney general, the secretary of homeland security, director of national intelligence, and the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff all supported this transfer. all put their names on it. >> the president has broken -- >> hagel said the decision was made lawfully with and national interest in mind. heavy fighting continues in iraq where sunni militants took control of tikrit today. that's the former leader of saddam hussein. this takes over after an al qaeda splinter group seized iraq's second largest city of mosul. [ sound of gunfire ]

>> u.s. trained security forces reportedly fled as insurgents waged a massive attack on the city yesterday. the prime minister is calling on civil ups to take up arms -- civilians to take up arms. many are fleeing the city. mosul is about 350 miles most of -- northwest of baghdad. we're learning more details about the deadly high school shooting in oregon as police identify the suspect and what types of weapons he was armed with. we're seeing cooler temperatures and steve paulson is out in it. he will join us live to tell us how long the cooling will last and how your weekend is shaping up.

new details are emerging in yesterday's shooting at reynolds high school just outside of portland, oregon. police have identified the slain student as 14-year-old emilio hoffman and they named the gunman as jared michael padgett. investigators say secarryed and assault -- carried an assault rifle, handgun, and hundreds of rounds of ammunition. all of which he got from his family's home, police say. >> reynolds high school, shots fired in the locker room. at least one person down. >> police say pagette took his

own life. a pe teacher was injured when he was grazed by a bullet when trying to get the school locked down. san francisco police are investigating a homicide in the tenderloin district. it happened before midnight on turk street near levin worst. when officers arrived, they found a person had been shot to death. -s investigators are now handling the case. so far there are no other details and police have not released the identity of the victim. in just about an hour, the man accused of killing morgan hill teen sierra lamar is accuse -- is scheduled for another court hearing. antolin garcia-torres has pled not guilty to charges of gilling the 15-year-old who vanished on her way to school more than two years ago. last month the district attorney announced he will seek the death penalty in the case, even though lamar's body has never been found. garcia-torres is also charged with three counts of carjacking and the attempted kidnapping of three other women in morgan hill in 2009. four men are in custody in connection with shootings that

injured two toddlers in oakland on monday. the two separate shootings happened within hours of each other, the first involved a 3- year-old grazed by a bullet at a bus stop on 66th and international. and then just several hours later, a 2-year-old was hit by a stray bullet at a home on 83rd avenue. oakland's police chief says this kind of violence has to stop. >> we've implemented a lot of strategies to reduce violence. our murder rate is down about 15%. our nonfatal shooting rate is down about a third. that's encouraging. but it doesn't do any good if you are wrong in the two- thirds. >> despite the two arrests in the shootings, police are still looking for additional suspects. a new application center is open in oakland to sign up for the airport screening program called tsa precheck. the transportation security administration officially announced the opening today of an office at the port of

oakland. the address might not come up on your gps, however, making it a little difficult to find. travelers approved for the precheck do not have to remove things like shoes, belts, jackets, liquids or laptops and can pass through a faster, dedicated security laned a preamp pratting airports. one woman who travels with a toddler says the $85 fee is worth it. >> going with a 2-year-old is not as fun. he doesn't like to stand in line. he gets grumpy. if we can zip through, it makes it easier for everybody, including those in line who don't have to listen to him. >> that fee covers five years for domestic travel. there's a new office in martinez. the tsa plans to open one in san francisco in another few weeks and one in san jose by the end of the summer. water rates are going up for more than a million people in the east bay. a 9.5% increase was just approved by the east bay m.u.d.'s board of directors.

it goes into effect july 1st and that means the average monthly bill will jump from about $46 to about $52. east bay m.u.d. member -- board members said the rate hike is needed to help pay off the district's $2 billion debt. a big chunk of that debt came from a project to bring water from the sacramento river to the east bay. east bay mud serves about 1.3 million people in alameda and contra costa counties. the alameda county fair opens to the public next week but today fair organizers are making a big announcement. our very own steve paulson is live in pleasanton at the fair grounds and joins us live with the big news and then the weather. steve? >> reporter: absolutely, tori. thank you. out here at the alameda county fair. san mateo is going on right now. they close sunday, next wednesday, the alameda county fair will open. it is nice here. it's about 105 on monday. that's not the case today. it's nice about 78. there's a little bit of a breeze. but as tori touched on, there's been huge improves done not

only to the fair but also to the horse racing. angel mere is joining me -- moore is joining me. oak tree hollywood closed, they needed somewhere to go. they approached you. >> they did come to us. >> reporter: what have they done to improve? >> they have helped us out. we're right in front of the remodeled beautiful -- >> reporter: it is nice. it is nice. >> it's beautiful. we've increased the size of our track side terrace, open air dining, it's a great place to bring your staff and you get all of the food and drink you want. >> reporter: and you usually get $50,000 stakes race. there's 250, which is huge. >> it is huge. sphblget i would think some horses from southern california will come up here for purses like that. >> absolutely. we have heard that we're getting some great horses from down south.

>> reporter: all right. thank you. we've been walking around here. a lot of improvements not only on the lower level but the upper level. it's really noticeable as far as the intercircle, it's kind of cool, i think it will look awesome. will the weather be awesome? i can tell you this -- it will be cooler here. we had the temperatures which were absolutely soaring on monday. 10 a. they came down -- 10 a. they came down a little -- 105. they came down a little bit. it's not bad. you are seeing 60s and 70s. temperatures inland will come down, ukiah, clearlake, brentwood, oakley. temperatures are not too bad. the wind was howling at travis, up to 40 miles an hour. some areas are not too bad. there is a breeze. i expect that to pick up. area of low pressure is coming down from the pacific most which is kind of rare for this type of year. that will pick up the fog bank and i think it will send it in big time into tomorrow. we'll cool it off additionally,

a couple of degrees. today's highs will be in the 50s, 60s, 70s, still some 80s. it's june. let's face it. we're almost to the summertime pattern where we get that. we'll see a cooler pattern into tomorrow and then friday as well. the weekend does look a little bit warmer but temperatures staying near seasonal averages. live from the alameda county fair in pleasanton where they start next week, we have a nice day, temperatures, 70s, and 80s. it's nice today. it can get hot pretty quick. >> yes, it can. thank you, steve. and sad news from stockton where after 29 years orkers for the city's -- organizers for the city's as parabus festival are call -- asparagus festival are calling it quits. the decision comes after attendance dropped by near had near-- nearly half.

it's raised thousands of dollars for local charities throughout the 29-year run. a crucial bill at the bill aimed helping graduates. what's being done to help students drowning in student debt.

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stocks lower after the world baferm cut its outlook for global growth. the bank expects growth compared to the january

estimate of 3.2%. the dow and s&p remain near all- time highs after a slow and steady climb since april. the dow is down 107. the nasdaq is down 11. s&p down 7. twitter's popular application tweet deck is back online after being shut down earlier today. the social media company shut down the site after a code fix that was supposed to plug a security vulnerability failed. today, senate republicans blocked a bill that would have helped millions of college graduates refinance their student loans. the legislation offered people the chance to refinance high interest student loans at lower rates. while both california senators voted for the bill there was not enough support to advance. >> student loan debt is exploding. it threatens the stability of our young people and the future of our economy. republicans say the

legislation does not get to the root of the problem, skyrocketing college costs. college loan debt tops $1.2 trillion nationwide. a 64-year-old oakland woman is now $1 million richer after purchasing a winning scratcher. maria moreno bought the ticket at a and a corner grocery on foothill boulevard. she says she plans to use her winning the to pay off her -- winnings to pay off her house and her granddaughter's as well as a trip to portugal. a remote controlled car is giving us a look at cubs. the zoo put the cubs' eye view camera up. fresno's zoo has four cubs in the exhibit as part of a breeding program. we told you about a man accused of punching an elderly

william, dragging her -- woman, dragging her and now we're investigating other claims that she's been involved in a string of attacks at libraries. that's at 5:00. thank you for making ktvu your choice for news. you can follow us on facebook and twitter. thank you for joining us. have a great day. ;

alex paen: visiting a unique, high tech animal hospital. plus, saving a baby otter and a cat in a hot spot. this is "animal rescue." [captioning made possible by telco productions, inc