. >>> allison burns is watching the market from washington d.c. and the pressure is on the congress and the president, allison? >> that's right. >>> the news was not reassuring asian markets dropping more than 2% and this morning the agency that dropped the u.s. credit rating is reiterating another downgrade is possible in 6 to 24 months if the u.s.' fiscal situation does not improve. >> political gridlock becomes more entranced, they could have a downgrade over that period. >> some key players fannie mae and freddie mac are like -- freddie mac are likely to be downgraded and that could make mortgages more expensive and this morning mortgage interest rates are down and we will have more reaction to the unprecedented u.s. downgrade during the next hour. for now we are live allison burns ktvu channel 2 news. >>> well some families worry that standard importers will cut into the point in they have available to spend. there are fears they could drive up the cost of borrowing money interest rates will slightly go up but the timing could actually have b

. >>> allison burns is in our washington d.c. newsroom where the blame game has begun, allison? >>> we start to see the true impact of the unprecedented u.s. downgrade. this is a look at the market in hong kong, asian markets are down sharply more than 2%. there are fears of another market plunk in the u.s. meanwhile congress and the obama administration is under pressure to turn things around to point the finger at each other. >> the fact of the matter is, the tea party brought us to the bridge of a de-- brink of a default. >> the tea party is talking about reducing spending and thank god they are here. >> tim geithner told president barack obama he will stay on. standard importers is make the round talk about this downgrade and the risk of another one. i will have more in the next hour, allison burns ktvu channel 2 news. >>> continue to stay with us and for continuing coverage of the global and local reaction to the downgrade, you can follow along on our facebook page. >>> a continuing round of another round of budget cuts. it puts california on track to fall short in the reve

for now live, in washington d.c., allison burns, ktvu. channel 2 news. >>> the san francisco unified school district is making changes after getting a call from the defense department. the pentagon was apparently not pleased with the districts decision to encourage all students to opt out of the military recruiting database. district officials tell the examiner they will vote next month on a revised policy. it will apparently no longer include the goal of having all students opt out and will require students to be at least 15 before making a decision. >>> time now 5:15. a federal judge has blocked key provisions of the abortion law in texas. now the judges upholding a requirement that a sonogram but performed before any abortion, but struck down a provision that requires the doctor to describe the sonogram images to the patient. the judge says that provision violates free speech rights of both the doctor and the patient. >>> today firefighters expected to make progress on a fast moving wildfire burning through oklahoma. so far, its destro

. >>> a big test for the deal to raise the country's debt limit and k tv u allison burns is in the room to find out whether they will pass it in time to meet the deadline. >> reporter: they are been reporting that the government would run out of money if congress did not raise the debt limit and they are now about three hours away. it was a bigger than expected win in the u.s. house last night. 269 to 161 vote and house minority leader nancy pelosi is disappointed the deal does not include tax increases democrats spared cuts to social security and medicare. >> i am not happy with it, but i am proud of some of the accomplishments contained in it. >> many voted no and george miller pete stark, and others. senate leaders are expressing confidence the bill will pass today and get to president barack obama for his signature this afternoon. reporting live from washington d.c. allison burns ktvu channel 2 news. >>> because of the debt deal, president barack obama goes to celebrate his 50th birthday. plans for his 50th birthday were put on hold and now the party is back on. jennifer hudson are

. >>> allison burns is in our washington d.c.oom with what economists are asking the feds to do to boost confidence. >> that is right. >> reporter: slow gross, america's credit rating now the stock market plunging, all eyes are on the federal reserve and they will issue a statement on the economy this afternoon. the real question is will ben bernanke take dramatic action to revitalize the economy. investors will be closely watching to see how the feds are grading the u.s. economy and its predictions for growth for the rest of this year. we will take a closer look at the options considering the benchmarks are already close to zero and that's during my next update in about an hour. allison burns ktvu channel 2 news. >>> a new facebook post is honoring a little girl who would have had her 6th birthday. they are asking people to write caylee anthony's name on their hands. so far many have pledged to do so. they have acquitted casey anthony a month ago. >>> facing felony charges in a disturbing case. they physically abused two young c

. >>> federal reserve will meet in washington and allison burns has more on what the feds will do to boost confidence, allison? >> reporter: the feds cannot just stand by, it needs to sure up confidence to head-off another recession. the federal reserve boards policy committee meets today and will issue a highly anticipated statement about the economy. they will take dramatic action like make they are big purchase of treasury bonds instead ben bernanke will likely make smaller gestures indicating the feds continues to keep interest rates near zero for a longer period of time but ben bernanke has certainly pushed the boundaries before and will see if there are any surprises in store later today. allison burns ktvu channel 2 news. >>> the man used of driving drunk and hitting a nine-year- old boy who just left a giant's game has been arrested. he is charged with one count of felony hit-and-run. he hit little ryan white and he and his family were tourists from philadelphia. they just left the phillies giants game and the hospital says ryan white is making small improvements. >>> a feder

reporting live from washington, d.c., allison burns, ktvu channel 2 news. >> all right, allison, thank you. >>> time is now 7:16. a last-second decision probably saved the lives of the country's duo sugarland at the indiana state fair. they were about to go on stage and perform on saturday, but their tour manager decided to make them wait backstage when she looked up at the sky and had a bad feeling. seconds later that happened. wind gusts up to 70 miles an hour toppling the stage over. five people were killed, dozens more were hurt. sugarland and their crew sought shelter against the wall. they were the no hurt. >>> 7:17, more fallout this morning from the british riots. a teenager is now facing charges of murdering a retiree. the 16-year-old boy appeared in youth court today. his identity though was not disclosed due to his age. and he is accused of beating to death a 68-year-old man, the victim was found lying in the street during the riots last week. he later died of head injuries. 3,000 people have now been arrested for the rioting. so far five people have died. >>> two marines in

reporting live from washington, d.c., allison burns, ktvu channel 2 news. >> all right, allison, thank you. >>> we'll keep covering the wild ride on wall street on our channel 2 website. just go to ktvu.com. you can find complete coverage of all the ups and the downs. as well as see the timeline here of the worst drop since 1899. just click on the wall street tab. >>> 8:14, we're getting word of the u.s. drone strike in pakistan today that reportedly killed 20 islamic militant fighters. now according to the pakistani intelligent officials, the missile attack targeted a house close to the afghan border. and we're hearing that the united states is moving towards issuing the explicit call to step down. the move is expected to be announced in the coming days after the u.s. officials consult with the united nations security council. and last week, president obama issued a statement condemning the government for violence against peaceful protesters. >>> and your time is 8:15, the afghan president is ending months of uncertainty about this year's parliamentary elections. a special tribunal ca

allison burns ktvu channel 2 news. >>> the so-called super committee is coming up with a plan to reducehe nation's deficit. they are taking three from the house and three from the senate. the senate democrats are in place and nancy pelosi will announce her choice and they have to come up with a vote in congress by christmas. >>> it is hurting pension funds this week but none are bigger than calipers which lost 18 billion since last months. the state may have to curtail contribution if the economy continues to decline. last year they lost 30,000 employees who retired. >>> it appears to have been an accident not a crime. the father and son were tossed into the water when a yacht went into the san francisco bay last wednesday. 38-year-old man was killed but his father survived. the larger boat never saw the smaller boat however police have not been able to get statements from either side and both sides have hired lawyers and refuse to talk to police. >>> it came to an end and yesterday in colorado siblings were captured after a high- speed chase. they are suspected of committing bank robbe

. >>> he celebrates his 50th birthday at the white house and as allison burns reports, people across country helped president barack obama celebrate his girl day as -- birthday as he hit the campaign trail. >>> hundreds of house parties including in the bay area and we found pictures on twitter of the party in oakland. >> reporter: congressman and women were there and watched the president get a big birthday song from jennifer hudson. the president seemed glad to be out of d.c. after a week of debt limit talks and talks about turning 50. >> by the time i wake up i will have an e-mail from aarp asking me to call president barack obama to protect medicare. >> they turned out to see the president and his campaign is facing some big challenges, his poll numbers are down in key states and he gave to much with republicans. ktvu channel 2 news. >>> time now overnight in australia, a bizarre incident seemed like something out of hollywood, a masked man broke into a wealthy family's home, strapped a bomb to an 18-year- old girl. then he attached a note of demands to that device and left. they

allison burns ktvu channel 2 news. >>> time now 5:15, they say there is no reason to stop building homeshere native american remains were found. they were demanding the company stop what development. a partial skull or jaw bone of a native american child was found earlier this month and demonstrators say the land should be given back to the city or they want them to take over and ban development on this area. they know it is considered a sensitive area but there are no plans for development at least for now. >>> they are trying to response after a crash of a car. it happened on 35th avenue and international boulevard. now the red honda ended up on its roof after the patrol car crashed into it. it was slightly damaged, nobody was hurt. witnesses tell us it was flashing right before the crash but it was not on. now on east 16th, the person managed to flag down a police officer and they took him into custody but not before he tried to run away. >> both were armed with handguns and a rifle. there were other people enjoying the park there. they were out for a summer evening in the park which

reporting live allison burns ktvu channel 2 news. >>> 5:15 a former store manager accused of videotaping women in very private places in a popular mall. he worked for the great mall and you see him here adjusting a tiny camera. he installed cameras like that one in the ladies employees bathroom and also in the dressing room. we spoke to a former girlfriend who did not want to give her name. >> it does involve young women in the customer change room and using the restroom. >> several former employees filed a federal lawsuit claiming invasion of privacy. finish line has released a statement saying they are fully cooperating with the investigation. >>> they have been sentenced to jail for elder abuse. they coated them in ointment so they would be slippery when the next shift of workers tried to move them. the incident happened and they had their licenses revoked and will serve two years probation. >>> pat -- pat petaluma -- petaluma congresswoman has been running for city council in the november 2012 election. she announced in june she will retire after 20 years in congress. >>> in the sout

allison burns ktvu channel 2 news. >>> fire crews are nearing containment on a 200-acre brush fire. it started yesterday in the canyon area. the majority of fire crews have been released and some are staying behind to watch the area and look for hot spots. >>> they are getting information about the possible cause of last week's fatal boat crash in san francisco bay. it appears the pilot of the larger boat did not see the smaller one and hit it from behind. that crash hit a 30-year-old man when he game trapped underneath the boat. so far the larger boat has not been arrested and some say it appears to be a terrible accident. yesterday a woman reported to claiming to be an fbi agent and said she purchased 600 -- she had won $600,000 but needed to wire him $3,900 to get it. then he said a twin cities officer would confirm the story but a short time later she did get a call and it displayed the police department's number but when she called the number herself, the scam was exposed. >>> he will learn if he will be spending the rest of his life behind bars. 58-year-old john alexander was

alabama is -- alison burns is in our washington, d.c. newsroom. allison. >> reporter: that is right the president is using his midwest bus tour to outline some of the plans like tax cuts, building projects, and new trade deals. some of the signs outside the iowa rally shows his challenges. one says save my daddy's job with unemployment at 9.1% and the president's popularity plumetting the white house says the president's plan will be bold not a rehash of old ideas. >> i will make my best case for where we need to go. we've made progress since the start of the recession back in 2008. it hasn't been fast enough. we have to accelerate it. >> reporter: the president is waiting until after the labor day holiday to honans his jobs plan. he will be detailing new specifics about how he wants to cut the national debt. we will be listening for more when he holds to more town -- holes two more town hall meetings in illinois today. >>> the san francisco mayor's race is dominated by asian american candidates. political experts say the city's asian american community i

alison burns is live to explain what will be targeted. allison. >> reporter: dave, the deal means congress will immediately decide on more than $900 billion in cuts to federal programs. a special deficit committee will decide on another trillion in cuts by the end of the year. now in this first round of cuts, the experts say the most likely targets are transportation, education, and environmental programs. states are already making historic cuts on their own and the debt limit deal means the pain will likely get worse. president obama is promising to try to protect what he can. >> we can't make it tougher for young people to go to college or ask seniors to pay more for health care or ask scientists to give up on promising medical research because we couldn't close a tax shelter for the most fortunate among us. >> reporter: medicaid is the largest program in the state that gets federal funding. it appears to be spared for now. how the fight will play out in the next few months is still anybody's guess. reporting live from washington, d.c. alison b

alison burns joins us now from our washington, d.c. newsroom. allison. >> reporter: it is still up in the air and after a couple weeks now it's getting bombarded with e-mails from local members of congress about the debt talks. i'm really surprised this morning i just don't have much in my inbox from them. the general sense is everyone here now is reviewing this deal and weighing how they are going to vote. let's take a look at the final agreement. it would raise the debt ceiling by $2.4 trillion through the 2012 selections. impose $917 billion in immediate spending cuts. set up a committee to identify debt cutting measures starting this fall and in a win for the gop it imposes no new taxes. president obama voiced his support last night but there is still obvious frustration with the bitter battle to get a deal. >> this process has been messy. it has taken far too long. >> democrats are indicating they will vote no. they are worried the spending cuts will target programs that help the poor. one is calling it a satan sandwich. right now we are not sure h

reporting live from washington, d.c., alison burns, ktvu channel 2 news. >>> all right, allison thank you. >>> 7:17. six years ago today hurricane katrina devastated new orleans in the gulf coast. remember this was the scene outside the super dome in new orleans where people sought refuge from the storm. broken levees triggered devastating flooding. 1800 people were killed in the storm. more than $100 billion in damage was caused. the building is still going on in new orleans' hard-hit 9th ward. >>> and this morning, a typhoon is hitting taiwan. the storm made landfall earlier today more than 20 inches of rain has fallen, thousands of people have been evacuated. that typhoon has claimed the lives of at least 16 people in the phillippines. >>> 7:17. the chinese government is not commenting after someone posted a video on youtube, showing a military general discussing sensitive skying cases. the video is an embarrassment for the chinese government because it's usually very tight- lipped. youtube is blocked inside the china. so the video possibly came from someone outside the country. >>

reporting live from washington, d.c., alison burns, ktvu channel 2 news. >> all right, allison. you. >>> our time is 7:16. well, comedian jerry lewis will not hold this year's multiple sclerosis's tell -- muscular dystrophy telethon. he planned to make his final appearance on the september 4th, telethon, however, the mda announced jerry lewis has finished his run. he will not appear. over the years, the telethon has raised more than a billion dollars. >>> well, the state of missouri has made it illegal for public schoolteachers to have private public session networkings with their students. teachers can still correspond with teachers. >>> facebook is testing a feature on a small number of users right now for the news feed and what can be done. the "like" function may be a way for third-party developers to share information about products or services. >>> 7:1. a day at the -- 7:18. a day at the beach almost proved fatal for a teenager. matt dug about six feet below the surface when the surrounding sand caved in on him. lifeguards rushed to the aid and started to dig him out with

burns live in our d.c. bureau on what investigators will say. allison. reporter: dave, that's right, and ahead of this morning's hearing we got a rare look inside the ntsb lab where investigators have been examining that section of pipe where the explosion originated. it is a 28-foot section of pipe that's been under intense scrutiny. pacific gas and electric still can't say where the 1950s-era pipe that ran under the san bruno neighborhood originated, but investigators say it was not inspected as it should have been. they're focused on the seams of the pipe. they say the welding was not up to any safe standard. >> what's important and what you all can see here is that it's visible to the naked eye. this is an area that should have been welded. you can see that section has not been welded from the inside. reporter: survivors of the pipeline explosion said they are eager to hear today's official findings, although some have already reached their own conclusions about what happened and are pointing the finger at pg&e. we'll have live coverage during my nex

as ktvu alison burns just found out this morning the jobless rate for veterans remains dramatically higher than the national unemployment rate. allisoneporter: that is right, dave. the labor department report that came out yesterday shows veterans at 13.3%. that is more than four-points higher than the national unemployment rate. president obama will announce new tax breaks this morning to try to turn the numbers around. it is called the higher the returning heros tax credit. $2400 for employers who hire vets who have been unemployed for just a few months. $9600 to hire a long-term or disabled veteran. he's echoing the calls of many in congress who say veterans have key skills that are needed in the private sector. >> we have investigated billions of dollars in training our young men and women with new skills to protect our nation only to ignore that investment and them when they leave the military. >> reporter: the president will also be announcing a new task force this morning to help veterans transfer the skills they learn in the military into the private sector. we will be covering president obama's announcement live here on the

as alison burns reports from washington, the spending cuts could be very painful for the states. allison? >> reporter: dave, that's right the a recent study found that more than 40% of the revenue in california comes from federal aid. as congress weighs trillions in spending cuts over the next couple of months. some of that -- couple of month, some of that money is on the line. in the first round of cuts, experts say the most likely targets are transportation, education and environment programs. states are already making historic cuts on their hone. the debt limit deal means the pain will likely get much worse. >> it puts a lot of people to work. it addresses public needs. it keeps people moving, trains, comfooter -- commuter rail, if those are cut, it will create serious havoc. >> reporter: now, california governor, jerry brown, was quoted yesterday as saying it's difficult to gauge how many pain will come. alison burns, ktvu channel 2 news. >> thank you. >>> and governor brown also says the recent debt crisis in washington reminds him of his struggles here in california to get a balanc

alison burns is watching for all of the signs from our washington, d.c. newsroom. allison? >> reporter: it's still up in the air, dave. joe biden has just arrived here at the united states cap tole to meet with -- capitol to meet with skeptical democrats to try to sway them to support the agreement. let's take a look at the deal. it would raise the debt ceiling by $2.4 trillion through the 2012 elections, impose $917 billion in immediate spending cuts, set up a committee to identify debt-cutting measures this fall and in a win for the gop, it imposes no new taxes. president obama voiced his support last night but there's still some obvious frustration with the bitter battle to get a deal. >> now, this process has been messy, it's taken far too long. >> reporter: some democrats including barbara lee are indicating they will vote no, they are worried the spending cuts will target programs that help the poor. conservative republicans wanted more cuts and a balanced budget amendment. right now, we're just not sure how far either of those sides are going to go today to try to ho

burns is live in our washington, d.c. newsroom to tell us if the senate will pass it in time. allison -- allison?rter: dave, foremonths we've been reporting that the government would run out of money to pay its bills today. well, the u.s. senate vote is now less than an hour away. let's take a live look at the senate floor where debate will be wrapping up soon. senate leaders are expressing confidence. the bill will pass and get to president obama this afternoon. >> the bill's passed. >> reporter: it was a bigger- than-expected win in the u.s. house last night. a 260-261 vote. nancy pelosi voted yes. she said she's disappointed because the deal does not include tax increases. >> it's hard to believe that we're putting our best foot forward with a legislation that comes before us today. >> reporter: the number of bay area democrats angry about the spending -- spending cuts in the bill voted no, barbara lee, george miller, pete stark, and congresswoman lynn wool say, had -- woolsey, had indicated they would vote yes today. >>> >>> new rules for birth controls. >>> this is a live shot. back to the c

burns is live in our washington, d.c. newsroom with the announcement the president will give a major speech next month. allison?reporter: that's right. but we are going to have to wait for all of the details. the president is not going to be delivering this big jobs speech until after the labor day holiday after his trip to martha's vineyard, ten-day vacation that starts tomorrow. now, the president is wrapping up his midwest bus tour today with two town hall meetings in illinois. he's been outlining his plans. he says he realizes americans are looking to him for solutions. >> what i continue to believe is that ultimately the buck stops with me. i'm gonna be accountable. people understand that this financial crisis was like the great depression. but. maltly they say, he's the president, we think he has good intentions. but we're impatient. >> reporter: but skeptics are already speaking out. a top aide to john boehner said we don't need another speech, just drop it in the mail. alison burns, ktvu channel 2 news. >> all right. thank you. >>> 8:17. senator barbara boxer will will be here in the bay area today. she