george bancroft, the most distinguished american historian of the era. bancroft suggested that he should look to the works of thomas jefferson -- i was going to say alexander hamilton. [laughter] i am in the wrong state. thomas jefferson and james madison. and especially the history of the passage of the statute for establishing religious freedom. he followed that advice. and his decision in reynolds versus the united states fixed to the course the supreme court has followed ever since in its reliance on the virginia statute. the relationship between church and state is among the most enduring concerns of western civilization. but this is embraces the two subjects that my mother said i should never talk about in public -- religion and politics. [laughter] my mother was a wise woman, and she was absolutely right. but the topic was just too fascinating for me to pass up. because questions of church and state, of religion and politics, they embrace our deepest human concerns. how are we to live together as a people? and what place, if any, will god hold in

you take the bancroft and stanley history. for we'll have break and come back with today's top headlines. a semi truck was going southbound when it crashed into the center divide when it sprayed asphalt into the other lane and center divide, causing them to crash. we're told that at least three of them have critical injuries. this will be a story we will watch for you all morning long this morning. >> los gatos leaders will vote on what to do with a 44-ache orchard. for years the town has been working on a plan which calls for the construction of more than 300 homes along with retail space. if approved, dozens of current residents would be forced to move. >> i would have to move if this went through. when it first came about, they said they thought the thing that was most important was to maintain the integrity of los gatos. if the orchard is gone, it will compromise the integrity of los gatos. >> opponents fight concern over traffic congestion and increases in class sizes. >> and one final plea to keep the united kingdom toge

shows where the one-year-old was shot this afternoon on 73-rd avenue near bancroft avenue. kron 4's scott rates is live outside the oakland police department, tracking the investigation into how this happened. scott? >> reporter: the police are trying to sort this out tried fahrenheit and out why did they do a shot. it was a lot of slow third this afternoon on the 20¢ lodging block all 77 ave. they found the one you'll shot one time the police has not said what kind of gun the bullet came from over the venue was hit. the police say they are and to rank them members investigators do believe it was accidental. >> reporter:why this baby was shot is still under investigation tonight. oakland police responding to the 2600 block of 77th ave around 12:30 this afternoon when they got there they found a one-year-old shot one time police have not said what kind of gun the bullet came from or where the baby was hit >> reporter: right now police are interviewing family members as investigators believe the shooting was an accident neighbors i spoke with tell me they have seen the family

a man was found shot to death early this morning on the 8200 block of bancroft avenue. so far, no arrests. it was just yesterday, though. that the mayor was telling us that oakland had not gone this long without a murder in this century. >> i am hoping that some people will realize it is the work we have done. the lowest homicide rate in at least 15 years. and, we are hoping that it will continue. >> the mayor credits the city's cease-fire program with the drop of the murder rates. >>> a police officer is on administrative leave tonight for killing a manned in of a liquor store. the man was stabbed after midnight. at this point it is not clear what prompted the officer to fire his weapon. neither man's identity has been released. >>> a sleepy driver is suspected in a crash that killed a young girl on the pen tpheupbs. that the chp says the suv she was riding in ran off interstate two -- pen tpheupbs la. that the chp says the suv she was riding in ran off the -- peninsula. that the chp says the suv she was riding in ran off of the interstate. the 11-year-old girl was kil

police say it happened just before 12:30 on 77th avenue east of bancroft avenue. the boy was taken to the hospital. he is in stable condition right now. police say the boy was shot inside his home, family was there, and that shooting may have been an accident. >>> across the country today americans are marking the 13th anniversary of september 11th. at the world trade center site in new york city, family and friends read the names of the nearly 3,000 victims. [ names read ] >> after the ceremony, the long-awaited september 11th memorial and museum was open for the first time. president obama attended a 9/11 ceremony at the pentagon today. his message was one of perseverance. >> we carry on because as americans we do not give in to fear ever. america endures and the courage of the men and women who serve under our flag. [ bell tolls ] ♪[ music ] >> victims were also honored in shanksville, pennsylvania, where united airlines flight 93 crashed as passengers and crew fought terrorists on the hijacked plane. >>> closer to home in union city, a ceremony this morning ho

we're talking ba bancroft, international. big leagues are allowed on 580. that will disrupt the flow. right now they end with the bay bridge shot and you do see traffic is pretty standard there. >> what a mess. thank you very much. it is 5:12 now and the new america may call the big apple home now bu she's a bay area lady through and through. we'll take a look. >> and we'll look at the sale of phones so far coming up in business. >>> they are working to divert people from scene. at least three people have critical injuries. you'll have to find a way around this one. mike inouye will help you on that and we have stephanie chuang on the ground as well. >> scott mcgrew is here with four things you need to know. the apple, iphone 6 go on sale friday. can you still preorder the regular 6, which is super big. the 6l, which is super, super big and i broke sales records. >> and alibaba could be the biggest ipo of any kind, beating out san francisco's top stott. thursday scotland votes aye or nay on independence. we'll talk more about what that means in the next hou

bancroft and international will be a nightmare. >> you know it's bad when you're rejoicing about one lane. >> one lane. >> get those folks through but count on it being closed a little bit longer. >> it's a lovely day for a dog walk. you have two of them, barkley and riley. >> it's comfortable, 70s and 80s inland. >> that is what's happening today in the bay. we are back with you live at 7:25 with more local news and an update on that traffic. >>> good morning. breaking news, the strongest hurricane to ever sit mexico's baja peninsula hits landfall with winds of 125 miles per hour. thousands of tourists in cabo san lucas trapped by winds and heavy rain. how will that impact the u.s. southwest? al's tracking it. taking on isis, to fight the terror group days after the brutal execution of yet another hostage. will our allies put boots on the ground if we don't? should goodell go? wome

. >> >> police say a passerby saw a victim lying on the street on bancroft near 82nd avenue in east oakland. it appears the man had been there for a few hours before he was found. so far, police don't have a motive and no arrests have been made. >> >> thousands gathered for some laughs and a dedication to robin williams. at the 34th annual comedy day in in san francisco's golden gate park. this year's come day day started with a touching tribute to the man organizers say it was a big supporter and a frequent performer at the event. >> under overcast skies, people set up beach chairs for what has become a san francisco tradition. along with laughs, came remembrances. >> we lost our giant, we really lost a person who has meant everything to us. we looked up to robin. >> we are sad, but he would always want us to bring the funny. >> reporter: like many people, his suicide shocked even friends and colleagues >> you know a person, see what he is doing, all of the good he has done and for him to be sad enough and down enough to take his own life, it was kind of a sobering reminder of the human co

police say the incident happened early this afternoon on 77th avenue between garfield and bancroft avenues in east oakland. police say the boy was rushed to the hospital with noncritical injuries. and is now listed in stable condition. sky 7 hd was over the scene about half an hour ago, where you could see police were still at the home. investigators say the child was in the presence of family members at the time of the shooting. they're trying to determine if that shooting was an accident. we will continue to follow this breaking story on abc 7 news here at 4:00, as well as 5:00 and 6:00 and twitter. >>> good afternoon, everyone. i'm larry. >> i'm ama. today the nation paused to commemorate the 13th anniversary of the september 11th attacks. a solemn ceremony today in union city to remember victims of 9/11. the event was held at the flight 93 memorial at sugar mill landing park. the united airlines flight was headed from new jersey to san francisco international airport. >> it crashed in western pennsylvania when passengers tried to overtake the plane's hijackers. today the ceremony inclu

it happened around 12:30 yesterday afternoon outside a home on 77th avenue near bancroft. the boy was rushed to the hospital. his injuries are not life- threatening. he's expected to make a full recovery. police are trying to determine who owned the gun. a source tells ktvu there's been trouble at that house before and that three men were wounded there in a previous shooting. >>> antioch police are hoping a new smartphone app will help the city crack down on crime. the contra costa times reports the app will allow people to send tips, get safety alerts and file crime alerts. the app can be used to listen to the department's radio scanner traffic. police say they will continue to make improvements to the app but at this time, it cannot be used to send pictures or video. >>> coming up on 7:08 now. a private investigator is examining the santa rosa junior police department amid claims of sexual harassment, discrimination and retaliation. the schools says it's taking these complaints seriously. one involves office workers exposed to child pornography seized in a case. there ar

and since places like bancroft garden will gladly sell you clippings for a few bucks, you can grow your own and still leave something lovely to look at. in walnut creek, john ramos, kpix 5. >> the popularity of succulents seems to come and go in cycles but walker says if you wanted to discourage thieves consider planning spikier plants around the outside borders of your garden. >> that will stop a lot of people. >>> california's falling short of the governor's goal of cutting water use by 20%. water agencies across the state report a 7.5% cut in water use in july. some east bay agencies are doing better. livermore leads the way with a 38% reduction. pleasanton cuts consumption by 37%. and dublin-san ramon by 34%. good for them. >> yup. >>> time to go outside now and check in with paul deanno who is live in the middle of a huge cloud of fog. >> reporter: remember steven king's book "the fog? we are living it right now. it has gotten very foggy very quickly here. my goal originally was to show you the beautiful view. i'm standing at the marin headlands a world famous view of the golden ga

that's right, more than 30 dorm rooms at bancroft hall being fume gated now. the process could take a while, maybe three or four weeks. so the midshipmen will be given extra bedding and books. this is the second time in two years the bedbugs have been found in that dorm. >>> first at 4:00, a shooting that stunned the region. a police officer opens fire on the 17-year-old boy, but now that officer is off the hook for the controversial shooting. news4's kristin wright shows us what they said. >> the police shooting of 17-year-old kristen sierra has been ruled justified. we also learn today, purseville police had made visits to his home 13 times in the last five years, most recently in march when his parents called police to their home and he was threatening to kill himself. fast forward two months. christian is at a friend's home, threatening suicide again. he had a knife and had cut himself. 911 was called. officer timothy hood pond responded. christian was outside. the 16-page investigation by the loudoun county commonwealth attorney and virginia state police

which won the bancroft, hoover and farrell prizes. in 2002 and 2003 he was a professor at oxford. he's also held the kissinger chair at the library of congress. mel has been the recipient of fellowships from the council on foreign relations, the united states institute of peace, the woodrow wilson center, and the norwegian nobel institute and, of course, he served as president of shafr. in 2010 mel and arnie west collaborated the history of the cold war and most recently he co-edited "on certain times american foreign policy after the cold war." he's now editing, co-editing a book on comparative strategy making and writing about the foreign policy of the george w. bush administration. our last speaker will be jeffrey engel. jeff is founding director of the center for presidential history at southern methodist university. prior to accepting that appointment, he held a post-doctoral fellowship and taught at the university of wisconsin, yale, the university of pennsylvania, haverford and texas a&m. at texas a&m, he was the 52 professor at the bush school and the director of programmi