. >> and coming up next, finney's friday free stuff. and then, new at 6:00 a look at what is holding up plans to develop what used to be can a smartphone be its own guardian angel ? can it keep an eye out for itself, literally show and tell you where it is when you don't even know yourself ? droid can with lookout mobile security, one of thousands of free apps for the droid x and droid 2 by motorola. available on the ever-expanding android market. when there's no limit to what droid gets, there's no limit to what droid does. >>> it's the time of the week to put smiles on faces oo. michael finney is here with real treats for use let's start with this right here. well, it looks good. >> oh. oh. >> that looks delicious. >> there is from johnny rockets. what did i tell you? i love these things. this is a classic. and this is from a drug store on mashlgt street? woolworth's? fabulous. you ought to get in on it. $4.55 i'm surprise there'd is any left. >> i'm surprised there is one made it in. and then, any chance we've given way this food fro

and you might as well head over to michael finney's blog.wo more free stuff items there. >> fabulous. >> and more than we can stand. thank you very much. [ male announcer ] sacramento and silicon valley are only one hundred thirty miles apart. they may as well be on different planets. sacramento, mismanaged, ineffective. silicon valley gave us apple, intel, ebay. here meg whitman started with 30 people. led them. managed them. executed the plan that grew this main street company to fifteen thousand employees and made small business dreams come true. to change california let's send meg whitman up the road... about a hundred and thirty miles. >>> you'll see what michael finney found when he went looking for lead-painted products and why businesses that sell them rarely get punished. >> change of ownership at the former numy plant in freem yonlt. what happened to people that used to work there? >> edible patches of hope. a garden in a neighborhood plague bid crime. we'll take you interest there. those stories and more at 6:00. >> and now, the b

now, of course, deductibles must first be met. >> reporter: michael finney is here. you for being here. >> happy to be here. >> you always hear about people getting ripped off. what can fol do to not be naive? >> the first thing, they have a contractual relationship with their insurance company, notices at friendship. they are more than likely do the right thing but they are going to do it because of the time factor but whenever there is a disaster like this, everybody shows up all friendly but it's a contract and not a friendship. >> we building, contractors and always a little scary because there are people that are advertising and seem like a good guy but you have to watch out for certain things? >> whenever you have a disaster, everybody comes in to get work. hatch of them know how to do the job and the other half are just going to be looking for work and the small minority are ripoffs. the problem that you have in a disaster so many people are involved and so many people have been affected that you end up with prices skyrocketing. this is fairly limited so the p

. >> just ahead, finney's friday free stuff includes lunch and a snack. >> here next. and then. and wine. new at 6:00 we will show you how the wet weather is >>> the weekend is here. the giants are just one win away from the world series. what more could we want? >> how about free stuff? >> okay >> michael is here as always. umbrellas today? >> you will be doing somersaults over these >> literally >> i forget the name of this >> i would like to see that >> a great snack. we have been eating these in the 7 on your side offense. try them for yourself. very, very healthful. maybe we ought to turn that upside down. there everybody. they are crumply sun flower seeds and toasted grains into what they call a nugget. i would say it as little round cookie thing. very are very, very good. kind of salty and come in a bun much of different flavors. give them a shot and see if you like them. $3.99 value >> and then we have jack-in-the-box new pa trammy grilled sandwich. i was walking through the station carrying it like this and everybody i passed goes ooh, that smells good >> what have you

a nearly one-year suspension when testing in animals raised question autos coming up next michael finney looks at what you should consider before making a leap to electric car autos and a northern california family plea to find an organ donor quick wloi could save their young baby's live. >> students witnessed quite a show as a hot air balloon bounces s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s

like finney, i talked to the boat officer with the local police department this morning. he told me he needs to find out who owns the vessels. if illegally board, they will get citations. but in abandoned, they will be toed away if abandoned and police will go after grant money from the state to be reimbursed. neighbors are waiting. >> i'd like them to be gone, just take them away. >> reporter: the police officer came out to the neighborhood to reassure folks here he is taking care of the problems but in the meantime the boats and barge stay because even if the city can tow them, there is nowhere to put them. >> the longer they stay they risk an environmental mess if one of them sinks or something like this. >> reporter: the officer plans to do whatever he can to get up close so he can see what's there. >> right away. >> reporter: and in an emergency they will take them away. >> all right. sherry hu, thanks. >>> thank you drive the san mateo bridge, you are in for another big backup tomorrow morning. one westbound lane is closed while caltrans workers try to fix a cracked

karen finney and alicia menendez join me. and dismayed because you call him a fame monger. >> a fame monger. i also, though, chris think that he is, like, the best form of birth control for young women in that if i have a teenage daughter, i would say to her, you have unprotected sex with some idiot, he is going to leave you. you're going to get pregnant. and then he's going to roll around with some other girl in a music video and make a fool of you. so i think in some way levi johnston is doing a service. >> alicia, i think bristol kind of got the last word because she heard about, you know, he went hunting. he sure went hunting for something. she kicked him out, so good for her. clearly he's just jealous because she's getting all this attention because she's on "dancing with the stars." >> you think that's it? you think he's jealous? >> i do. i think he loves himself so much that it's, like, you know, what was it? it was a week we weren't talking about him, so he had to do something. >> j.c., would you let your daughter dat

. >> and when we come back we're going to be joined by michael finney with you've never seen fast. you've never held it in your hand, then unleashed it with a fingertip. never watched pixels whip by at 1 ghz and had your neurons struggle to keep up. you've never seen fast because you've never seen this. the droid incredible by htc. it's nothing short of its name. buy a droid incredible with flash and get any phone free. as an unhappy choice between a longtime politician with no plan for the future and a billionaire with no government experience. well, let me tell you my story. my husband and i came here as newlyweds. we raised our family here and the california dream came true for me in ways i could never have imagined. now i'm running for governor to restore the california dream for everyone. i'm not a career politician or a hollywood star. i'm from silicon valley, where i created thousands of jobs at ebay. as governor, i'll do something that's been missing from california politics for far too long. i'll treat you like grownups, tell it to you straight, and offer a practical plan

i'm michael finney, "7 on your side." >> a russian astronaut has taken off. this is the first time anna chapman, the first time since being deported from the u.s. in july. the three-man crew is due to reach the international space station in two days. >> still ahead at 6:30, the latest on the impasse of the state senate. lawmakers have been up all night to pass the state budget bill. >> why jerry brown's campaign is apologizing to his opponent meg whitman for comments left on a voice mail. >> and there was some very funky team spirit as the giants won game one in the playoff series. there's advancing forward. i'm theresa garcia live in san francisco. game two is tonight and the fan fever is on the rise. >> you're looking at our major airports across the lower 48 and the weather that goes with 'em. it is fairly quiet and no severe weather is expected today. >> extra slow at the bay bridge toll plaza this morning due to an earlier stall. already backed up to the west grand overpass. our al national pastim-- saving money. and like baseball people love their stat

i called michael finney's office. >> we contacted re-bath and right away it took action. >> the next heard was the president of the company in arizona. >> a few days later, virginia received this check hand-delivered to her home. it was a return of her full deposit. we spoke with the owner and said he never received virginia's cancellation notice but refunded her money as soon as she found out she did want to cancel. >> we would never hold money from somebody who doesn't want to do a job from us. as soon as we found out she didn't want to, we noted her daughter and herself that she was going to get her full deposit back. >> he has served thousands of customers over the past five years and this has never happened. but he says virginia's case prompted him to reexamine his refund process. >> we're going to do a better job in the future getting a customer a refund or deposit back as soon as possible. this situation made me want to look into that and make it a better system because obviously she wasn't happy. >> however, that's all changed now. >> and here i am. a happy 90-year-old. and i

hayworth "the washington post," jonathan capehart, strategic karen finney. should be a great morning. short of tell you stay home, the rare warning sfra ining state ds getting serious. countries in europe are seriously worried about a terror attack. if you're going to go there, you need to watch it. the trouble is, after nine years of various warnings, you know all of the color codes, is anyone going to pay attention? >> i'm very happy to be here in france, and i think that we're very safe, and i trust the french government to keep us safe. >> we're going to be a little bit cautious getting on the train. >> i'll keep my eyes open and hopefully things will work out. >> hopefully things will work out. nbc's jim maceda live in lon done with latest on the new terrorism concerns. i was reading local papers in london, jim, and it i was interested to see they were talking to a lot of americans who, frankly, were upset that they thought the warning were too vague. what's go on over there? >> reporter: there are americans here who think the warnings are too vague, an

karen finney is an msnbc contributor. and democratic strategist. alicia menendez is a senior adviser for the new democrat network. okay. alicia, obviously, there she's responding to this whole witchcraft thing. but now we're hearing back in 2006 in a debate, she said, china had a strategic plan to take over america and, quote, there's much i want to say. i wish i wasn't privy to some of the classified information that i am privy to. so what do you make of this? >> i mean, i don't know what to make of this. i think it's absolutely absurd. and it sort of falls in this larger pattern. we've been seeing with her which is she's a loose cannon. you don't know what she's going to say. you got the impression that she's not very serious about this. that for her, this is her 15 minutes' fame. and not a lot more. listen, i think voters want to hear substance. they want to hear plans for if we send you to washington, what are you going to do? and i just don't think they're getting very much of that from her. more to the point she's sort of been m.i.a. i mean,

jonathan cape heart, karen finney, ezra klein, why?stands the big picture why, you know, blacks went to the democratic party. but really, in 2010, zero and only three with a shot at? tell me. >> here's the reason why. it's because the republican party generally speaking has not been exactly favorable or friendly to the african-american community. that's what the african-american community thinks. >> that's a perception. >> that's the perception. when you stack the two sides up, african-americans go into the voting booth and say, you know what? it's the democrats who have may interest at heart. when you have a candidate like rand paul running for senate in kentucky saying i think we should be reconsidering perhaps the civil rights law, that sends a message to african-americans they're not for me. >> remember that under ken mehlman at the rnc, they were trying to make inroads with african-americans and katrina killed that, unfortunately. this is a good thing for the black community because there is a growing feeling in the black communit

but 7 on your side michael finney there is lot to consider before you buy. >> debra was so anxious town an electric car he converted his car. he can go 20 miles on a charge and he plans his trips carefully. >> i use it for local travel, to the doctors office to the kid's schools and things like that. >> the limited driving is a key consideration. the chevy volt can go 40 miles on an electric charge but it does have a small gas engine that can go another 300 miles on tank of gas. nissan leaf powered solely by an electric battery has hundred mile range before being recharged. >> headlights, wipers, the heat air-conditioning all use electricity. even playing a radio. >> so how far do they go, it's going to vary. >> recharge is another consideration. on a regular outlet. chevy volt takes ten hours. but the nissan leaf, you need about 16 hours. federal tax incentives will cut costs and then there is the cost of the vehicle itself. the chevy volt retails for $41,000. nissan leaf, $33,600 and there is a tax credit available for both. >> the cars hold a lot of promise. two big pluses is the a

michael finney is here with the unusual story. >> it's unusual. the huge bill was shocking. and the wait until you see what is on the list of charges, hundreds of pay per view movies the family said they did not order and would not watch. maria signed up with cable tv company astound years ago and always paid around $74 per month. then, one day, she received a bill from that was truly astounding. >> it was in the amount of $2,000. you know? i was shocked. >> her modest bill had shot up to $2088 but that was then't the most astounding part. the real shock came when she looked at list of charges. >> i started turning pages. adult movies? that, oh, my god. i was in shock. >> the bill said she had ordered not just a few, but hundreds of pornographic movies on pay per view. according to the bill, as many as 10 or 15 adult flicks ordered in one day. at $12.95 apiece, charges added up fast. she called and said no way she and her husband suddenly ordered all of this pornography. >> my bill was normal, normal so many years. all of a sudden that happened? i said no. it can't be. we're

i'm michael finney. 7 on your side is coming up. >> and environmentally friendly warship in the u.s. friendly warship in the u.s. navy makes its [ whitman ] they say california can't be governed anymore. i say baloney. this state belongs to all of us. we just have to decide we want to change. i know government isn't a business and it shouldn't be, but the same values of accountability and focus that make california businesses among the best in the world could do a lot to fix sacramento. i'm on a mission to create more jobs, stop wasteful spending, and improve our schools. let's get to work. ♪ >> closed captioning brought to you by mancini sleepworld. >>> wells fargo agreed to pay $24 million to end an investigation on risky loans they made to borrowers by allowing them to defer some interest and adding it on the balance of the loan. issue is whether they were explained to bowerers. made but wachovia and world savings. the bank agreed to provide assistance to customer who's still have the loans. >> and is it possible to have too many friends who know too much about you? the company an

i'm michael finney. i head on "7 on your side," we put two hot new grills to the test. >> later tonight, a miracle device woes makers claim it can get this droid has evolved to do even more. now it integrates your work e-mail, so you can be hooked up to everything you need to do. now it does 1 ghz speed on a more intuitive keyboard. turning you into an instrument of efficiency. introducing the new droid 2 by motorola. part of the next generation of does. >> closed captioning brought to you by mancini sleepworld. >>> vandals have defaced a memorial that honors the victims of the 1991 oakland hills fire. they cut eight bronze branchs from a metal skullture in the firestorm garden off highway 24. vandals targeted that memorial before, but today's incident was the most damaging. the memorial honors the 25 people who died and 150 people who were injured. the oakland fire storm was the worst fire in u.s. history. 3,500 homes were destroyed. >>> police in fremont today released this picture of a man wanted for

michael finney explains why you may want to take a closer look at your auto registration.e are getting [ female announcer ] this is a strawberry pop tart. but this is warm, fresh-baked strawberry toaster strudel. [ music ] see the difference? pillsbury toaster strudel, the one kids want to eat. and these e the ones you'll love on a school night pillsbury ham and cheese crescents with just a few ingredients, you have an easy to make dinner. they're crescents for the other 364. try them tonight. >>> live emeryville cam shows you the oakland maze. some folks are already out and about this morning. thank you for joining us instead and listening to the morning news. >>> have you checked your car registration fee lately? a mistake at the dmv cost a man more than a thousand dollars. he was paying ten times what he should have. 7 on your side michael finney has the tale. >> darrell adams bought this 1996 gmc five years ago. it's not lublgs our just and only cost him $6900. however, as far as the dmv was concerned he may have been driving a brand-new jaguar. >> i never thought anyt

michael finney explains what you might want to take a closer look at your auto registration.ome people are getting overcharged -- way overcharged. >>> it has been three weeks since a neighborhood in san bruno exploded and burned with devastating consequences. people who lived through it continue the struggle with the daunting challenge of moving ahead. >> our family was going to go for this and it's not there. >> this is the new normal for the family. they are renting a house about a block and a half from their old home. it was damaged beyond repair by the san bruno explosion and fire. moving forward has been challenging. >> there is more play book or framework. it would have been helpful if someone said, this has happened to other people. here the bullet points. these are steps you need to follow. >> it's as if their old life has been erased. >> we're able to order social security cards and for my children, ordered birth certificates. pg&e cut us the initial checks and no obligation thing to get you started. our homeowners insurance, i called them the day it happened because

then michael finney stepped in. >> virginia conner was repairing her bathroom and thought she installhtub like this one, making it easy to get in and out. >> you open the door and you walk in and turn the water on. then you bubble, bubble, bubble. >> she found an advertisement. ad said installation would be quick and easy so she called the company re-bath of san mateo. she signed a contract agreeing to pay $9,500 for installation of a walk-in tub. she paid a deposit of $3167 by check but right afterwards she had second thoughts. >> i wanted to cancel it because then i begin to think that -- oh it was too much money. >> she realized the contract did not include repainting the bathroom but no problem. the contract said she could cancel within three business days as required by law. virginia says she faxed over a cancellation notice the very next day and also sent it by certified mail. she called the re-bath salesperson, too. >> she said don't worry a check will be in the mail in ten days. >> the ten days passed and then weeks and virginia had not received her $3,000 back. she says she k

. >>> still to come, michael finney looks into the astounding bill of an east bay couple charged for hundreds of >> alan: have you ever been surprised bay charge on your cable tv bill? one family was not only surprised. they were shocked when they suddenly received a bill for more than $4,000. michael finney has their very unusual story. >> maria signed up with the tv company years ago and always paid $74 per month. one day out of the blue, maria received a bill from them that was truly astounding. >> it was in the amount of 2,000 and so much money. i was shocked. >> her cable bill shot up to $2,088. that wasn't even the most astounding part. the real shock came when she looked at the list of charges. >> i started turning the pages, and adult movies. i was in shock. >> the bill said they had ordered not just a few, but hundreds of pornographic movies on pay-per-view. according to the bill, as many as 10 or 15 adult flicks were ordered in one day. at 12.95 a piece, they charged added up fast. maria called the company and said no way, she and her husband ordered all this. >> we're not

michael finney has the tale. >> darrell adams bought this 1996 gmc car five years ago. handles rough roads and only cost him $6900. however, as far as the dmv was concerned, he may as well been driving a brand-new jaguar. >> i never thought anything was wrong. >> but there was. he was paying as much $454 to register the truck. he figured that was the going rate until a friend with the same truck mentioned he was paying $87. so darrell went down to the dmv and asked why. >> when i told them that was odd. they told me why don't you go ahead and pay it. >> darrell said not if he was being overcharged. finally they checked the computer and found a big mistake. the record said he paid 6/9,000 for the old truck and instead of -- $69,000 for the old truck instead of $6900. the dmv was charging ten times too much for all these years. >> i'm totally blown away. it's valued at $69,000 and nobody caught it. >> it added up to 1360 over four years when he should have paid $134. he pointed this out to the dmv. >> they start talking about statute of limitations even though it was thei

here's michael finney with more. >> terry stone of compare heating and air conditioning is performinga heating unit. >> just make sure everything's within spec. working safely. >> terry hopes to catch minor problems now before they turn into big problems later. he checks the gas pressure. too much gas pressure can overheat the furnace, the heat exchanger can crack. >> that's definitely something you want to avoid because a bat heat exchanger can cost you $1500 to repair. cracks can also lead to carbon monoxide poisoning. he cleans the dust off the burner to keep the unit running at maximum efficiency. >> dust, that's when efficiency starts going down. >> for the same reason you want to also clean your filters. that's something you should do yourself every month. robert crewoff suggests homeowners get a tuneup on their heating and air conditioning units every few years. >> many firms will actually try to encourage you to get a maintenance contract, an annual contract. the checkbook is not real high on those things because many people don't need to have a maintenance visit every year. i

i'm michael finney.t fix from consumer repor reports. >> bay area congressional race that is being watched around the country tonight. 2 candidate and the issues that divide them. >> also the billionaire opening his wallet to legalize marijuana in california. stay his wallet to legalize marijuana in california. stay with us. more were prese i want you to s. >> good evening once again. we start this half hour with politics. one week from tonight we are tall using election results. so tonight we take a look at one of the most hotly contested races in the bay area. 11th congressional district includes pleasanton and east to stockto stockton. incumbent jerry the democrat facing a stiff challenge from conservative republican david harmen. hears laura. >> for 4 years pleasanton democrat jerry carved his niche as people congressman. nearly every weekend he flies from washington, d.c. to his home in the 11th district. reaching out to his his constituent in a way that is far more personal than many colleague. >>

i'm michael finney, "7 on your side." >> coming up next, the giants are in arlington, texas, for gamehree of the world series. we have a look at the fans here at home who are hoping for a sweep. >>> here are the winning numbers from last night's $140 megamillions draw. 4, 19, 26, 28, 39 and the meganumber 14. there were no winning tickets sold in california but there was a winner in another state so the jackpot for tuesday's drawing resets to $12 million. game three of the world series is this afternoon in arlington, texas. and abc 7's wayne friedman reports that even people who aren't baseball fans are jumping on that band wagon. >> if we reduce the world series story to its bare basics, these would be the headlines. the giants departing for dallas on a hopeful day for destiny. fans boarding flights of their own to cheer the team in person and a mania that has taken over. >> i barely understand baseball. >> but hope and destiny. >> there's a line drive! >> and frankly a dare to believe feeling among long-suffering giants fans after 56 years san francisco's time has come. >> great fra

compare ranks high for both price and service. >> looks nice and clean. >> i'm michael finney. "7 onr side." >> up next sounds of approval for a man difficult vetted i know many of you see this election as an unhappy choice between a longtime politician with no plan for the future and a billionaire with no government experience. well, let me tell you my story. my husband and i came here as newlyweds. we raised our family here and the california dream came true for me in ways i could never have imagined. now i'm running for governor to restore the california dream for everyone. i'm not a career politician or a hollywood star. i'm from silicon valley, where i created thousands of jobs at ebay. as governor, i'll do something that's been missing from california politics for far too long. i'll treat you like grownups, tell it to you straight, and offer a practical plan forward. these are scary times and i know that cleaning up sacramento won't be easy. our problems are tough, but so am i. if you want more of the same from sacramento, then vote for my opponent. but if you want to get calif

i'm michael finney, "7 on your side." >> coming up next, the south bay lube team whose ♪ ♪ yes!gosh, are those the jeans from last year? how'd you do it? ting right...whole grain. [ female announcer ] people who eat more whole grain tend to have healthier body weights. multigrain cheerios has five whole grains and 110 lightly sweetened calories. more grains. less you! multigrain cheerios. >> there is one bay area team already crowned as world champions. the men and women you are about to meet are not athletes but they are superstars in their line of work. wayne friedman reports. >> out of sight, out of mind. that's the relationship most people have with motor oil. they don't wanna see it, touch it or smell it. >> oil! >> but not down here. >> any advice? >> stay away from the holder. >> a little late for that. >> yeah. >> that from angel hernandez who deals with the dirty sides of cars all day at jiffy lube store number 2332 in san jose, he's yet to wrench a drain plug he couldn't unscrew. >> do you get more respect if you're more dirty? >> no. >> there's paul that runs this sho

i'm michael finney. you want some fiber one honey clusters? yeah. you must really care about him.er. no she didn't. this tastes way too good to be fiber. they're delicious crunchy clusters with sweet honey and half a day's worth of fiber. you care about my fiber? not really. i care about youfiber too. i have for while. ok, carl. why don't you care about her fiber? hey carl. [ male announcer ] fiber one. cardboard no. delicious yes. >> mark and brook were married last year, bought their home this year and made their first mortgage payment this past summer. >> i was especially careful making sure you had the number right, the p. o. box number right. >> things were fine or so it seemed until a few weeks later. mark received a shocking call from the collections department of his mortgage lender wells fargo bank. >> that we hadn't made our first payment and they were concerned. >> but how could that be? mark did pay. using his chase bank online bill-paying account. so right away mark printed out this proof of payment and marched down to wells fargo, but the bank insisted it never recei

when a videographer never came through with any footage of their big day. 7 on your side's michael finneyn to help. ♪ >> darren and alisha start to feel emotional as they watch a videotape of their big wedding day back in 2008. >> always remember that -- >> it's especially emotional because it's been two years since the wedding, yet this is the first time they've seen the video. >> it was like going back in time. >> i just really wanted to have those precious memories. >> for the past two years, it looked as though the krups might never see these cherished pictures. the only record of their blissful day. >> i didn't even wanna think about not ever getting the video. >> that would have been huge. i mean, just to not have that record of that day, for us to look back on. >> so what was the problem? the krups had hired videographer alfred wattkim to record the ceremony and reception. they paid him $2,400 and he promised to deliver a finished dvd within two months of the big day. just as planned, he showed up with a crew and captured each special moment of their wedding. >> the bridesmaids and

michael finney shows us some of the better ones. >> the average american household owns 24 electronic gadgets. this pc can cut that number down significantly. >> compact with features. some have built-in tuneteres, you can have your music. the hp touch smart makes a good entertainment center. a tv tuner and a really large screen. stylish and comes with a built-in webcam and touch gesture. >> you can mount it on your wall. >> may not be for everyone but could be a good alternative for some. i'm michael finney, "7 on your side." >> still meet the real meg whitman: serving on the board of goldman sachs, whitman was caught reaping millions from insider stock deals. after ebay shareholders sued and a judge cited the obvious conflict of interest she was forced to pay the money back. what kind of person would be involved in deals a fellow republican congressman called corrupt? and in her last year at ebay, whitman paid herself $120 million right before the company laid off 10% of it's workers. we're choosing a governor, shouldn't character matter? >>> chances are you didn't know it but there

michael finney helped him to find a solution. >> you remember brandon whitney? he accidentally put four 100 bills in a paper shreder and in seconds it was a worthless pile of confettied. >> than gave% but his mom contacted 7 on your side and we found and amazing solution. >> there is an increase. >> this is the u.s. bureau of engraving and printing in washington, d.c. here examiners work all day turning piles of mutilated cash into spendable money. its free service of the u.s. government. >> we see everything. >> and shredding cases, too. a lot of us end up with mangled money. every year the bureau tackles 20,000 cases with a success rate of 90% returning $40 million to consumers. these ashes used to be a sack of 20 bills. they were burned in a bank fire. but even this can be saved. >> it rises off the currency when it's burned, you can still see the engraving. >> hundreds of cases involved money damaged during 9/11. there are also plenty of bills from natural disasters, too. shear case from hurricane katrina. >> these moldy lumps used to be somebody's life savi

i'm michael finney "7 on your side." >> 6:22 now.eavy hitters going to bat for >>> welcome back. 6:25 now. president obama will head to los angeles to appear with a campaign event with senator barbara boxer. it will be his third for the senator. the first lady will follow for another l.a. campaign event. boxer's opponent carly fiorina announced john mccain will campaign with her next weekend in an effort to mobilize veterans. >> al-queda's group is offering chilling new tips on how to kill americans. in the seconded addition of its english online magazine, the terror group advises militants to open fire at a crowded restaurant in washington d.c. during lunch hour to knock out government employees. they were written by the american cleric. on the capture list for attempteded airline bomber last christmas. >> nurses go on strike this morning. we'll tell you what the hospital plans to do about replacing them. >> the fire danger is high in certain parts of the bay area today due to hot and dry windy conditions. >> i'm terry mcsweeney liv

it's called strategic default. 7 on your side michael finney has been looking into whether that is aidea. >> peter is packing up and moving on. >> emotionally i am very sad about the place this whole situation has put me. logically it would be absurd for me to continue on this death spiral. >>reporter: he has the money to pay his mortgage but he's decided against it. >> staying here for me would have been the he equivalent of financial suicide. >>reporter: it is called strategic default. that's when a homeowner allows their home to be foreclosed upon because it is worth less than they owe. >> comfort in numbers. >>reporter: attorney chad rule has a web site that has a strategic default calculator. also offers help for those who decide to walk away from their mortgage. >> i believe that that there's lots of stigma on homeowner that are walking away from the property. even with people that are defaulting. >>reporter: maybe less of a stigma but a stigma nonetheless. >> a lot of people when they hear when they hear people talk about extra teen ick default makes them uncomfortable uneasy.

michael finney has more on what you should do if you get one in your in-box. >> she was working at her computer when an e-mail came in that grabbed her attention. >> it made my heartbeat just a little bit faster. >> a little bit fashion terrify. >> check out this e-mail. >> the heading said, you call your friend and took my attention. >> your life is going to end within ten days. the sender says he is a hit man and has sent my boys to track you down. somebody will want you dead by all means. my men are monitoring you, now, do you want to live or die? don't tell anyone but for $8,000 $3,000 now and $5,000 later, your life will be spared. he advises not to go outside once it's 7:00 p.m. >> anybody gets this it must be terrifying to open up and read. >> he says its phony, a spammer looking for quick cash. >> the frightening thing, should one actually pay out what they are knangs, it's atual certainty will there will be additional death threats and demand more known. >> now she knew it was fake. she wasn't worried for herself. he is a court appointed conservator for seniors but she is conc

i'm michael finney, "7 on your side." >> coming up, a netflix flub-up.eft the rental giant a little red in the face. >> an incredible new device that berkeley firefighters now say will help them p ge i'm among 30,000 employees who used to work for hp. i was supposed to retire there. carly fiorina changed all that. fiorina laid off 30,000 people and she shipped our jobs to china and india. i had to pack my bags and i was out the door that night. we even had to train our replacements. she didn't need 5 corporate jets. one hundred million for herself. fiorina never cared about our jobs. not then and not now. i'm barbara boxer and i approve this message. >>> take a look at this. the berkeley fire department is showing off its revolutionary new system that could put water on major fires even this hydrants fail in an earthquake. it can suck up 12,000 gallons of water from the bay and pump it through hoses to a fire 6 miles away. it can pull water out of flooded systems. the new system costs $4.7 million. >> netflix is investigating a major outage. the website

fisher price announce aid recall of 11 million toys and high chair autos michael finney is here with that and the rest of the day's consumer news. >> the consumer products safety commission says both try cycles and high chairs have been blamed for injuring children. the fisher price trykes have pro truding parts that children can strike, sit or fall on. the healthy care easy clean and close to the eye chairs have pegs on the back that can cause injury. the recall includes three million toys which have parts small enough to be swallowed. we have links about more information, you can go to abc 7 news.com and click on 7 on your side. and executives from johnson and johnson testified today about what some are calling a phantom recall. investigators say the company sent out contractors to remove its medication interest shelves when it learned more than 40 drugs were contaminated. among products removed were childrens motrin, tylenol and ben drill. an executive denied knowing about the recall until recently. >> i have learned there was a retrieveal going on. i did not know that at that tim

tonight michael finney investigates an illegal fee they may be paying. >> and following up on a report highly critical of california prosecutors and what critics say is going take to stop this alleged bad we behavior. >> calling out america's cup. those stories and more coming up at 6:00. >> and there is giants and fans taking a look forward to the first playoff appearance since 2003. >> they won yesterday with a victory over padre autos the giants opened playoffs hosting braves thursday night. and those playoff games are already sold out. >> tickets for the championship series go on sale at 3:00 online or by phone. there is a lot of fun. >> world news is up next. >> from all of us here, thanks for watching. we'll see you again at 6:00. we'll see you again at 6:00. >> meet the real meg whitman: serving on the board of goldman sachs, whitman was caught reaping millions from insider stock deals. after ebay shareholders sued and a judge cited the obvious conflict of interest she was forced to pay the money back. what kind of person would be involved in deals a fellow republican congressma

i'm michael finney, "7 on your side." >> 6:21. coming up, moving violations. stunning cellphone video state budgets cuts are crippling my classroom. they can't believe the sacramento politicians will give our state's wealthiest corporations a new billion dollar tax giveaway. lobbyists have the ear of people who are just thinking about wealth. when you cut the budget, then you cut these students' opportunities. passing prop 24 can change all that. prop 24 repeals the unfair corporate giveaway and puts our priorities first. vote yes on prop 24 because it's time to give our schools a break. come on... isn't it time an auto insurer gave it to you straight? that's why you should talk to state farm. but not yet. first, talk to any one of the 40 million drivers who already have state farm. 40 million. yeah, that's more than geico and progressive combined. by a lot. 40 million drivers. more savings. and discounts up to 40%. where else you gonna get discounts like that? call an agent at 1-800-state-farm or go online. >>> 6:44 now. imagine looking across the freeway and

. >> michael finney is here to tell whaus to expect. >> when i was 16 here in california, if you werever 21 you looked like this. you were looking straight. if you were under 21 it was taken sideways. so that bars and liquor stores can tell instantly if you're 21. >> clever that. >> now, your new license will look different, feel different and should be a lot more secure. today, the dmv showed us samples of business changes for one thing. there is those under 21 will get a license with a vertical layout. and the licenses also have images from california landmarks like the golden gate bridge. other images can be seen with ultraviolent-violet light z it's all the-to-prevent counterfeiting and fraud. >> there is hard work that goes on. we know that we'll be able to stay a few steps ahead with this new card. >> the dmv started issuing licenses this week. the old license will be good. but whit expires you'll get a new one. >> october is breast cancer awareness month. that means that out will come signature pink bows. you may notice ribbons are appearing on consumer products from marker pen

i'm michael finney. her story coming up on 7 on your side. >>> i'm meteorologist sandhya patel. tomorrow around this time we will be seeing more than just clouds. could be seeing some showers falling out of the clouds. we'll tatatatatatatatatatatataa >> closed captioning brought to you by mancini sleepworld. >>> a new report shows the economy is expanding in the united states with some regions doing better than others. the federal reserve october beige book survey found that 7 of the 12 regions reported moderate improvements in business activity. the survey found that technology manufacturing is growing in the san francisco region. the slowest growth was taking place in atlanta and dallas. the survey indicates that while the economy is growing it is not improving enough to drive down high ununemployment now at 9.6% nationally. >>> there are so many californians out of work that the state's jobless benefits fund could reach a deficit of $20 billion by the end of next year. right now the unemployment insurance fund is more than $6 billion in debt. last year a record number of cali

. >> michael finney has a 7 on your side report. >> and we have had two major gripes about these tests for years and years. one is that women were were all but ignored. and both parties are now being fixed the new safety ratings revealed today and to make an impact as big as crashes themselves. >> we've raised a bar on say more. >> the national transportation safety board adds side poll crash testing and there is a major change adds female dummies to the test. >> and. >> there is a system not just for male passengers and drivers but female passengers and drivers. >> that is a leap for us. >> our concern when announcing the procedures is that we thought they can do more. >> another group insurance institute for highway safety used female dummies in testing since 2003. and after starting a period protecting an average sized man protecting everyone. >> we need to check out how restraint systems are working for smaller occupants and lighter weight occupants. >> most vehicles tested under the old government system earned a top five star safety rating. not anymore. just two of 34 vehicles te

michael finney helped him to find a solution. >> you remember brandon whitney? he accidentally put four 100 bills in a paper shreder and in seconds it was a worthless pile of confettied. >> than gave% but his mom contacted 7 on your side and we found and amazing solution. >> there is an increase. >> this is the u.s. bureau of engraving and printing in washington, d.c. here examiners work all day turning piles of mutilated cash into spendable money. its free service of the u.s. government. >> we see everything. >> and shredding cases, too. a lot of us end up with mangled money. every year the bureau tackles 20,000 cases with a success rate of 90% returning $40 million to consumers. these ashes used to be a sack of 20 bills. they were burned in a bank fire. but even this can be saved. >> it rises off the currency when it's burned, you can still see the engraving. >> hundreds of cases involved money damaged during 9/11. there are also plenty of bills from natural disasters, too. shear case from hurricane katrina. >> these moldy lumps used to be somebody's life savi

. >> michael finney follows money being poured into next week's election by the insurance industry. >ind the scenes at at and t park. why it takes 20 people to operate the score board. >>. >>> we're going begin to see how state medical marijuana laws are attracting pat growers in kl california. >> abc 7's dan noyes is here with the investigation. >> let's start by showing you

. >> reporter: finney has called anyone who might be able to help. >> it's so frustrating. i probably have two pages of phone calls that i have made over and over to people and most of them have returned my calls. but nothing is done. >> reporter: until today. like finny, i talked to the boat officer with the local police department this morning. told me he needs to find out who owns the vessels. if illegally board, they will get citations. if abandoned, they will be towed away and will try to get grant money from the state to be reimbursed. neighbors are waiting. >> i would like them to be gone, just take them away. >> reporter: well, the police officer actually came out to the neighborhood to reassure folks here that he is taking care of the problem. but in fact meantime, the boat and the barges will have to stay put, allen, because even if the police department could move those boats out of the way right now, it has nowhere to put them. >> i was just going to ask that. yeah, if they tow them out of there, they have to go somewhere. >> exactly. it's not like towing a car

. >> and michael finney return was a look at which online sites will save you m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m

michael finney is here. you've done several investigations on. >> we've been looking at this. when a retailer is cited for selling jewelry containing led it's usually removed from shelves. what happened if he's cited again and again? you'll see, not much. >> behind this gate in an office basement are boxes and boxes of lead-painted pro dukts these were tested by center for environmental health. any product found a high amount of lead almost always results in a lawsuit by the center and the state or a violation notice from the state attorney general. >> companies have been responding very quickly and we think early to the notices we've sent them. >> rainbow abarrel has 35 outlets in california include something under the 579 name. >> in june, the center for environmental health tested several pieces of jewelry. found 16 pieces with exwres levels at rainbow stores. the clamps on this necklace contained 80% lead. the label said lead-free. >> fempeople could purchase them, thinking it could are safe for children. >> lead poisoning can lead to serious health problems and it's been