in hayward, jodi hernandez, nbc bay area news. >> jodi, thank you. let's turn our decision to decision 2010. today's gop party is a coming out of sorts. the first national stage for texas governor rick perry. you see michele bachmann at the microphone right now. let's bring in nbc's stephanie stanton who joins us from the debate. any kind of score card in terms of governor perry or mitt romney or bachmann? >> reporter: good evening to you. the first line of questioning went to governor rick perry. this is his first public debate since anounding his candidacy. perry giving a showing to one political analyst we talked to as well as mitt romney. having a strong showing in this debate. they are all vying for the republican nomination. based on recent poll numbers, many analysts say this is really boiling down to a two-man race. the stage is set at the reagan presidential library for tonight's gop debate with texas governor rick perry squarely in the spotlight. devastating wildfires in texas have kept the governor off the campaign trail in recent days. to

reporting live in hayward, jodi hernandez, nbc bay area news. >> so jodi, police have not released a motive, but is there any speculation as to what the motive might be? >> reporter: again, they wouldn't talk about that. we do know that just a couple of days before michelle le disappeared, esteban's former boyfriend took out a restraining order against her. now esteban has also come forward publicly, publicly said she did not like michelle le, but insisted she had nothing to do with her disappearance. >> jodi, thanks so much. stay with nbc bay area and nbcbayarea.com for continuing coverage on the investigation into the michelle le case. >>> and outpouring of grief after a plane crash which killed an entire team of elite russian hockey players. among them, a top prospect for the san jose sharks. a 20-year-old forward had been drafted by the sharks and spent part of the summer training in the south bay. the sharks issuing a statement saying he had an infectious personality. at least 43 people died when the private plane crashed into a river just after takeoff. this is about 160 miles

i'm jodi hernandez, nbc bay area news. >> thank you, jodi. emotional in oakland. and now emotional in berkeley. cookies, cupcakes and controversy. the students were being politically incorrect on purpose. a group of young republicans were protesting senate bill 185. sb-185 would allow public universities to take race and gender into consideration during the admissions process. some students think this is racist. today they got plenty of support. >> i don't like making distinctions about people on the basis of race. but sometimes you have to do things that are wrong in order to correct that, which is even more wrong. >> they reduce the community and represent the communities to a cupcake. which is extremely racist. >> hundreds of mrnt students staged a silent protest in an attempt to demonstrate a strong statement could be made without causing backlash. see what the details are of sb-185. it's sitting on the governor's desk right now. we'll continue coverage tonight at 6:00. >>> new at 5:00, b.a.r.t.'s police department faced tough questiong from lawmakers today. t

reporting live in east bay, jodie hernandez, nbc bay area news. >> jodie, thanks so much. this ordeal has spanned more than two years. the three were arrested in july 2009. they still maintain they did not enter iran intentionally but officials accused only thief spying. the group's mothers are allowed the visit them in a rare humanitarian gesture. in september 2010, sarah shourd was release odd $500,000 bail because of health concerns. the trial against three people began in february of this year. shourd does not return for trial. they are sentenced to eight yeics in prison on illegal entry and spying charges. stay with nbc bay area and nbcbayarea.com for complete coverage of the hikers's homecomi homecoming. >>>. >>> evacuations this afternoon. the leak has been capped but the controversy is just beginning over who is to blame. live at post and sutter with the details. luckily, nothing happened but this could have been a dangerous situation, jean. >> yeah. a lot of people in this neighborhood said they smelled a very strong odor of gas. this gas leak is right around the

and jodie, i can hear them right behind you. >> reporter: that's right. this is a one-day strike. these nurses hit the picket line at about 7:00 this morning. technically, the strike will be over at 7:00 tomorrow morning, but we're told they'll be out here until about 110::00 tonigh. you can see, they are loud, they are fired up, and it's all over what they call big cuts to basic benefits. the nurses are camped out at 34 hospitals all over the region. while nurses are striking at children's hospital oakland and kaiser hospitals, the focus of the strike is suddener health, where contract talks are underway at 12 hospitals in the region. nurses say management wants to do away with sick days, hike up costs for health insurance, and slash retiree health benefits. they also say suder continues to cut back on patient services. but suder say they're puzzled by the strike. they say their nurses are among the highest paid in the country and insist the changes they're proposing aren't that drastic. >> one of the big issues for me, personally is no sick time for rns now. i work on an oncolog

in oakland, i'm jodi hernandez, nbc bay area news. >> good advice.nks so much. >>> in other news, fremont police have a mystery on their hands and involves a popular former cal athlete. diane quan's body was found off mowry avenue monday night. police aren't saying how or why they think she died. pending an autopsy report. quan played golf two years at uc berkeley where student athletes today were stunned to hear the news. police say it might be a while before they get all the answers. >> at this point we don't know if it's, you know, if it's a homicide, if it's an accident. if it's suicide. we just don't know at this point. >> police are asking witnesses to come forward. diane kwan was 20 years old and a popular student at fremont's kennedy high school as well. >>> thousands of students at san jose state university who applied for financial aid will have to wait for their money. 3,000 students who missed the early june financial aid deadline will have to wait a few more weeks for the school to determine how much money each student will receive. but

. >> this is my girlfriend, jody. she's solid. ♪ >>> i wasn't nice at all. i used to collect for dope dealers and other guys in here who owed big money. i used to get half. that was my hustle. half of what he owes you and i will [ bleep ] it up for you. i didn't care how bad i had to hurt the guy. the guy could have been a friend of mine, i didn't care. business is business. friend is friend. i would send you to a hospital, and they would send you back. smoke a joint, drink a jug of homemade wine with you right afterward, because like i said, business is business. friends is friends. >> alcohol is not allowed in prison, but that doesn't stop the inmates from making it and correctional officers from confiscating it. >> from the weekends it seems that they will be drink their wine. so, we are here to spoil the party. >> inmate-produced alcohol can be made from ingredients as basic as fruit, bread and juice. >> dexter, come on. calvin holmes is considered an expert. >> it comes off 25 to 30% alcohol. most people caught with wine all they do is to lose their job

jodi hernandez, nbc bay area news. >>> thanks, jodi. jane baur and josh fattal spent their first day of freedom with their families in seclusion. they were held in prison for years after being captured on the iran/iraq border. no word on when the group will return to the states. the release appeared to be carefully timed to coincide with the eve of a speech by iran's president at the united nations. speaking of the speech, mahmoud ahmadinejad's address was interrupted as several dell gragss walked out. it happened when he referred to the september 11th attacks as mysterious. the iranian president said as an engineer he's sure they were not brought down by jet liners. hundreds of protesters rallied gengs against the presence calling him a murder and terrorist. >>> two days after the repeal of the don't ask, don't tell policy, the obama administration is opposing a lawsuit seeking full severance pay for gay service member who is were dismissed. they got only half pay after they were discharged because they were pay. military personnel are

jodi he jodi hernandez is live. but first we have vicky nguyen. >> until last week, josh fattal and shane bauer thought they would be serving eight years after being convicted of spying. but with the help of ahmadinejad and other officials, they have been released. sarah shourd was also with fattal and bauer when they crossed the iranian border. she and bauer have been separated for a year now after she was released last september. all three were accused of spying. all three have denied the charge. the two young men, both 29 years old, appeared thin and pale but clearly happy to be back with their families. president ahmadinejad promised to let them go as a humanitarian gesture. the timing of the men's release coincides with the united nation's general assembly meeting. ahmadinejad is speaking there tomorrow. bauer and fattal free on a million dollars bail, money paid by the omani government. >> we are so happy that we are free. our deepest gratitude goes towards his majesty of aman for attaining our release. we're

reporting live in east oakland, jodi hernandez. nbc bay area news. >> thank you, jodi. good news and bad news on the education front in california. the state superintendent says that for the ninth straight school year,le schools posted gains on key academic performance tests. some schoolkids are not making the grade when it comes to the federal government's bench marks. in large urban districts like oakland as you saw and los angeles. being absent from class is a huge problem. and it starts early. as early as kindergarten. >> that its a pattern that stysz with the students through their academic career. when they're in ninth grade they lost one year of schooling that is desperately need ford themed to succeed. we have knowledge where to go. how to improve even further. >> more than 900 schools could face sanctions under the no child left behind law. that is in addition to 4,000 schools that are failing. on the bright side. almost half of the schools met or beat the school's target for passing the api, academic performance index which is up 46% from last year. >> okay. t

reporting live in oakland, i'm jodi hernandez, nbc bay area news. >> jodi, thank you so much for the update. >> whether it's kaiser or any of the other schools, it's going to be so hard for the parents and the kids. >> i know. >>> still ahead tonight at 6:00, he is an academy award-winning actor, and now he may be one of the best allies for the freed hikers in iran. how sean penn played a role in their release. >>> i'm kimberly tere in fremont where one bank is investing in new technology, hoping to protect their customers from crook. we'll tell you how it works coming up in a live report. >>> and one-on-one with a new boss. meg whitman, her candid comments about her new job and the future of hewlett-packard. >>> good evening. i'm chief meteorologist jeff ranieri. already lining up here in dozens. i'll tell you all about this weekend event and how you can take part, plus your forecast in just a few minutes. >>> new technology is adding another line of defense between consumers and crooks. today a local bank unveiled a new debit card that allows your private information to remain just

reporting live from san francisco, i'm jodi hernandez, nbc bay area news. >> okay, jody. thank you. >>> tonight, a game reality about to the struggling american economy. nearly 1 in 6 americans was in poverty last year, more than ever before in the united states. the recession and hike unemployment are to blame for the increase. the poverty line is define as household income of $22 throughs wi for a family of four. it's up a point and a half from the previous year. another side effect of unemployment, 50 million people had no health insurance. that, too, was a record high. the middle class is hurting. the median household income fell about 2.3%. it's now less than $49,000 and is the lowest level since 1996. in the middle class squeeze being felt by parents struggling how to send their kids to school. tonight on our 6:00 newscast, nbc bay area news looks at the latest threat of a tuition hike and considers whether private schools could be cheaper than public universities. >>> the seconds harvest food back of santa clara and san mateo is feeding 1 in 2 people. they have see

jody, what's the latest? >> reporter: rush, friends tell me judith had been showing signs of improvement, they say that she was actually sitting up and talking to her husband the day before she was mistakenly given that deadly dose of drugs. tonight those who knew ming are demanding changes so something like this never happens again. >> she was a wonderful people, loved people, loved her familier friends. >> reporter: that's how friends describe judith ming, the cancer patient who died early saturday morning after a replacement nurse at summit medical center mistakenly gave her a lethal dose of medication. >> she was a positive person, you know what i mean? like she saw things in a positive way. she saw the disease in a same way. she was going to beat it. >> i am so sorry. this was horrific. this was absolutely a monumental unbelievable error. it should never occurred. never. >> reporter: tonight striking nurses who normally cared for ming and other cancer patients are beside themselves. they can't understand

jody is live in hayward where many same they deserve a lot of credit. >> reporter: that's right. michelle le's family put their lives on hold to search for her and worked non-stop to keep her in the spotlight. many are saying without the family's efforts, this case may never have been resolved. >> it was pivotal that they stayed focused the way they did. it's unsurpassed in my opinion. >> reporter: hey pardon police lieutenant roger says it's the perseverance of michelle le's family that led to her discovery. police came up empty-handed in seven separate searches. the family refused to give up. >> we had come to a point where we said we search and we searched and weren't able to find anything. the family said, we're not going to let that lie there. we are not done with this and want to bring michelle home. tell us where to search. >> reporter: it was that family driven effort that finally led to the nursing student as they located le's remains in rural alameda family over the weekend. >> major kudos to the le family for their efforts. >> reporter: they are applauding the family.

we bring in nbc bay area's jodi hernandez who joins us in oakland.hat can we expect in the next several days, and will we be able to see this heightened security? >> reporter: raj, if you're riding b.a.r.t., you're definitely going to notice that security has been stepped up. the tsa has teamed up with b.a.r.t. police to keep trains and stations safe, but it's not just here. extra security has been stepped up all across the bay area. it's all hands on deck at b.a.r.t. this 9/11 weekend. police officers, bomb-sniffing dogs, and federal homeland security agents patrol b.a.r.t.'s platforms and trains. >> at least i know that they're on it. it lets me know that, okay, they're acknowledging and taking care of the problem. >> there's no credible threat to the region that we've been notified of or has been communicated or identified. we were constantly aware and vigilant of any upcoming information. >> reporter: mike sena of the northern california regional intelligence center says his san francisco center will be staffed around the clock this weekend with

in san francisco, jodi hernandez, nbc bay area news. >> jodi, thanks so much. >>> the cost of higher education could go even higher in california. as it stands, tuition is up an estimated 300% in the last to years and is not likely to stop. they met today to discuss another tuition hike. the new plan would raise tuition up to 16% every yearhrough 2016. by then basic tuition could top $22,000. nbc bay area's traci grant was at today's meeting. traci, those numbers are staggering. i understand you found students who found an unexpected option. >> reporter: well, janelle, it's interesting actually because on july 14th the u.c. board of r regions sat in the building behind me and approved this. now the same item is on the agenda again. now some say the same tuition increases are forcing people to question whether it's the private universities that could be offering the better deal to students these days. >> the class sizes are smaller. the courses are readily available. most of all the tuition pushed andrew willard to transfer to notre dame university in belmont. >> the chief of state ha

jodi hernandez joins us live with the story. jodi? >> billy joe arm sfrostrong has a long way since getting his start in berkeley 20 years ago. he is not used to the kind of treatment he experience add boa -- e experienced last night. armstrong, lead singer for green day was boarding a flight last night when booted off for wearing saggy pants. we talked to a passenger on that flight, who says the incident took about 30 second to a minute. she describes it as a heated argument. she says the flight attendant sternly ordered armstrong to pull up his pants or get off the plane. she says an upset armstrong asked the flight attendant don't you have something better to do? then he was quickly escorted off the plane. now armstrong tweeted about what happened.ta shortly after saying, "just got kicked off a southwest flight because my pants sagged too low." no joke. southwest airlines issued a statement today about what took place. as soon as we became aware of what happened, we reached out to apologize for this customer's experience. he electe

new at 5:00, jodi hernandez joins us from berkeley where the band got its start. usually rock and roll stars don't get treated like this. is there a clear policy from southwest? >> reporter: we're not certain what the policy is. what i can tell you is that southwest airlines is apologize tick tonight -- apologetic tonight as the singer who started on and off berkeley sounds off about how he was treated. billy joe armstrong, piedmont resident and lead singer of green day, was boarding a burbank-bound southwest flight when he was booted off for wearing saggy pants. we talked to a passenger on the flight who said the incident took all before 30 seconds to a minute. she describes as a heated argument. she says the flight attendant sternly ordered armstrong to pull up his pants or get off the plane. she says armstrong then asked the flight attendant, don't you have something better to do? and then he was quickly escorted off the plane. armstrong tweeted about what happened shortly afterward saying, "just got kicked off a southwest flight because my pants sagged too low

jodi hernandez joins us in oakland outside the school board meeting. jodi, i know it's an emotional scene right behind you. >> reporter: raj, things are really heating up here. as you can see and hear, parents and children are sounding off. these folks are standing outside because there's no room left inside the school auditorium where the meeting is taking place. there is not a single seat left. these folks are not going to make it easy for the district to shut their schools down. children, parents and teachers say they won't stand by in silence as the oakland school district moves to close their schools. five schools have been earmarked for closure by the superintendent. and parents are outraged. >> a lot of parents don't have cars. they barely have money to take care of their homes. so obviously they feel that they should leave santa fe alone. >>. >> reporter: parents say most of them come from economically challenged families. >> all the kids in this neighborhood walk to school. they're not going to walk all the way over to hoover or the other scho

nbc bay area's jodi hernandez brings us the moving ceremony. >> today we honor the great 13 heroes. it's the highest honor that we can give to any california public safety officer. >> as friends and family looked on, governor jerry brown and attorney general karma la harris awarded the medal of valor to 13 heroes. among them fire paramedic dave manzik. >> governor brown proudly presents the medal of valor to firefighter, fire engine ear paramedic dave manzik. >> reporter: this is what he got the medal for, the april, 2010, rescue of janet hogan who got swept down a fast-moving canal after the car she, her son and husband were in crashed into the water. >> i never gave up hope all the time i was in the water, that was the good thing. i knew they were working on trying to get me out of there. >> reporter: her prayers were answered as manzik risked it all to save her. >> i went underwater for about 40 seconds and i have a hard time remembering stuff because i lost a lot of oxygen. >> reporter: but after nearly drowning himself and dislocating his shoulder, he pressed on. >> once my rig

jodie? >> reporter: jessica, i just got off the phone again with a spokesman for the sheriff's department. he now says that there are preliminary indications that the r remains are female. however, no official determination has been made. now if the pressure is beginning to build for le's alleged killer, it certainly wasn't evidence in court today as she made yet another brief appearance. >> she's -- she's coping. >> reporter: that's how her attorney describes how the woman accused of killing missing nursing student michelle le is holding up after they found her remains in the canyon, the very area police say esteban traveled after le disappeared. she delayed enter ag plea to murder charges to give her newly pinted attorney to get up to speed. >> all i can say at this point is that i've just met miss esteban. i don't have anything to say at this point. >> the coroner's office is working to identify the remains, leaving le's family, friends, and teams of volunteers who been looking for her ow

goldberg, whose big heart, energy, and true friendship are performing best everyday by me, mom, dad, jodyso many of your friends. we love you. cindy yan zhu guan geoffrey e. guja joseph gullickson babita girjamatie guman douglas brian gurian janet ruth gustafson philip t. guza barbara guzzardo peter m. gyulavary gary robert haag andrea lyn haberman barbara mary habib philip haentzler nezam a. hafiz karen elizabeth hagerty steven michael hagis mary lou hague david halderman >> and my late husband. steve, i still see your face every single day when i look at our kids. we love you, we miss you come and will never, ever forget you. >> and my beautiful cousin, diana. diana, your daughter amanda has grown up to be beautiful and talented. you would be very proud of her. maile rachel hale diane hale mackenzie richard b. hall vaswald george hall robert j. halligan vincent gerard halloran carolyn b. hallan james douglas halvorson mohammad salman hamdani felicia hamilton robert hamilton carl hammond, jr. frederic k. han christopher j. hanley sean s. hanley valerie joan hanna thomas hannafin >> and m

we are here today with bay area artist jody chanel, and we are here to see the plaza where your piece has just been installed. >> i have been doing large-scale paintings in the galleries and museums, and the idea that in the future, i could do something that would hang out a little bit longer than the duration of the installation the kind of appeal to me. i quickly found out about the san francisco arts commission school and realized there was a pre-qualified school you had to apply to, so i applied to the. >> how long did it take you to develop this work for the plaza? >> this was a fast track project. design development was about a month. >> let's look at the beautiful mural. i have never seen a mural created on asphalt. >> the heat of the asphalt, a new layer of asphalt. then, these wire rope templates that were fabricated for the line work get laid down and literally stamped into the asphalt, and then everything was hand-painted. >> maybe you could talk about some of the symbolism, maybe starting in the middle and working out. >> [inaudible] the flower of industry. >> it is like a

as jodi hernandez reports, police are working hard to track down the tagers. >> bill takes great priden his bay area furniture store, where he's been selling sofas and sectionals for more than 30 years. to come to work and see graffiti on his building and newly painted delivery trucks is devastating. >> there's no way to afford to keep painting and painting and painting. that's a lot of money. sfl there's an outline of fresh paint. >> dupree isn't alone. 31 businesses. 31 businesses were tagged over the weekend. now police are trying to track the culprits down. >> we haven't had a problem like this, or to this extent, or someone just maliciously and deliberately down a whole city block or a mi actually. and done this much damage. >> the tagers did a number to the headquarters of the police activities league. an organization that opens its doors to at-risk youth. >> these kids are out here doing graffiti have a lot of time on their hands. we'll give them some deposit. >> he says he's grateful the city responded quickly. the cover-ups, not exactly pretty. he wants the vandals caught and

in hayward, i'm jodi hernandez, nbc bay area news. >> thank you, jodi. well, summer is almost over but it's still somehow steaming outside. the september sizzle definitely is on for us. chief meteorologist jeff ranieri has been tracking the numbers. i've got to tell you, in the east bay it was hot today. triple digit temperatures as the air quality suffers with a change in color and the poor air quality that we're dealing with, the spare the air alert across the entire bay area. some of the hottest weather that you've mentioned in east bay, livermore, still at 98 degrees. 98 in gilroy and a little bit of marked cooling in san francisco with temperatures dropping into the 70s. hotter spots, livermore, 101. pleasanton, 100. it's a result of a hot, high pressure that is going to be here with us for a good part of the week. we are, however, going to be talking about major cooling in my seven-day forecast. we'll let you know when that arrives in just a few minutes. >> thank you, jeff, summer's last hoo-rah. >>> solyndra is facing even more heat. chair of an o

reporting live, jodi hernandez, nbc bay area news. >> very tough out there. jodi, thanks so much. in san francisco the university of california regions voted against raising tuition almost 10%. this came in response to having the u.c. budget cut by $650 million by state legislators this sent the financial planners back to the drawing board to come up with other options to fill the hole. the board approved raises for a dozen of the u.c.'s top administrators. it says they will be paid for by sources other than tuition and fees. >> tough going along the i-80 corridor. the commute back to normal after an accident on eastbound 580 near foothill road. you can see the yellow colored car between a big rig and a divider next to the b.a.r.t. tracks. both the truck and the car have been removed. as we said, the b.a.r.t. delays getting back to normal. >>> we have new developments on the two berkeley hikers being held in iran. tonight secretary of state hillary clinton is in san francisco and weighing on their pending release. garvin, hillary clinton says at this point she's not concerned abou

jodi hernandez traveled to the capital today for the ceremony. >> your one job is to protect and serve. that is our job and that's what you do. >> reporter: but this amazing water rescue went way beyond what most firefighters are ever faced with. contra costa fire paramedic dave manzeck put his life on the line as he plucked 74-year-old janet hogan from a rain swollen walnut creek canal last april, after the car hogan, her son and husband were in crashed into the water. >> governor brown proudly presents the public safety officer medal of valor to firefighter paramedic dave manzeck. >> reporter: today he received the medal of valor for his actions as the woman he rescued looked on. >> he saved my life. he's my angel. >> reporter: hogan struggled for two miles to keep her head above water. she had just fallen over a dam when manzeck managed to grab her. >> i hit my head and i was unconscious when he finally got me. and he had to get me out of the circle that was very strong. >> i went under water for about 40 seconds so it was a little scary. i have a hard time remembering stuff because