i'm john alston. i'll have a live report coming up. >> also this morning, the naacp is accusing u.s. airways of racial profiling for kicking a passenger off a plane at sfo because of his baggy pants. >> good morning. you can see the morning marine layer clouds. there are holes developing in them. though they will retreat quickly to the coast. the big story, cooler than average afternoon. chance of rain next week. >> enjoy the friday light commute for the morning. no delays at the bay bridge toll plaza. things will be really busy this afternoon. i'll tell you why. >> the san jose city council holds a special session today to take up the issue of soaring employee retirement benefits. union leaders are pressuring the council to negotiate reforms instead of pursuing a ballot initiative. good friday morning. 5:30 a.m. thank you for inviting us in your homes. i'm eric thomas. kristen is off today. the long parking nightmare is almost over at south bay san jose, rather mineta san jose international airport.

i i'm john alston. i have a live report in a few moments. >> most of the airports op time right now. only delays are departure delays out of newark. if that is up with of your flights later today, the flight track her keep track of it for you to let you know when it will be on time. time. abababababababababababababababab denny's new tour of america menu. 50 star cuisine. the new tour of america menu. starting at $4.99. only at denny's. america's diner is always open. >> closed captioning brought to you by mancini sleepworld. >>> all right. three seconds away from the opening bell. what did i tell you? the commerce department says the economy grew a little faster at the beginning of the year than analysts priestly estimated. the economy grew by 1.9%, but the pace was anemic. economists believe it won't change much in the coming months. commerce department announced orders for durable goods like machine and electronics increased by 2% last month over april. so you heard the opening bell. the trading day i

john alston is in fairfield and spoke to his roommate? >> reporter: yes, and we got a look inside the house that police searched on thursday and yesterday after the standoff. we spoke the renter who lived there and some neighbors who say the pipe bop -- bomb suspect did strange things. with the choking smeal of tear gas in the asian jimmy hix showed us the home. broken glass covers the living room floor from the s.w.a.t. stand yawrvetion long with a search warrant allowing the police to search. >> did you ever see mr. garcia talk about pipe bombs. >> no, i depend. >> hix, who was arrested for obstruction of justice when he wouldn't come out, said he moved in eight days ago and barely knows garcia. >> doesn't look like a man would have anything to do with a pipe bomb. >> the police think otherwise. they surrounded the house for seven hours yesterday. garcia became a suspect after a pipe bomb exploded under a car in fairfield three weeks ago. police searched his home on thursday, when he wasn't there, discovering what they believed was pipe

here again is john alston. >> with the choking smell of tear gas hanging in the air, jimmy hicks showed us the home he rant from daniel garcia. broken glass covers the living room from from the s.w.a.t. standoff, along with a search warrant, allowing police to look for pipe bomb, smokeless begun powder, triggering devices, duct tape and commuter equipment. >> mr. garcia every talk about pipe bombs. >> no. >> hicks who was arrested for obstruction of justice when he wouldn't come out, says he moved in only eight days ago and barely knows garcia. >> i'm not trying to obstruct justice but doesn't look like a man having anything to do with a pipe job. >> the police thought otherwise. garcia became a suspect after a pipe bomb exploded under a car three week ago in fairfield. police searched his home when he wasn't there discovered what they believe was a pipe bomb. garcia returned yesterday, surrendering after the police filled the home with gas. >> he run up and down the street naked. other than that -- >> a neighbor says he spoke with garcia last year,. >> showed me an experiment to genera

john alston is live at st. marmgs mary's and terry mcsweeney has more on how other departments are helping out. >> let's begin with amy hollyfield in daly city. >> reporter: this is mainly for the families so they can have a moment of peace together before they go out into this big moment this very big public moment. there are firefighters here, as well. some of them are serving as pallbearers. two of them will be driving the casket to church. san francisco firefighters built the structure that will hold the casket. it was a test project but it was a labor of love. engine 26 is the men that carried them to the fatal fire, they will carry them today. engine 18 will carry tony valerio. one of the drivers is the man that drove them to the hospital last week. he says he is feeling pretty awful today. >> what they are having today is a celebration and honor of vincent perez and my brother anthony have a lerio. everybody is proud of what they did. it's totally amazing. what they've done four our family is totally abo

john alston is live at st. marmgs mary's and terry mcsweeney has more on how other departments are helping out. >> let's begin with amy hollyfield in daly city. >> reporter: this is mainly for the families so they can have a moment of peace together before they go out into this big moment this very big public moment. there are firefighters here, as well. some of them are serving as pallbearers. two of them will be driving the casket to church. san francisco firefighters built the structure that will hold the casket. it was a test project but it was a labor of love. engine 26 is the men that carried them to the fatal fire, they will carry them today. engine 18 will carry tony valerio. one of the drivers is the man that drove them to the hospital last week. he says he is feeling pretty awful today. >> what they are having today is a celebration and honor of vincent perez and my brother anthony have a lerio. everybody is proud of what they did. it's totally amazing. what they've done four our family is totally abo

john alston is live with more. >> the city council special meeting will start at 1:30. but before that, in an hour, there will be a special blessing service outside city hall in support of collective bargaining. now, overnight, a number of people camped out on the steps of city hall. to make that very point about collective bargaining. the group of labor activists want to avoid declaring a fiscal emergency, which mayor chuck reed already suggested as a way to deal with the rising pension costs and to avoid even deeper service cuts and even more layoffs. now, this afternoon's meeting the council and the mayor are going to get more information on the cost of the budget problems and the dealings with city employees. as well as the possibility of a fiscal reform ballot measure for now has been put on hold until early august. >> whatever solution they come should be done at the bargaining table. with a voice through the union. they should be able to have a voice. together, we should come to a resolution. >> we hope the people that camp out got a good night sleep. it will all

john alston is live with more. >> the city council special meeting will start at 1:30. but before that, in an hour, there will be a special blessing service outside city hall in support of collective bargaining. now, overnight, a number of people camped out on the steps of city hall. to make that very point about collective bargaining. the group of labor activists want to avoid declaring a fiscal emergency, which mayor chuck reed already suggested as a way to deal with the rising pension costs and to avoid even deeper service cuts and even more layoffs. now, this afternoon's meeting the council and the mayor are going to get more information on the cost of the budget problems and the dealings with city employees. as well as the possibility of a fiscal reform ballot measure for now has been put on hold until early august. >> whatever solution they come should be done at the bargaining table. with a voice through the union. they should be able to have a voice. together, we should come to a resolution. >> we hope the people that camp out got a good night sleep. it will all

in san francisco, john alston, abc7 news. >>> it is 4:46 now.oming up, the surprising result of a new poll of feelings of republicans toward presidential candidates who happen to be mormon. >>> also, why one of the nation's oldest and most colorful parades will miss some floats this year. >> this is the nozzle that we have. >> they've got the gear, but do they know how to use it? why concerned homeowners aren't getting the training they want from local firefighters. >>> welcome back. look at temperatures across the country. notice phoenix, 113 today. that sticks out. 60 in fargo. heading northeast, 74 in boston. 81 in new york. 90 in d.c. seattle, 67. portland, 75. we have flight arrival delays in houston. you see why. a wall of storms heading that way. storms are possible, dallas, memphis, cincinnati, detroit, new york, d.c., maybe delays there this afternoon also. check out the flight tracker, abc7news.com. check out karina with the news. >> thank you, mike. >>> the economic downturn looks like it will be a thorny problem for the annual rose p

in sacramento, john alston, abc7 news. >>> 4:34. the richmond city council passed a $160 million budget for the new fiscal year. that begins on friday. the "contra costa times" reports the new budget approved last night calls for 10% spending reductions across all city departments, except for police. it also cuts vacant positions and reduces street paving funds. property tax revenue continues to fall. city manager bill lindsay says he expects richmond to maintain the a-plus credit rating next year. the san francisco unified school district is under fire this morning for throwing away brand new school books in a time of teacher layoffs and large class sizes. the "chronicle" reports hundreds of never used english and math books was found in recycling bin in bernal heights on friday. if teachers don't use the book or switched to new textbook it's standard practice to recycle the workbooks. settle talks continue between bart and the father of oscar grant. the unarmed man shot and killed by a bart police officer in 2009. wanda johnson, g

abc7's john alston reports. >> aye. >> reporter: so it went.irtually every vote along party lines. one of the democrats who broke ranks and voted no on the main budget is senator leland yee of san francisco. >> this budget is going to devastate further public education, our schools, our children. another $3 billion worth of cuts. in addition to that, we are going to look at the higher student fees. >> the u.c. and csu systems would lose $150 million. the state is anticipating an extra $4 billion in tax revenues but that has pitfalls, too. >> the anticipated re-knew does not turn up, we have severe cuts. >> because there are no tax increase, not a single republican vote was needed. majority vote was all that was needed. >> this doesn't go far enough to fix problems but it's of course a relief to taxpayers if taxes go back to what they were before 2009. >> the temporary taxes are set to expire on friday. the state sales tax would drop by 1%, and the vehicle license tax would drop by almost half. the drivers would have to pay extra $12 to register

abc7's john alston reports. >> aye. >> reporter: so it went. every vote along party lines. one of the democrats that broke ranks and voted no on the budget is senator leland yee of san francisco. >> the budget is going to devastate further public education in the schools, the children. another $3 billion worth of cuts. in addition to that, you know, we're going to be looking at higher student fees. >> the u.c. and c.s.u. system would each lose $150 million. the state anticipates extra $4 billion in tax revenues but it has pitfalls, too. >> the anticipated revenue does not show up and turn up, we'll have additional, very severe cuts. >> after vetoing the budget two weeks ago, governor brown negotiated the deal with democrats because there is no tax increase. simple majority vote was enough. not a single republican vote was needed. >> this budget doesn't go far enough to correct what is wrong in california. this will be a relief to taxpayers if the actual tax, if the tax goes back to what they were before 2009. >> the temporary taxes are set to e

in san francisco, john alston, abc7 news. >>> 5:44 now.g out this morning on the new iphone. the bloomberg business report is next. >> also, why one of the nation's oldest and most colorful parades will be missing some floats this year. >> these are the goggles that we have. >> plus, they've got the gear, but do they know how to use it? why concerned homeowners aren't getting the training they want from local firefighters. >> and the battle underway to stop deportation of a star medical student from the south bay. >>> welcome back. 5:47. california forecast. still the big story across the state. the flooding in the sierra and now the heat in palm springs. 115 today. we'll still be over 100 in sacramento and fresno. near 100 in chico. yosemite, 91. warm in tahoe. 83 degrees there. look for cooling along the coast from the le to mid-70s around san diego and big sur. 78 in l.a. check out eureka, 59 degrees today. karina has more news. >>> mike, it's 5:48. this morning, a premed student who is in the country illegally remains in the bay area.

john alston reports from sacramento. >> it means the cost of your registering your car will drop. education would be hit with big cuts. >> i'm not in the u.c. davis or system so for me having my vehicle taxes and the other is good. >> i suppose they can look at that way but they ought to be concerned about the number of teachers being laid off. >> public schools will not get back $3 billion that the state borrowed. u.c. and csu will be cut another $150 million. online retailers will have to start charging sales tax. lawmakers were on the verge of losing their salaries if they didn't pass a budget by midnight. >> it's what the voters passed last november. >> and temporary tax hikes will expire on july 1st, the net effect the sales tax will drop three-quarters fs and despite a $12 fee on car registration, the overall dmv car tax will drop because no taxes were officially waived they didn't need a two-thirds majority. >> they did an end run around republicans and voters, as well. >> the governor has 12 days to sign or veto to it. >>> it may be difficult hailing a taxicab when drivers

john alston spoke with new graduates about tober a recession-plagued job market. >> fresh from commencement, graduates are full of excitement. now comes the hard part. >> getting a job is going to be really tough but i know the business market, and the faculty helps, too. so i have to look forward to starting with internship. >> reporter: nothing but smiles for this new college graduate. with a dollar bill ornament draped over her gown. >> going to make some money. >> reporter: now she is making money as a receptionist, but eger eager to put her speech pathology degree to use. >> have you found something that compliments your degree? >> not yet. >> how has the search been. >> it's tough. >> she has a lot of company among fellow grad whats who are -- marching into one of the worst job marks in years. nationwide, 90% of students who graduated in 2006 and 2007 had found a job by this spring. but among graduates last year, only 56% had found work. >> it was tough, but you always have to keep a look out for things. that's the best way to do it. nothing is going fall in your lap. >> continues to

johnal -- john alston spoke to his roommate. >> with the choking smell of teargas still hanging in the air, he showed us the home he represents from pipe bomb suspect daniel garcia. broken glass covers the living room floor from yesterday's s.w.a.t standoff along with a search warrant allowing police to look for pipe bombs, smokeless gun powder, duct tape and computer equipment. >> did you ever see mr. garcia talk about pipe bombs or see any pipe bombs? >> no, i didn't. >> hicks who was arrested for obstruction of justice when he wouldn't come out says he barely knows garcia. >> i am not trying to obstruct justice. but he doesn't look like a man that has anything to do with a pipe bomb. >> fairfield police think otherwise. they cur under roughed the house for more than seven hours. garcia was a suspect after a pipe bomb exploded under a car in fairfield three weeks ago. police searched his home on thursday when he wasn't there, discovering what they believe was a pipe bomb. garcia returned yesterday, finally surrendering last night around 8. a 30 after police filled the home with tearg

in san francisco, john alston, abc7 news. >>> a man in north carolina admits to robbing a bank with the intention of going to jail so he could get the medical attention he needs. >> i am a logical person and that was my logic. >> 59-year-old richard is unemployed and uninsured. he has a growth on his chest and two ruptured disks. if he held up a bank he would get thrown in jail and be seen by a doctor. so last week he walked into a bank unarmed and handed the teller a note that read "this is a bank robbery. please only give me $1" and then he waited for police to arrive. the jail doctor accused him of manipulating the system, but he is for the moment at least getting the medical care he needs. >>> cigarette packs sold in the u.s. must feature grim images showing the health risks of tobacco by the fall of 2012. it is a scare tactic other countries have used for years. the fda today showed the nine new labels it will soon require. similar ones are in use in 40 countries. smokers there have found ways to a avoid the gruesome reminders. >> we buy these boxes to put the cigarettes inside. th

as abc7's johnal stone -- john alston reports, they are talking with friends and co-workers as well as those who may have had a conflict with the missing woman. >> while friends and relatives were busy putting up fliers, hayward police have been busy executing four search warrants and interviewing more than a dozen friends of michelle leigh, including a woman with whom she had a falling out. >> she is a person of interest. we did serve a search rpt what at her -- search warrant at her house. >> abc7 news learned that police came to this fremont neighborhood to speak with a male friend of the missing woman. >> and again we have to continue to look at all of our possible persons of interest. leigh was last seen at kaiser hospital in hayward where she was doing her clinical rotations. a friend said she went to pick up something from her car and never came back. her car was found on a street not far from kaiser. police are eek whiching surveillance video from the garage. from san diego where lee grew up, an aunt toll us she is very -- told us she is close to her brother. >> she never leave

as john alston reports, they have plenty to complain about, but this are some tax savings in it. >> the cost of registering your car would drop along with sales taxes. education, however, would be hit with big cuts. >> i am not in the uc davis or the university system, so for me having my vehicle taxes and my sales tax go down is good. >> i suppose they can look at it that way, but they also ought to be concerned about the number of teachers being laid off. >> public schools will not get back $3 billion that the state barrowed. uc and csu cut another $150 million. some on-line retailer wilz have to start charging sales tax and rural residents must pay $150 a year for fire protection. lawmakers were on the verge of losing their salaries if they didn't pass their budget by midnight. >> the deadline chrks was always real was reinforced as real because of what the voters passed last november. >> it means temporary tax hikes will expire on july 1st. the net affect is the sales tax will drop three quarters of a percent. and despite a new $12 fee on car registration, the overall dmv car tax wi

john alston picks up the story for us from the scene. john? bmw with the bullet holes has been on the street for more than five hours right mow as agents and police snapped pictures and ect cled evidence. the fbi confirms to abc7 that they had been in contact with sfpd about a southern california bank robber known as the gen-x bandit. it was an on board gps navigation system that lead officers to this street. a burst of gunfire alongside buena vista park. officers from the san francisco pd robbery unit had been staking out the bmw for several hours after getting a call from the fbi about a southern california robbery suspect. >> our team located a vehicle and set up a surveillance on the vehicle until later this afternoon. >> and how did they know where the vehicle was? >> through the on board gps. that's where we located the vehicle to the street. >> when the suspect got into the car at 5 on. 40 in the afternoon -- at 5:40 on the afternoon, a half dozen plain-clothed officers approached the bmw. >> they got into the vehicle and attempted to m

john alston is at the fruitvale bart station where grant wag killed -- wag killed. >> just second agoas the group left the fruitvale bart station, the crowd swelled to 150 people, and you can see some of the b.a.r.t. officers and oakland officers who are hanging low in the perimeter while this event was going on. the protestors on their way to downtown oakland. the mayor and police are

john alston abc sevennews. >> thank you, john.u back live to the funeral procession that is making its way out of san francisco and on to colma. these are live pictures from sky 7 hd. >> this is an amazing site. you are talking 150 to 200 vehicles in a procession and they will make their way to san francisco and on the way to 280. . contrast of the two men. it is so sad we are learning about the men too late after the tragedy has occurred. they sounded like wonderful personalities and wonderful characters really . i wish i could have known them. >> yeah. >> while they were still with us. >> kind of like the yen and iang. one in yoga and one in weight lifting and dedicate to their fields it was a sad day and with all funeral type services, you want to remember the best of the individual and they did that today. >> a sad tribute to these men and all firefighters and people who put their lives on the line for the rest of us . we'll talk about their traffic. as you can see this procession making their way. you know there will be track

had been looking for the john alston explains how they tracked him down. >> they had been staking outeveral hours after getting a call from the f.b.i. about a southern california robbery suspect. when the suspect got in the car, about half a dozen plainclothes officers approached the vehicle. >> the suspect attempted to move the vehicle, the officers moved in. when they exited their vehicle the driver positioned his vehicles drove at the officers endangering their life put them in danger. they discharged their weapons in attempt to stop the suspect. >> multiple shots killed the suspect. they say the bmw was stolen from pasadena on may 16. they believe it was wuised in a pair of bank robberies in irvine that took place 20 minutes apart. he was dubbed the gen x-bandit who threatened the tell where a gun and then sped away in a late model silver bmw. it's unknown if the man in the surveillance video is the same man that was shot to death by san francisco police on buena vista way. >> police have not said whether there was any evidence in the car of previous jobs. they went door to door o

john alston spoke to some new graduates about entering the recession plagued job market. >> fresh from graduation, they are full of excitement. now comes the hard part. >> finding a job is going to be tough. it's going to be really tough. i know that the business market and along with it, i have to look very hard, something like internship. >> nothing but smiles with a dollar bill ornament draped over her gown. >> i want to make some money. >> he is working as a receptionist but to put her degree to good use. >> if you find a job that complements what you got a degree in? >> not yet. >> how has it been? >> it's tough, i'm hopingite get something. >> she has a lot of company among cal stated east bay who are marching into one of the worst job markets in years. nationwide, 90% of students that graduated in 2006 and 2007 have found a job by this spring according to a rutgers university survey but among graduates last year, only 56% have found work. >> it was tough but you have to keep a lookout for things. that is the best way to do it. nothing is going to fall in your lap. >> i think it

live in san francisco, john alston 7 news. >> thank you john. >> san francisco police are investigating the killing of a former high school football star. 21-year-old david henderson shot may 26 on kirk wood avenue in the bay view district. he died last night. police say they do not have a motive or any suspects. henderson graduatedrom liolnighchoo where he rushed for 5600 yards. later played at city college of san francisco. this year henderson helped this em into the play offs. >> family of missing nursing student is are everything to accept the police department belief that she is dead. michelle lee family pleaded with the community today to keep looking for her even though hayward police say the missing person case is now a homicide investigation. police did release more details about the case. here's laura anthony. >> we ask that all l please continue to help us search for michelle return. >>reporter: father of missing nursing student michelle lee says he still holds out hope that his daughter is alive. even if the police now believe she was the victim of murder. >> even though hay

. >>> good morning, i'm john alston. here is lisa argen. >> good morning.und a bit and we're clearing rapidly away from the shore line of. we'll see sunshine except at the coastguard and some warming arrives for the second half of the weekend and to start the workweek. we will see the sea breeze increase today due to a weak trough. we get into a warmup tomorrow. today 88 in sacramento, 84 in yosemite. 92 in fresno. southern california, 78. 70 in san diego. temperatures will be in the upper 60s around the bay for oakland. 72 palo alto with mid-70s in napa. you have to go pretty far north into sonoma county to reach the mid-80s, otherwise low 80s by the delta and we'll look for temperatures around 80 morgan hill. here is the seven-day forecast. we're warming up a little bit after today, tomorrow into monday. then by tuesday, we have a stronger system that could bring showers to the north bay. a chance of thunderstorms through wednesday. then it looks like perhaps we'll warm up to mid-80s to near 90 by the end of the week. >>> next, in the news this saturday m