. >>> new at 6:00, ktvu's john fowler is live with the discrepancy of surgery costs. >> reporter: weug into this report. first, the high cost of having a child. >> reporter: child birth averages $24,000 statewide. but in the bay area, higher. >> a woman could fly a private jet to fresno, stay at the nighest hotel -- nicest hotel and still pay less. >> the difference, let's say it is surprising. >> reporter: knee replacement surgery at oakland highland hospital is under 60,000. a few miles away at fremont washington hospital, 160,000. >> i would hate to know that could have paid less at a different hospital. >> people in healthcare don't shop around like they would for other things. >> some hospitals charge more because they have newer equipment, more state of the start. >> reporter: studies show it is not quality of care, rather leverage with insurers. >> share best practices. >> well, once again, we are having audio problems with john fowler. but that was john fowler reporting. >>> officials plan to spray an area of present wood because of -- brentwood because of concerns of west ni

. >> reporter: john fowler brought us this look at africanized bees and the threat they pose. >> reporter: that's the sound of alien invaders, hybrid killers colonizing new territory. as we drove deep into the arizona desert for a close encounter, a government scientist gave us this warning. >> some of them are horrible. if you were to be attacked out here you have a problem. because it's a long way to home. >> reporter: the u.s. agriculture department jerry loper says safety demands people never go alone. and always wear protective suits. loper assured us our lives depended on these suits we were encroaching on a colony of aggressive killer bees. research shows these africanized honey bees seriously protect their colonies attacking sound, motion and color. >> the bees are attracted with the dark and red colors. looks like the muzzle of a bear or something. >> why are they swarming around my face? >> they can smell your breath and my breath. that seems to be the key evolutionarily to the bees. they can smell the breath of a mammal and attack. >> the odor here is very much like banana oil.

ktvu's john fowler is live in san francisco. >> reporter: not since the vit phenomenon protests -- vit nomprotests of the 1970s. -- vietnam protests of the 1970s. hesies the occupy movement and the anaheim protests are products of the new awakening. >> reporter: peaceful today so far, or violent like 9 months ago. protests are unlike anything since the vit nom-- vietnam war. >> reporter: he points to america's increasing equality. >> why is no one paying any attention. >> reporter: he says the anaheim street protesters were encouraged by occupy questioning. >> asking big questions they spawn other questions. >> reporter: and civil disobedience. >> it makes protests more legitimate. if you see others protestings, yes, it takes on the diverse form -- protesting, yes, it takes on the diverse form. >> reporter: another protest is planned in anaheim tomorrow. they plan to march peacefully. we will have more on the situation as it develops. reporting live in san francisco, john fowler, ktvu channel 2 news. >>> those anaheim protests were sparked by two deadly police shootings last weekend. t

john fowler is in walnut creek with the results of this latest study, john. >> reporter: that's a key fashion accessory for women, activists say purses even at high end stores are still turning up contaminated with lead. >> i need some where to put my wallet. >> that's where i keep my phone. >> reporter: they found purses high in lead in one out of every four stores visited. bright colors seemed worse. >> it's not something i ever thought about. it's not next to my skin. >> reporter: but touching these five could be dangerous for an woman's unborn child. >> who are they aimed at, women's, teens, 20s women who are having children. >> reporter: using this x-ray device researchers say they found 43 purses and wallets exceeding 300 parts per billion lead, that's the federal maximum for children's products. >> people with higher exposures to led have a higher risk of heart attacks and strokes. >> reporter: this $200 tori burch clutch came in 200 times higher than allowed. burch said she's launching an investigation. real leather or clothe have fewer problems. reporting live, john fowler,

john fowler has more now on why a pair of nesting birds is so historic. >> these are the first public pictures of what the expert just confirmed is the male of a new breeding pair of ospreys. the fish hypotheticallers who presence has people excited. >> the first time an asprey nested in san francisco. >> reporter: he saw it seven weeks ago. kept it quiet to make sure the nest was established. >> we believe there is a chick in the nest. we are just hopeful. >> reporter: eagle like, great with six foot wing spans, they were around the bay before the bold rush but pollution and later ddt nearly wiped them out. >> they point to this restored salt marsh and other projects like it across the bay and say decades of hard work are paying off with new hope at the top of that crane. >> reporter: this is great testimony to the success of the environmental restorations efforts and the volunteer who put thousands of hours in to it. the birds u they have to be able to seep the fish in the water. we believe that the clarity of the san francisco bay is improving, the pier is where the racing boat als

john fowler joins us with the story of a young man that is offering hope to others. >> reporter: we want to you to meet a remarkable man. >> i had gone all the rails with my weight really bad. sugar levels, cholesterol, it was just a mess. i had gone through 10 diets probably. so this was the last chance. >> reporter: his last chance, this pioneering pediatric weight control program at lucielle packers program. >> we consider our program a lifestyle change not a diet. >> reporter: it's a gradual six month whole family change in food choices. reduced screen time and increased activity. weekly meetings with behavioral coaches and diaries. about 80% graduate. hidalgo just joined as a mentor. >> because of him a lot of kids have joined the program and been very successful. >> this program not only thought me how to be healthy and exercised but thought me life skills and now i feel more enpowered. >> reporter: the program costs $3,500 not yet covered by insurance. there are scholarships for more go to our website ktvu.com. alberto who immigrated from el salvador credits his family and just wr

john fowler, ktvu channel 2 news. >>> thousands of which doctors are -- california doctors are suing aetna. they allege unfair business practices and interference with healthcare providers. they want to put an tend to the practices and seeking compensation. >>> the state department of food and agricultural ordered a dairy to recall some of its cheeses. officials say it might not have been properly pasturized. they say if you have the cheese, throw it away. three varieties of the cheese are exempt and ready to eat. these are the brands. >>> oakland police say a man is in critical condition following the pursuit of a stolen car. that was a tower of water left behind after the car hit a hydrant and a building this morning. it started about 2 miles away when officers tried to pull over the driver. the car took off. police pursued it and you saw the result there. the driver had serious head injuries. the passenger had minor injuries. no officers were hurt. >>> new poll shows california voters back governor jerry brown's tax hike plan but cooling off to the california's high-speed rail pro

john fowler, ktvu channel 2 news. >>> american idol may be getting a new super star.rce familiar with the show says mariah carey is being pursued to join the judging panel. randy jackson is the only judge left. jennifer lopez and steven tyler are leaving the show. jackson is the producer and a friend of mariah carey. >> if you are not getting enough sleep you could be putting your health at risk. the amount and quality of sleep could be linked to mental deterioration. it could age the brain by two years. those who sleep less than 5 hours or more than 9 hours have lower mental functioning. >>> a leading group of cancer specialists issued new guidelines on whether men should have a test to detect prostate cancer. men whose life expectancy is less than 10 years should skip the test. this spring a task force recommended an end to routine testing and lead to treatments that could lead to incontinence. >>> anglers were up early along the sacramento river, fishing also began on the american, feather and colony rivers. >> we are going to catch fish. we have been waiting for t

ktvu's john fowler is live where a new hospital might be built. john? reporter: this is the hotel, long vacant and the hope for the site of a new hospital. >> reporter: they want to turn this into this. a billion dollars 550 bed state of the art hospital. supervisors caught up in the conflict. the city's problem with the deal is what to do with this, the aging st. luke's campus. they plan to spend $300 million updating and down sizing. the city wants a guarantee they will stay open 20 years but the hospital said this: >> we have committed to operating this hospital for 20 years, unless we have a substantial decline in our ability to do so. >> reporter: that means two years in a row of 1% or lower margin. we caught up with mayor ed lee who said a deal like that won't fly. >> i am getting closer to getting satisfied. i didn't like the news that occurred last week and so i wanted to put it in writing. i am feeling confident that will move forward. >> reporter: after 10 years, supervisors scheduled a vote in a week from tomorrow. there are other issues but

john fowler ktvu channel 2 news. >>> friends of colorado victim set up a website where they are asking for donations. he lost an eye and suffered brain damage. she went into labor today but hasn't given birth yet. they knew the baby would be a boy and named him hugo. the virus that causes aids does not increase a woman's risk of cervical cancer. scientists studied 400 women infected with hiv and 300 other women who do not have hiv. all of the subjected tested negative. doctors say results have remained the same in both groups after five years. >>> jellyfish may help human art patients. scientists created the free swimming jellyfish you see here. researchers use currents to make their device swim that mimic a real jellyfish. it could lead to a hybrid of artificial material and human heart tissue. >>> rosemary was telling us about the cool down we experienced today and now she joins us with more. >> more to come. we have a system over the area today. a weak, dry one but enough to kick up the breeze, thicken up the marine layer and unstable weather over the sierra where they are dealing w

reporting live, john fowler, ktvu channel 2 news. >>> in the controversy over whether or not to testfor prostate cancer a study suggest not testing could triple the amount of men. the researchers with the data before widespread testing started, they compared that from 2006-2008. without testing the number of diagnosed cases between 2000 action-2008 would have -- 2006- 2008 would have jumped to 25,000. >> injuries to distracted walkers spiked. those hurt include people texting or talking on their phones while walking. the number of rooms to distracted walkers quadrupled. one man in pennsylvania was talking on his cell phone and fell off the platform on to the railroad tracks. he was able to climb out safely before the train got there. >>> an investigation blasts for profit education. they find billions are spent on marketing and recruiting not on educating. the report finds all students attending for profit schools took out loans to pay for college. he called for the investigation, finds the results troubling. >> tuition, aggressive recruiting practicing, taxpayer dollars spent on mar

it is the worse in 50 years and john fowler is here to explain. >> reporter: named for the sound that infants make. whooping cough is making a come back. >> double the cases over last year and 9 infants dead. >> it is horrible. and the cough goes on and on. >> reporter: he tells me he has seen an uptick in coughing. >> parents have a lot of reservations of immunizations. >> reporter: experts say infants catch whooping cough from older people. >> might be dormant in our bodies but we can pass it on. >> reporter: doctors recommend a booster. >> this is like small smallpox. >> reporter: in california, though, a improvement from two years ago. now 99% fewer cases than when she was expecting. she and her baby were both vaccinated. >> it was talked about. >> i think in california we have done a better job. >> reporter: schools, day care and other activities strongly urge vaccination. after the outbreak of 2010, compliance improved. in the bay area, marin county logs with 1-5 not vaccinated. john fowler, ktvu channel 2 news. >>> many pregnant women drink alcohol despite warnings about birth

now john fowler investigates a revolution are you treatment that zaps cancer.that's tonight's special report. >> summer means more sun, more sun burn. >> bad right there. it's a lifetime thing getting sun burned. if you get that it'll come back in effect too. >> reporter: new research shows today's young women compared to a generation ago are eight times more likely to get skin cancer. >> always very important to have dark skin. >> reporter: while other cancers go down this one is booming. a career in the sun gave the 72- year-old contractor cancer. despite surgery it spread. >> six tumors showed up, two here, two here, and two near nah the carotoid. >> reporter: he volunteered for a clinical trial of a therapy, just 25 patients. it's a drug plus electric shock. >> doctors say what makes the therapy unique is though it's local the effect is systemic. >> reporter: a doctor leads the trials. he first locates a single one, indoes a injection and then a electric pulse. >> into the tumor you get the massive immune reaction. >> reporter: it opens pores in the tumor c

john fowler is here now with the pictures and the interesting spot that bird picked for its nest. john? >> reporter: i'm near highway -- near the pier80 along -- the industrial header's point waterfront. i want to show you video we took just less than an hour ago of the top of that 150-foot crane. these are the first public pictures of what the expert said is the male of i the new breeding pair of ospreys. their it presence has people excited. >> the first time an asprey has nested in san francisco. >> reporter: eddie saw it first seven weeks ago, kept it quiet. >> we believe there is a chick but -- we are just hopeful. >> reporter: eagle like, with six foot wing spans, they were all round the bay before the gold rush but pollution and ddt nearly wiped them out. expects point to this restored salt marsh and other projects like it across are the bay and they say decades of hard work are finally paying off with new hope at the top of crane. this is a great testimony to the success of the efforts and the volunteers have put thousands of hours in to them. >> the birds in order to be ab

reporting live, john fowler, ktvu channel 2news. >> a new study suggests women now out rank men in theent. the testing expert said that women have over taken men in iq tests for the first time in 100 years. james flinn is known for the find of the flinn effect which is a increase in iq each year by both sexes. he said women may be out pacing men. >>> men who build a home in a los angeles county park is in jail. authorities found it monday as they patrolled park. they arrested the 51-year-old robert downs. he said he had been there more than a year. two others found with him were cited and released. authorities say they plan to destroy the home over the next few weeks. >> a toxic bloom at a lake has left swimmers high and dry. the water quality officials have issued a health advisory for spring lake. new signs posted at the labeling warn that the water is off limits for swimming or wading by either people or dogs. it can cause rashes, eye irritation and nausea. anthony rodriguez took his kids fishing. he said he thinks that they are still safe to eat. >> calling the other day, caught th

our health and science editor john fowler explains how new science has changed the future of aids andow money could make all the difference. >> reporter: scientists today said despite an unchanged 50,000 new infections each year in the us, they now see an end to the aids epidemic. >> for the first time we have an exciting and robust research agenda about a cure. >> reporter: they previewed findings to be released in three weeks at the 19th international aids conference in washington. stem cell treatment that's already cured one patient. another treatment i first told you about that makes cells immune to hiv. and new discoveries on how to make a hidden virus show itself. scientists also presented four key studies. i agreed not to release details until they're presented in washington dc but the findings all support the motion that science now has the aids virus cornered, and all that stands in the way of a cure is cash. >> trying to apply the things we know between now and 201

last month ktvu's health and science editor john fowler outlined the problem and what pg & e is doingabout it. >> no one ever smelled gas or complained but who knows. >> reporter: this view from chopper 2 today you might never guess the marina district was once a swamp, washer woman's lagoon. two smelly gas manufacturing plants operated here from the 1880. two areas totalling 10 blocks are known to be contaminated. pg & e is taking responsibility. it was not thought to be a problem until now. >> doing thorough investigations to identify any impacts, environmental impacts that need to be cleaned or remediated. >> we've learned that familys have agreed to move to allow crews to drill on east street. >> i think they've been honest about their disclosure. i think that's a good start. >> the contamination is like this asphalt and was about 5 feet below ground level. so far there's been no reports of serious effects. the work here will continue through the summer. >>> when we come back on a second look, you saw it live right here on channel 2. what caused the earth to give way under this ho

john fowler explains. >> reporter: outside on this beautiful day, we found many people, including paul curtin on the internet. >> you have global access to every distraction there is. >> reporter: hours a day, yuck and old spending more and more time with screens, not face to face. >> i think we take too much time to the phone and i'm guilty of it as well. >> reporter: the american psychiatric association wants to add internet addiction to the next version of this diagnosis manual for mental health professionals. >> these are culturally constructed diagnoses and it is not a static thing. >> reporter: along with addiction to gambling, sex and drugs, advocates say lives are being ruined by too much internet. >> you don't have to spend all your free time on the internet. otherwise, you going to lose your family. >> reporter: hogwash says psychiatrist laura davies. >> as far as i'm aware, nobody has lost their house or family because of time spent on the internet. >> interesting conversation to be had right there about use of the internet. >> i know. we are on it all the time. you sit down

ktvu's health and science editor john fowler investigates how politics may be in play. >> reporter: at san leandro, workers follow rigorous protocalls. they disinfect tools. >> these people demand it that i have to demand it. >> reporter: 18 months ago congress passed the food safety modernization act the ssma. the first overhaul of the fda for 40 years it would require all growers, producers and importers plagued by these same food safety rules. but the regulations are not ready. in fact, they are six months overdue and this week another deadline will come and go. >> we dearly need it to go through. >> lives are on the line and we can't let election politics get in the way. >> reporter: center for food safety, politics specialist michelle simons blamed the white house. >> it's certainly possible we're not going to see any regulations out of the white house until after november. >> reporter: you might be surprised to know the fda today does not have the power to issue a mandatory recall or to force importers to report what comes into the country such as this mango from mexico. activist

john fowler, ktvu channel 2 news. >> and coming up, should people with hiv be allowed to donate their organs? why people are saying yes. >>> the coroner identified a teen killed in a hit-and-run accident this morning. jahzeel forsen of american canyon died after midnight. witnesses say the teen's truck was hit by truck that crossed the center line. 41-year-old michael harmon was driving the white truck and he ran away from the scene. 10 hours later he turned himself in. >>> sharp words today during closing arguments in the william lynch trial, the man accused of beating up a priest he says molested him as a boy. ktvu's robert handa has more. >> reporter: both sides in the william lynch trial took their last verbal shots to try to sway the jury. >> reporter: william lynch, his attorneys and prosecutors spent the day ranging. william lynch is accused of attacking reverend jerold linder, he says he raped hip and threatened his family. the prosecutor reminded jurors this is about the may 2010 assault. he said it is understandable to be sympathetic to the sexual assault but it did not give

health and science editor john fowler, ktvu channel 2 news. >>> the company behind the spectacular fireworksfailure in san diego last night is promising to make up for the boom that went bust. instead of 17 minutes of fireworks from three barges, all of the fireworks actually went off at the same time and the show lasted for just a couple of seconds. garden state fireworks is blaming a computer virus. the company also promised to do another show at no cost. >>> the agency is waging a vendetta against him says armstrong. armstrong says he was never given that same offer. >>> authorities in santa cruz county say new information has caused a delay in a decision on whether to file sexual assault charges against san francisco giants pablo sandoval. there's no word exactly what that information might be. last month the 21-year-old santa cruz woman accused sandoval accused him of sexually assaulting her. sandoval says the encounter was mutual. >>> and menlo park is losing its police chief. chief bryan roberts says he's going to utah to be closer to his family. the city manager said he'll be missed

health and science editor john fowler, ktvu channel 2 news. >>> the company behind the spectacular fireworks in san diego last night is promising to make up for the boom that went bust. instead of 17 minutes of fireworks from three barges, all of the fireworks actually went off at the same time and the show lasted for just a couple of seconds. garden state fireworks is blaming a computer virus. the company also promised to do another show at no cost. >>> the agency is waging a vendetta against him says armstrong. armstrong says he was never given that same offer. >>> authorities in santa cruz county say new information has caused a delay in a decision on whether to file sexual assault charges against san francisco giants pablo sandoval. there's no word exactly what that information might be. last month the 21-year-old santa cruz woman accused sandoval accused him of sexually assaulting her. sandoval says the encounter was mutual. >>> and menlo park is losing its police chief. chief bryan roberts says he's going to utah to be closer to his family. the city manager said he'll be missed and now

i'm john fowler, ktvu channel 2 news. >>> drinking alcohol in moderate amounts may improve a woman's subjects drank one or two drinks away had no history of fractures and were not using hormone replacement therapy. the team measured their blood and found out that when women stopped drinking, bone injuries increased. when they started drinking again, the markers returned to previous levels. >>> a sacramento lawsuit alleges hyundai misled buyers about gas mileage capabilities. a consumer watch dog joins in the lawsuit. the suit claims hyundai aggressively pitched its 40- gallon a mile car in advertisements without a government-mandated disclosure that the estimate is for highway driving only. hundred defends it. >>> a new database is designed to make it easier to keep track of military awards. the defense department hopes to create a searchable history of medals. veterans groups say that might help stop stol the valor, when people lie about receiving military honors. >> in the computer age, it should not be that difficult for the defense department to take ownership of their medals. >>

john fowler is live now in san francisco with the controversy of just what is an ailment. >> reporterwe're an always on society few of us without our smart phones or our tablets connected to the internet. >> reporter: outside on this beautiful day we found many people including paul curtain on the internet. >> you have like global access to every distraction that there is. >> reporter: young and old spending more and more time with screens, not face to face. >> it's definitely got in the way of that. i think we take too much time on the phone, i'm guilty of that as well. >> reporter: internet addiction will be added to the next diagnosis manual. >> these are cultural addictions. >> reporter: lives are being ruined by too much internet. >> you don't have to spend all your free time on the internet other wise you're going to lose your family. >> reporter: hogwash says psychologist davis. >> as far as i'm aware nobody has lost their house, nobody has lost their family because of time spent on the internet. >> reporter: dr. davie says a lot of screen time might be a symptom of troubled re

discuss these issues and break this down is campaign strategist donnie fowler who has worked on the presidential campaigns of barack obama, john kerry, al gore bill clinton and the whole ball of wax. we are so glassd that you are back here in the war room. >> wow. >> what is up with this romney rubber-glue strategy. >> i can't follow that. nanny nanny boo-boo. overseas banking jobs. there you go. >> i am saying. >> our playground back and forth. >> let's talk about that. i mean i think the offshoring thing is obviously for them to distract. >> if you can't argue with the president on substance and you are concerned about your own economic past, throw out play grouped. >> the bull in the bull ring, wave a flag and the bull gets distracted. they are hoping we are the bull and get distracted by the flag they are waving. let's talk about what else romney wants to be distracted from, which is his offshore blank accounts. there is this drum beat. right? to call for the release of his papers, his documents? in fact, let's just play that clip from preponderate joe biden today, classic line. >> he wants you to show your papers. but he