that is john fowler there on the back of this french boat as the sailors practice their racing in the bay. we will take you on board one of the fastest boats on the bay.

ktvu's john fowler joins us now with what scientists are learning. >> reporter: this is remarkable. this is the newest photo from mars. curiosity's front cam took this photograph. right here you can see a 17,000- foot mountain that the rover is about to climb. it will take soil samples on the way up. you can see the outline of the shadow of the rover. the surface of the crater is scattered gravel. researchers gave us an update. >> we are just happy about the performance. this is reassuring that we have in front of us we can drive, there are no obticles -- obstacles. >> reporter: researchers say in two weeks they will have high resolution versions of this that will be amazing. >> reporter: this is a photo

health and science editor john fowler -- health and science editor john fowler ktvu channel 2 news. >>> a spike in west nile virus. it rose 40% just last week and the increase will continue right on through october, which would make it the worst year in u.s. history. there are 1600 cases across the country, including 66 deaths. california has had 44 cases with 2 deaths. officials say people should be careful this weekend and do what you can to protect yourself from mosquitos. >>> coming up in 18 minutes on ktvu channel 2 news at 6:00 p.m., the hantavirus, blamed for killing people visiting yosemite national park, why it could be difficult to treat. >>> scientists found a gene that makes women happy. it found that women with the less active type of the gene were happier than others. the less active type is also related to alcoholism and anti- social behavior. >>> keeping your cell phone by your bed side may effect the way you sleep. the back lights can cause your melatonin levels to drop and that could influence the desire to fall asleep. it helps regulate your body clock. >>> investor

reporting live john fowler, ktvu news. >>> hot in pleasanton hot in a lot of places around the bay and here's a live look at the hills on the east side of the hills and sacramento county. mark tamayo is dialing in the numbers to see where the heat is. >> you have extreme heat for the inlands sections. you can see some of the areas that picked up 100 degrees or the upper 90s. a string of 100s for fairfield, livermore and morgan hill. here's a look at the time line at 10:00 this morning it was 89- degree. by 4:00 you see that triple digit heat 100 degrees. we still have the hot numbers in the forecast for your saturday but i amtraking -- i am tracking the forecast for the five day and i will bring you that in a few minutes. >>> and in one town in contra

new tonight, ktvu's john fowler joins us with the link found in a first of its kind study. >> reporter: never before been shown outside the laboratory, losing sleep weakens the effect of vaccines. >> reporter: people know about too little sleep. >> when i don't have sleep i kind of -- >> reporter: what keeps you awake? >> work. thinking about politics. >> reporter: lack of sleep disrupts your immune system. >> doesn't surprise me at all. i feel like i am coming down with a could right now. >> reporter: the sudy show -- the study shows that people who get less than 6 hours sleep are 11 times more likely to have an inadequate response to vaccines. he used this risk censor to record when people slept. the study found sleep deprived healthy adults failed. >> the fact it had long term clinical relevance was remarkable. >> reporter: findings are applicattable to any -- applicable to any vaccines. adequate sleep is key for disease protection. reporting live, john fowler, ktvu channel 2 news. >>> a green transit program has received a new round of funding. the transportation commission awarded

only on two, ktvu's health and science editor john fowler found one neighborhood that's been suffering in this heat, john. >> reporter: we're on driftwood way and pleasanton. residents here watch the thermometer. they say when it gets to 95 the power fails. 38 homes in this neighborhood. for the last two years residents say in hot weather electricity fails routinely. >> as soon as people come home from work and they turn their air-conditioning on and power up. the power goes off. >> reporter: it happened last evening and the evening before. >> we can't cook dinner because it usually happens between 4:00 and 5:00 and it lasts the whole night. >>> a few weeks ago they lost power for three days. >> we get no light, no air- conditioning, nothing. >> we apologize for the inconvenience for our customers we always try and make sure that our customers are up and running. >> len pedro says his respiratory becomes irritated in the heat. >> they don't get out here they wait for hours and hours until the demand on the grid goes down. >> reporter: crews replaced a transformer here last night. resid

reporting live in san francisco, john fowler. >> a bonus surprise. all right. >>> apple stock today hit another high. analysts say after a lack luster summer from the giant investors are getting excited about new products in fall. a new i-phone expected to launch in september, rumors anticipate a smaller i-pad and a television device. apple stock closed today at $648.11. that's almost a 2% increase over yesterday. it also breaks the record of $644 per share that was set back in april. >>> on the other hand facebook stock continues to slip. today it dipped to almost half of its opening price. the stock closed at $19.05. >> independent group said that health care spending showed down during the recession. already makes up a big part of the budget. data from the california health care almanac shows in 2010 spending on health care rose by 3.9% matching the slow growth the economy. costs made up 6% of personal income and 23% of the federal budget. for the first time the government became the biggest spender on health care compared to households and busine

john fowler, channel 2news. >> levels in drinking water came to awareness in the 90s. that's when legal researcher helped win a 330 million-dollar settlement. she argued that pg&e was responsible for pollution in the water that sickened hundreds of people. the case inspired a movie. >> wells fargo has agreed to pay six and a half million dollars to settle claims. the bank was sued by cities and nonprofits. they say the bank misled them about the risks involved in the investments that fell in value during the credit crisis. they don't admit wrongdoing in the settlement. >> some residents are calling for a freeze on foreclosures until a new california homeowners bill of rights goes into effect. they rallied this afternoon in support of three families on the block who are under water on their mortgages. organizers say they have risen for a third straight month. >> we are working on preserving the home we have been living in, raise the family, grandchildren in. the economy just sank us. >> reporter: it would stream line the loan process for borrowers. >> state has a new we

health and science editor john fowler. >>> and there's good news to report against the fight againstesterol level. the proportion of children who were linked to those cases. some experts speculate the drop in cholesterol is due toless americans using fat. they are urging parents to team their kids to speak up if they witness continues to accommodate them. >>> the heat of the commission could be rephaoáfed. the problem aforgets from being here 689 commissioners are set to vote whether to rehew pritchett as pwás because of that photo. he said even if he is no hroepger with the president will me mind e now. click ktvu.com. click the aoeu -- >>> it's a nice summer evening out there tonight. and for tomorrow the summer heat will be back. warming us above what we felt today. in many areas that are still dealing with 70s like antioch as well as the brent wood. low 70s today. we had a late sea breeze kicking up. temperatures around the bay low 60s. 63. in areas near that oeu some -- in some areas that warmed near 100. our heals will be recovering. patchy fog the coast on bade site for tomorr

ktvu's john fowler tells us how new understanding may help forecasts here in the bay area. john? >> reporter: usgs researchers tell me there are more great earthquakes around the globe than in a century. >> reporter: this 9.1 disaster last year in japan, one of eight great earthquakes in a decade. convince dense or a global cluster. >> scary if they were a cluster. >> reporter: great earthquakes such as 2004 ring the earth like a bell. japan. one causing another? according to a study, it is random chance. >> notitiaical but not past -- not typical but not past what you expect. >> reporter: leading to a new understanding of great earthquakes. >> starting to learn something new about how they grow and what makes them start and stop. down the road it will help us forecast them better. >>> a mega quake just north of california. now over due. based on earthquake clusters. >> this is a different type of cluster. clustering in times of single location. >> reporter: that forecast is controversial but could result in a terrifying tsunami. john fowler, ktvu channel 2 news. >>> federal heal

ktvu's john fowler has more. >> reporter: scientists set up this steam generator that is pumping hot air into that tent there that is heating the soil to 124 degrees killing the sudden oak death pathogen. >> reporter: they killed tens of thousands trees, millions statewide, the nursery industry under quarantine. at this bio safe nursery, scientists say they can sterilize infected dirt. >> very simple, affordable and quick. >> reporter: solar stairization can take weeks -- sterilization can take weeks. >> huge impact. >> reporter: also it could prevent accidental spread. >> one thing we would like to do is sell california nursery stock to the rest of the country without a risk of wiping out the forest there. >> reporter: researchers took this machine to one nursery, sterilized the stock to get its permit reinstated. the $2 million for this and other experiments come from a federal farm bill and it is paying off right here in the bay area. john fowler, ktvu channel 2 news. >>> hot, dry conditions are fanning the flames across the western united states. an update on the fire fight in se

health and science editor john fowler. >>> and there's good news to report against the fight againstl level. the proportion of children who were linked to those cases. some experts speculate the drop in cholesterol is due toless americans using fat. they are urging parents to team their kids to speak up if they witness continues to accommodate them. >>> the heat of the commission could be rephaoáfed. the problem aforgets from being here 689 commissioners are set to vote whether to rehew pritchett as pwás because of that photo. he said even if he is no hroepger with the president will me mind e now. click ktvu.com. click the aoeu -- >>> it's a nice summer evening out there tonight. and for tomorrow the summer heat will be back. warming us above what we felt today. in many areas that are still dealing with 70s like antioch as well as the brent wood. low 70s today. we had a late sea breeze kicking up. temperatures around the bay low 60s. 63. in areas near that oeu some -- in some areas that warmed near 100. our heals will be recovering. patchy fog the coast on bade site for tomorrow mor

health and science editor, john fowler. ktvu news. >>> the sun was burning brightly today over a contra costa county. the region is in the midst of a warm up with temperatures climbing to triple digits in some place. these pictures taken before 7:00 tonight. mark tamayo joins us with cities that topped triple digit marks. >> that bright red and purple shade links up to 100 degrees in some of the highs for today very oppressive. livermore 103 degrees, concord 101 degrees about 4:00 this afternoon. here are the current temperatures at the 5:00 hour. still warming up. still 70s to report across fairfield, livermore and concord. >>> state officials are asking people to conserve electricity during this hot spell. the operators of the state power grid declared a flex alert to help ease strain on power supplies. it begins tomorrow and lasts through sunday. people are being asked to reduce power consumption. one suggestion is to use fans instead of air-conditioning. >>> stay with us for continuing coverage, mark tamayo will be back

health and science editor, john fowler. ktvu news. >>> the sun was burning brightly today over a contra costa county. the region is in the midst of a warm up with temperatures climbing to triple digits in some place. these pictures taken before 7:00 tonight. mark tamayo joins us with cities that topped triple digit marks. >> that bright red and purple shade links up to 100 degrees in some of the highs for today very oppressive. livermore 103 degrees, concord 101 degrees about 4:00 this afternoon. here are the current temperatures at the 5:00 hour. still warming up. still 70s to report across fairfield, livermore and concord. >>> state officials are asking people to conserve electricity during this hot spell. the operators of the state power grid declared a flex alert to help ease strain on power supplies. it begins tomorrow and lasts through sunday. people are being asked to reduce power consumption. one suggestion is to use fans instead of air-conditioning. >>> stay with us for continuing coverage, mark tamayo will be back

ktvu's john fowler reports. >> it is very nerve wracking, there's nothing that we can do to control thecraft at that point. >> reporter: nasa aimed created outer and inner heat shields. >> there's so many thing that is happen after our heat shields do their job that makes me nervous. >> reporter: a super sonic parachute then a complex never before tried rocket sky crane to set down the car sized curiosity rover gently at the end of its theter. >> when i first saw the concept i thought it was a joke at first. >> reporter: curiousty is to send radio signals at each event at the landing sequel. but at&t speed of light it will take 14 minutes. >> we will get messages from the past to tell us how the spacecraft has done. >> what we really want to know about mars, did it ever have life, does it have life today. curiosity may not answer those questions but it could, it could at least find the building blocks of life. >> reporter: its sensors including one built at aim precisely modified soil. a large crowd is expected here for a touchdown party. health and science editor john fowler. >>> jerry

john fowler ktvu channel 2 news. >>> a bill preventing government agencies from jamming cell phones during protests is a step closer to law. they approved the bill. it would prevent any agency from disrupting cell service without probable cause and a court order. bart cut cell phone to disrupt a protest. the bill goes to the senate now. >>> a long line outside the san francisco met reontoday -- metro today for a new job. target is looking to hire 300 new employees. target says many workers are applying and some hiring decisions are being made on the stop. it continues tomorrow and saturday. >> two bay area cities made it on to the list of meeting destinations. san francisco came in at number 16. and san jose was number 50. orlando, florida topped the list followed by washington, d.c. and las vegas. >>> a new recycling center is the biggest of its kind in the world. ktvu's consumer editor tom vacar joins us live to take us inside. >> reporter: what a place because a lot more stuff is going in here, the good news is, and it is good news, less stuff is being buried in there. >> reporter: they

ktvu's john fowler reports. >> it is very nerve wracking, there's nothing that we can do to control thececraft at that point. >> reporter: nasa aimed created outer and inner heat shields. >> there's so many thing that is happen after our heat shields do their job that makes me nervous. >> reporter: a super sonic parachute then a complex never before tried rocket sky crane to set down the car sized curiosity rover gently at the end of its theter. >> when i first saw the concept i thought it was a joke at first. >> reporter: curiousty is to send radio signals at each event at the landing sequel. but at&t speed of light it will take 14 minutes. >> we will get messages from the past to tell us how the spacecraft has done. >> what we really want to know about mars, did it ever have life, does it have life today. curiosity may not answer those questions but it could, it could at least find the building blocks of life. >> reporter: its sensors including one built at aim precisely modified soil. a large crowd is expected here for a touchdown party. health and science editor john fowler. >>> jer

john fowler is live where sciencists on pins and needles. >> reporter: sciencists here have a big staken the program and right now the rover is on track, on track and speed to slam in to the mars atmosphere sunday night. >> reporter: the effort will be a two billion dollar heap of scrap. >> it's nerve-wracking. there is nothing we can do to control it. >> reporter: they created outer and inner heat shields. >> so many things that happened after our heat shields do their job that makes me nervous. >> a parachute. then a complex never -- sky crane to set down the car sized rover gently at the end of a tether. >> seems crazy and when i saw the proposed concept for the crane i thought it was a joke. >> i'm confident. i'm not worried about all the plans. >> reporter: it's to send signals at each event in the landing sequence but will take 14 minutes to reach earth. >> get messages the past to tell us how the space craft has done >> what we really want to know about mars, did it have life, does it have life today, it may not answer the question but could, it could at least find the building b

john fowler. >> the battle over the estateful thomas kinkaide back in a courtroom. a lawyer for his girlfriend amy argued in court that she is the rightful owner of the paintings. she said a handwritten and barely legallible will written by kinkaide supports her claim. she is disputing the estranged wife over ownership of the mansion. the two sides are due back in court on september 17 president. >> new figures from a rental website show big increases for renters. according to the apartment list.com rent shot up $6,000 since january of last year. in san francisco rent increased 5,000 dollars and the biggest was in silicon valley. that's where rent increased $9,000. >> the fda said it has a new flu vaccine for the season starts this year. each year it works with other agencies and global experts to design a vaccine to protect convenience the three strains most likely to cause the flu. this year's vaccine has one strain in common with last year's, plus two new strains. the department of agriculture plans to buy $170 million of meat to help drought stricken farmers and

john fowler. >> the battle over the estateful thomas kinkaide back in a courtroom.his girlfriend amy argued in court that she is the rightful owner of the paintings. she said a handwritten and barely legallible will written by kinkaide supports her claim. she is disputing the estranged wife over ownership of the mansion. the two sides are due back in court on september 17 president. >> new figures from a rental website show big increases for renters. according to the apartment list.com rent shot up $6,000 since january of last year. in san francisco rent increased 5,000 dollars and the biggest was in silicon valley. that's where rent increased $9,000. >> the fda said it has a new flu vaccine for the season starts this year. each year it works with other agencies and global experts to design a vaccine to protect convenience the three strains most likely to cause the flu. this year's vaccine has one strain in common with last year's, plus two new strains. the department of agriculture plans to buy $170 million of meat to help drought stricken farmers and ranchers. it'

john fowler. ktvu channel 2news. >> newly released records show that the -- have spent $48 million in repairs and inspection costs. records released today estimate that it'll cost the company another $25 million to restart one of two crippled units there at the plant at reduced power. the plant shut down in january after damage released low levels of radioactive steam. >>> a hiker who body was found last week died from injuries a fall. the body of the 31-year-old was found about 11,000 feet up the mountain. an autopsy showed he died of multiple traumatic fractures and hemorrhages because of a mountain hiking accident. . >> a new strain of bird blue could possibly be a threat to humans. harbor seals with the strain started washing up on the shore maine to massachusetts. they appear to have severe sickness and 160 of them died. the virus jump from birds to the seals. other strains have spread to humans before. >>> a massachusetts shark expert said today that a great white shark was likely to blame f

john fowler is live for us now in richmond with reaction and the reason the industry is giving for the rise in prize. >> reporter: you can seat chevron refinery workers still working on crude unit number four. the repair is caution outage that is cutting the california supply of gas by a million gallonons a day. prices have stabilized. bay area wide $4.16 a gallon, lower in the eastern south bay. after the chevron explosion and fire bay area gas prices shot upsetling about 26-cents a gallon higher. >> if the chevron blew up how come shell and everybody else is going up too. >>> >> reporter: california's price increase was double the nation's average. this map shows red the highest, green lowest. feinstein said the west coast increase appeared unjustified by supply and demand. >> i always feel ripped off. >> reporter: chevron declined comment but a representative said that dozens of similar investigations have turned up no wrongdoing. the wholesalers forced prices up. talk to europe where gas tops ten dollars a gallon. >> if you had the same price as us it would be crazy. you need a car

john fowler is live with new evidence about what makes this refinery especially at risk. >> i learned that the federal investigators are looking at the idea that i -- first told you about. i have obtained the latest documents showing crude was 100% from saudi arabia high in sulfur. i was told that pipe corrosion is more likely with this higher sulfur. it combines with water forming ions. some are did signed to cope with that. federal documents reveal chevron used low sulfur crude until the late 90s. the content varied but continued to rise. they say that it caused a unit fire in 2007. there was another unit in november of last year and a third three weeks ago. chevron didn't comment. industry spokesman points out the refineries have been using dirtier crude that all the clean is use up. we found other refineries use cleaner crude. martinez about 1.03%, shell martinez, about 1.18, chevron topped the list at 1.55, that's 56% higher than the average. federal officials also have this information and though still early say it's a key point in their probe. >> a landmark deal too reform publ

reporting live john fowler, ktvu news. >>> hot in pleasanton hot in a lot of places around the bay and here's a live look at the hills on the east side of the hills and sacramento county. mark tamayo is dialing in the numbers to see where the heat is. >> you have extreme heat for the inlands sections. you can see some of the areas that picked up 100 degrees or the upper 90s. a string of 100s for fairfield, livermore and morgan hill. here's a look at the time line at 10:00 this morning it was 89- degree. by 4:00 you see that triple digit heat 100 degrees. we still have the hot numbers in the forecast for your saturday but i amtraking -- i am tracking the forecast for the five day and i will bring you that in a few minutes. >>> and in one town in contra costa county someone keeps making off with the street signs. rob roth is live in an intersection where drivers may get lost. >> reporter: it's easy to get lost in danville, we're at the intersection of allegheny but you would never know because the street signs are missing and police say that's not the only one. it's a lot harder to find

in richmond, john fowler, ktvu channel 2 news. >> chevron has set up a hot line for claims. the number is 866-260-7881. the company is promising to cover legitimate expenses stemming from the fiefrment go to ktvu dot com for coverage of the refinery fire including unedited video from today's incident. >>> another shelter in place warning went out today, but this time it was false alarm. sirens went off at 7: 30 a.m. and automated calls went out saying there was an emergency at the shell refinery but the warng was lifted minutes later. the refinery says the alarm was triggered by mistake during a test. . >>> there's a new development tonight in a story we've been following since sunday. the man fwhantd connection with the killing of a richmond teenager has surrendered to authority. matthew john turned himself in this afternoon at a probation office in martinez. suspected in the shooting 16-year-old sunday night. another suspect 29-year-old jason stevens of antioch was arrested just after the shooting. >>> prosecutes say a medical marin grower in oakland who shot and killed a

reporting live, john fowler, ktvu channel 2 news. >> in the wake of the fire, contra costa county is looking into its alert system. at 5:30 p.m. a company shows tom vacar the upgrades the county might want to start thinking about. >>> police are releasing new information on a homicide. police arrested martinez high school arrested neutrophil -- michael howard. juan munoz was inside a store when he was killed. police say they can't release details but they told us the stabbing was not gang related. it was one of several homicides this week. >> that cost for our department to call back the off duty motorcycle officers. they came back on duty to relieve the officers. >> as of today there have been 32 homicides in san jose. >>> we showed you the long lines last night, people camping out in front of a new chick-fil-a. and the lines got longer today. ktvu's robert handa tells us not everyone was there for the feud. some are still mad at chick-fil- a's ceo. >> reporter: as you can see it is still biz e-- busy here at the chick-fil-a. today's opening drew a big crowd of customers and protest

john fowler, ktvu channel 2 news. >>> a republican congressman from kansas is apalogizing for skinny -- apologizing for skinny dipping last august. he stripped off his clothes for the swim while other officials swam clothed or partially clothed. the fbi looked into the matter but there have been no charges. that is -- >>> a man died last night after being hit by a ambulance. that happened near 8th street around 11:30 p.m. he got out of his car and the ambulance hit him as he walked across the road. >> the ambulance driver stopped and attempted to render first aid but he succumbed to his injuries. >> the accident closed the eastbound lanes of highway 4. >>> 75-year-old man was hit and killed after his bicycle veered in front of a truck at 12:15. the man died that scene. investigators say the bicycle rider was headed south when he swerved. police said there is nothing to indicate the driver broke the law. >>> comedian phyllis diller died today at the age of 95. [ laughter ] >> she was a pioneer in stand up comedy. she broke into the business in the 1950s when most comedians were men. s

hundreds of people turned out to file claims against chevron, as ktvu's health and science editor john fowler reports they're hoping the oil company will compensate them for their suffering. >> bring them back to you? >> yes, bring them back in here. >>> more than 2,000 people turned out just at this one law office to file health claims. >> it was scary, and my eyes were getting watery. my nose was running. i was scared for my kids. >> every couple of hours after, my chest started hurting. >> reporter: last night, chevron said it would pay legitimate medical costs. >> i went to work next day. i still got that stuff in me. i have bronchitis. >> reporter: he says he was twice turned away at busy emergency rooms. as of this afternoon, 1700 people sought medical help. none hospitalized. still the county health director is angry. >> this kind of exposure is really an outrage to the community. >> reporter: ktvu's time lapse, shows luckily, heat pushed most of the smoke over 1,000 feet. these ground level air quality measurements from eight east bay locations show none of the three toxic levels -- >

reporting live in richmond health and science center, john fowler, ktvu channel 2 news. >> you'll findore information on www.ktvu.com. >>> san francisco district attorney outlined goals for the city's new sentencing commission today. with the inaugural meeting to evaluate effective and appropriate sentencing, they'll look for ways to improve the outcome for the community as a whole. they envision a sentencing system that is fair, efficient and effective. >> understanding who should be incarcerated, who shouldn't be, who should be provided services, who should be left alone. >> he says the ultimate decision lies with the court but there's enough flexibility in the guidelines to base sentencing on whether or not someone is trily try -- is truly a threat to the community. >>> some are fighting for their jobs after clicking the "like" icon on facebook. six employees were fired after they "liked" an opponent of hampton's sheriff, bj roberts, on facebook. attorneys argue that clicking a "like" is constitutionally protected free speech. a lower court judge had rejected that argument. >>> goog

live in brentwood, john fowler, ktvu channel 2 news. >> these summer salt marsh mosquitoes do not carry the west nile virus but vector control officials say they are aggressive day-biting mosquitos that have attacked children's soccer teams, golfers and others in the area. weather permitting, the fog will start at 7:00 tomorrow morning. >>> a san francisco man's eviction was delayed. the protesters had hoped to convince them not to evict lucas from his san francisco home. he says he filed for a loan modificationback. nation star says it is reviewing lucas's case. >>> americans bought more homes in july than in june. analysts say this is the latest evidence of a slow but steady improvement in the housing market. there is a 2.3% increase in sales compared to june. experts say the housing comeback remains sluggish because the july rate was lower than the growth in political and may. however, sales are up more than 10% when you compare it to last year. >>> it's called the fiscal cliff and that's where the congressional budget office says this country is headed if congress doesn't act to can

our health and science editor john fowler tells us why a cluster of sick bats has turned up in one neighborhood. >> reporter: we're at lake merced where health officials have begun distributing flyers, warning residents that there's a new threat, rabies from bats. five bats found in this neighborhood in four months, the latest on south lake merced hills street. >> i'm so scared. >> over time, about 10 to 1 2% of bats found in san francisco have rabies. >> reporter: this common species, huge colonies may live under freeway overpasses. they're mainly shy. >> most of the time when people come across bats, it's because they're weak or sick. >> because the disease is universally fatal, we still recommend anyone that has exposure to bats to receive treatment. >> reporter: before he could handle this bat, he had to be immunized against rabies. after exposure, rabies symptoms can take up to a year to develop. >>> a federal appeals court today upheld the right of the government to fund embryonic stem cell research. the three-judge panel says the national institutes of health only funds projects for stem

hundreds of people turned out to file claims against chevron, as ktvu's health and science editor john fowler reports they're hoping the oil company will compensate them for their suffering. >> bring them back to you? >> yes, bring them back in here. >>> more than 2,000 people turned out just at this one law office to file health claims. >> it was scary, and my eyes were getting watery. my nose was running. i was scared for my kids. >> every couple of hours after, my chest started hurting. >> reporter: last night, chevron said it would pay legitimate medical costs. >> i went to work next day. i still got that stuff in me. i have bronchitis. >> reporter: he says he was twice turned away at busy emergency rooms. as of this afternoon, 1700 people sought medical help. none hospitalized. still the county health director is angry. >> this kind of exposure is really an outrage to the community. >> reporter: ktvu's time lapse, shows luckily, heat pushed most of the smoke over 1,000 feet. these ground level air quality measurements from eight east bay locations show none of the three toxic levels -- >

that is john fowler there on the back of this french boat as the sailors practice their racing in theay. we will take you on board one of the fastest boats on the bay. . >>> we start this evening with developing news out of palo alto. we are overhead where a suspicious object has been found in palo alto. since we first told you about it at five the bomb squad has arrived and sent in their robot to check out the object which was reportedly a soda bottle in fabric and a metal clamp that may have had a liquid inside. it was found in front of a home in the charleston gardens area. people have been told to stay inside and shelter if place. we are continuing to follow the story. we will keep you informed. >>> in the past 45 minutes we obtained a new photograph of a high risk sex offender on the loose tonight on the peninsula. john is live where he spoke to the sheriff's department about the suspect's escape from custody. >> reporter: we received that new more updated mug shot of the 34-year-old derek sanders in the newsroom just about 45 minutes ago. it show this is man who police say is a

health and science editor john fowler is live in san francisco with how a trip to court may make theifference. >> reporter: this is juvenile hall, the new home of san francisco's truancy court, which seems to be helping convince parents and students that skipping school is not only against the law but bad for you. most of san francisco's chroniclely be a sent school children are latino. mission district truancy rate was 23% two years ago. now it's 10%. 2,000 more kids in school every day citywide, truancy down 38% over five years, thanks to aggressive intervention. >> i was supposed to be at school but i was in the streets doing bad things. the police picked me up and drove me home. >> 16-year-old victor told me he stayed in class not just because of legal threats but because counselors helped him realize school can save his life. >> a lot of times they're behind academically and they really need a lot of support to help get them back on track. >> reporter: feshes today say they've also prosecuted about 150 parents. >> having to go to a big courtroom with a judge, even it's just an i

john sasaki. a temporary suspension of the event is scheduled because of tropical storm isaac. we have live coverage with mark tamayo. but first we go to ken fowler who's braving the wet weather. >> reporter: as we have watched this evening go on, we've seen the wind get stronger and the rain come down harder. one convention day lost, the delegates we talked to say they are taking it in stride. this morning you could feel it the winds picking up. the clouds swirling over head as tropical storm isaac edged closer. this as delegates were welcomed to tampa. >> we got your delegation badge. >> reporter: 700 people including alternates and guests. judy devries says storms or no storms. >> can't wait to ride out the storm and ride in mitt for president. >> reporter: but the candidate decided not to ride out the storm. the reason they're staying at beach side hotels. >> we're four feet above, i mean it can potentially be a huge problem. >> reporter: tom scott is handling bus transportation for california's delegates he says with strong winds we could see bridges the only way for hundreds of delegates to get to the convention in tampa closed down. at the