tom vacar, ktvu channel 2 news. >>> a boat collision on the bay turned ledly. we have pictures to show you the coast gard that scene of the collision. and this map shows you where it happened. north of oyster point. ktvu's mike b is live where two men were brought in from the bay. >> collision that tossed two people into the water. a father and son whose family says they were out fishing for a short time a couple hours. behind me here is one of the fire boats involved in the rescue operation. coast guard says it was 1hook when two boats collided off hunters point. u.s. ghost card was quick to receive a radio message from one of the vesles and it alerted four other nearby agencies. when cruise arrived on scene, two people were located in the water, both men were brought here to the marina where a number of ambulances were waiting. one man tells the story from there. >> working on him trying to get him back and then, you know, who knows. didn't look too good for that guy. the second one, you know, few minutes later they brought him, you know, he -- he looked bang

new at 6:00, ktvu's consumer editor tom vacar with a magnificent site. >> reporter: have a look. like the massive cable that will follow in a year, we are going to take you up, up and away. called the cat walk system. >> they are in the same geometry. people are getting a feel for what it will look like. >> it will underline lye where the cables will hang. 11 feet long. on the san francisco side, 600 feet long. 50 workers per cat walk. it's the talk. awesome view of the bay. the massive structure awaiting the cable to come. this at the very top is the business end that will bear the weight of the cable and keep the bridge standing for 150 years. right now at this point you can see where they connect into the structure. you can see the massive sattal that will hold the sattal in place. >> it will be erected over the cat walk. you will see that cable going into place next year. and tonight just before 8:00 p.m. the lights on the cat walk will go on for the first time, permanently changing the look that bay at night. >> the lighting for construction workers for the rest of the bay i

tom vacar, ktvu news. >>> you can track the markets and latest economic news on ktvu.com. just click on our business tab. >>> a troubled walnut creek based mortgage insurance company saw its profits drop 60% after it will your honored it may have to stop writing poll -- after it saw it may have to stop writing policies. and it warned one of its major subsidiaries don't have enough cash on hand. >>> the alameda county court of supervisors invited truckers to their meeting. the state air resources board recently decided not to delay that requirement. >> i want a new truck. but i don't want to get a new truck now. >> this next couple of years then have to replace it again at 2020. >> reporter: some truckers said they still hope the state will extend the deadline since many say they've already gone into debt to retrofit their vehicles. >>> meanwhile work continues to make the port of oakland deeper to accommodate larger ships. yesterday we were the only crew invited on board the dredger to look at the work going on. engineers speculate they will finish the work by the end of t

ktvu consumer editor tom vacar is at a community meeting in buehrleing game with why time is running out to test old gas lines in the area. >> reporter: here's the situation. about 25 people have shown up for this meeting, half from pg & e in a meeting to explain to residents how a section of the pipeline that exploded not far from here will soon be water tested. a week ago pg & e started testing. these are known as high consequences areas where a leak or explosion would be devastating such as in san bruno. when many of these gas lines were layed they were layed in places where they were just rurals hills and dales. problem is as california grew it grew up right over these pipelines. >> whenever we do a hydrotest we have to take a section of pipeline out of service which reduces our capacity and our balance. so it really needs to get done before it gets too cold so we can serve people reliably. >> of the 250 miles of pipelines targed for testing -- targeted for testing, pg & e had already pressure tested 150 miles. so far no leaks have been discover. but that still leaves pg & e with

ktvu's consumer editor tom vacar spoke to the president of pg & e and asked him if he thought pg & e was at fault. >> reporter: if it was just pg & e, but the ntsb found that state regulators also failed in their duty to protect the public. the ntsb found that pg & e was lax in inspecting this pipe from the first day it was laid and it was lax after an explosion in sacramento killed a man two years ago. as well as a break in the financial district 30 years ago. but that raises a question, do state and regulators share in this blame? >> the ntsb's investigation will have recommendations for both federal and state regulators. but ultimately as i said, we're the owner of pipe. we're the ones that put pipe in the ground and we're the ones responsible for maintaining that. it falls upon us to ensure the safety and integrity of our system. >> reporter: debra herzman told me by phone state and federal regulators are also to blame. with billions of the dollars needed to upgrade pg & e's vast pipeline system, who will pay? >> part of it will be to the extent that we've made mistakings. and th

reporting live, consumer editor tom vacar, ktvu channel 2 news. >>> there is plenty of fog along the coast. storm tracker 2, the fog is pushing in towards san francisco and daily city. the fog in pacifica as well. as we go into the next 6 hours, these are the highes reported today. not a bad day. temperatures tomorrow right there. same. cool that coast. warm to hot inland. fire danger etching up tomorrow am and then it cools off for friday, saturday and sunday. fire danger goes down. air quality gets better. the forecast, fog comes back in, burns back. tomorrow looks like today. as you leave the house tomorrow, drizzle and you might get a chill in the early morning. fog burns off but lingers at the coast. hot inland, 90s at best. bay area friday and saturday, this low dips south and when it does, it cools off. that's what happens for friday, saturday and maybe sunday as well. these are subtle changes. it has been a subtle summer. really has. lowes tonight are impacted by the foot print of fog. yeah. 7 bay area counties will have fog tomorrow. burns back like today. sunshine in berkel

i'm tom vacar why these clipboards with job offerings are getting thinner. >>> and why this is turning into a major destination for pickpockets. . >>> good evening, it is friday august 19th, i'm gasia mikaelian, this is bay area news at 7:00. >>> a 4-year-old died from his injuries in a hit-and-run accident. the suspect is behind bars thanks to a person who heard about it on a scanner. it is our top story. the incident happened in a crosswalk at rockwell place in santa rosa where we are live tonight. >> reporter: neighbors are telling me all day this is a very dangerous intersection. >> reporter: a crowd gathered at the scene of yesterday's hit and run. the police say a mother and her three children were crossing this busy street at 6:00 in the evening when a 22-year-old lopez-garcia, failed to stop and hit the 4-year-old boy. that boy died today at children's hospital, oakland, the driver then took off and stopped at a nearby park. but, an alert witness, listening to a police scanner, spotted him trying to alter the appearance of his honda accord and called the police. >> there was a

tom vacar is live now in san francisco with the investor reaction that led to the roller coaster ride. >> reporter: think of it this way. for every dollar you had in the market you got back a nickel today of the 7-cents you lost yesterday. if anything the market finished on a high but shaky note. >> actually it's been surreal. >> reporter: that's because the market swung back and forth within 600 points. >> today was great. >> reporter: those badly battered stock prices appeared as genuine bargains. >> i think it's a little bit of a rough patch but it takes a while to get out of these dumps sort to speak. but everyone khully i think it will get but but eventually i think it will get better. >> reporter: though growth will be slow -- >> federal reserve said today the economy is improving, although slower than we would like. >> it's not your usual economic type concerns. these are political concerns. >> reporter: veteran trader curlin says that's precisely why the markets swing so violently. >> there's a lot of uncertainty. nobody has a clear picture of what this means. >> reporter: tha

i'm tom vacar, ktvu channel 2 news. >>> investigators, once again, flock to gold as a safe haven. the pressurous medal climbed near $1830 an ounce. a new record. jump of $28. still, when adjusted for inflation gold remains below the highs of 1980 when it reached the equivalent of $2400 an ounce in today's dollars. >>> a rise in the claims contributed to that plunge. the number of people filing for benefits climbed above 400,000 to 408,000. but the four week average dropped to four02,500. it suggests the job market may be slow she improving. >> the first of its kind in fairway is targeting teaching. they are getting the chance to apply for jobs county wide. along with interviews they offered tips how to get credentials. for one physics teacher it was useful information. >> they took my resume because they were actually looking for math. so they are going to get back to me. >> for those that missed today's fare they say they post all of the the job openings on twitter. >>> hewlett-packard announced they are ditching the smart phone and tablet. they will discontinue the touch tab tab

tom vacar, ktvu channel 2 news. >>> steve jobs and steve wazniak found today in 1986. -- 1976. they introduced apple kopl putter in 1984. he left his position in 1985 and returned in 1997. apple seen huge success over the past decade with products including the ipod in 2001, iphone in 2007 and the ipad in 2010 n .2009 jobs announced he had a liver transplant. one of three times he has taken medical leave. >>> warren buffet is taking a stand and investing money in bank of america. he is investing $5 billion in b of at. coming at -- b of a. it comes as their stock went down partially on concerns of the banks mortgage losses. today's word on the buffet deal sent the stocks soring 9%. >>> wall street endured the first dow day 1stdown day this week. >>> -- first down day this week. >>> now, rebels claiming they seized 80% of the capitol city of tripoli. gadhafi urged loyalists to fight back. rebels vow to hunt him down. they reported human rights abuse on both sides. pro gadhafi guards raped young boys and rebel forces are abusing children and imprisoning migrant workers. >>> health

ktvu's consumer editor tom vacar tells us what the new rules are and which rules the airlines tried to delay. >> reporter: you know, these schedules, presented or online are hard to believe but the skies getting friendlier because the feds are forcing it. >> reporter: effective midnight passengers have mew protection and power. she founded flyers rights.org. >> this is the most comprehensive bundle of rights. >> reporter: passengers who are bumped 6 cash. airline websites must disclose all airline fees. on international flights airlines that coupe of passengers for more than four hours face fines. on a loaded jet, most cases could result in $11 million. >> these are the most important advances the department of transportation ever passed. >> reporter: passengers said this new bundle of rules are necessary. >> i think it is. it's so confusing and it changes from airline to airline. >> those are all good things to happen. it's about time. >> it eases the pain a little bit. helps with our time away from where we need to be. >> i would rather pay a higher ticket fee and have everything inc

. >>> there is a flurry of growth taking place in livermore valley as tom vacar tells us construction of a retail senter is the latest evidence suggesting an economic revival. -- center is the latest evidence of suggesting an economic revival. >> the city says 1,000 connecticut instruction workers are working on this -- construction workers are on this job. but they are saying it is deputy about low-income people who will not make enough money to shop here. >> you do not have a target coming around here. >> it is not just factory outlets and retailers it is housing as well. >> they will have as many as 1,000 workers building hundreds of new homes. >> a project of that size in california is enormous in this time in the state of our industry and across the country as well. >> reporter: the livermore valley seems to be solidly coming out of recession. >> a center gee that happens when multiple projects get underway at the same time and we are excited about all of that stuff happening. i hope it creates more. i hope it does. i think you are feeling some of that right now, why? >> two thir

tom vacar is live in antioch with the new benefit homeowners are getting from low interest rates. tom? >> reporter: if you want to save really years off of your mortgage and in the process save piles of money, see if its worth refinancing for a shorter term. many homeowners are happy they can keep paying their current mortgage. but a study released today by freddie mac said one out of three homeowners who refinance are refinancing not for lower payments, but for a short he loan. leonard brieonis is with pacific funding group. >> you can go from a 30 year mortgage to a 20-year mortgage without much of a payment difference but saving you years of interest off of the mortgage. >> reporter: assume you have a 30 year mortgage and paying $1,200 a month. refinancing would not only cut your mortgage time by a third, you'll save $144,000 in payments, much more on bigger loans. >> you'll save just -- it could be in the case of hundreds of thousands of dollars in interest. >> reporter: but if you have fewer than 20 years left on your mortgage. >> i think you'll spend more in charges upfront

i'm consumer editor tom vacar, that story still ahead. >>> in real life, over a rescue effort unfolding right now in the east bay hills. we've learned more about the two people inside of a vehicle and this person here being taken by rescuers up to safety. >>> back in 10 minutes, a big increase in temperatures, certainly an increase in fire damages. i'll tell you which cities will be the warmest tomorrow. >>> a mental patient on trial for killing a hospital worker learns his fate. we are talking with the victim's relatives about the punishment handed down just hours ago. >> he's a thug, he's not going to survive in prison. >>> also, caught in the act. the bizarre crime at city hall that sheriff's deputies witnessed themselves. >>> and -- >> reporter: what local leaders say needs to >>> we continue to follow breaking news happening right now in the east bay hills. there is a rescue effort under way. our news chopper 2 is over the site. if you've ever been on grizzly peak a lot of people take it to the tildon park area, it is a windy road with pretty much nothing to keep you from going ove

for a look at the fall out from the free fall we go to our consumer editor tom vacar. >> reporter: this is wall street. here in the real world with millions of people depending on their investments, it seems champagne dreams are giving way to beer wages. >> it's down too much. doesn't make sense to be down this month. it's a panic. >> reporter: much of today's crisis was due to cash hungry institutions. >> that means they sell their winners and that's why you see good stocks, great companies with big hits today that don't bear a resemblance to the value of their company. >> america's still the gold standard. nowhere else to invest in quality, debt destructs. >> no other country that is a strong -- is as strong financially as the united states. >>> the average 4 very 1k is 70,000 dollars. assume you have that in the s&p index in october of 2007. by the time it hit the low in march of 2009 you lost half to 30,000. when it reached in april you are back up to 60,000. but today you are down to $50,000. at this low level curtis has her clients buying. >> i put a little in selectively today wh

ktvu's consumer editor tom vacar is live with more. >> reporter: apple started the revolution but google declared all out war. by buying motorola mobility google goes from a software based company to one with an ability to manufacture hard war, the thing that made apple the most valuable company on worth. on earth. >> it's about lawsuits over pattens related to smartphone technology. >> 15,000 pattens they are picking up which protects them. >> reporter: for consumers. is in. >> faster service. yeah, i think it's going to show up on the shelves in a year or two. >> i think it will probably maybe lower the prices of smartphones. but i am not positive about that. >> reporter: one man worries about his privacy. >> do i want them going my phone record, voice mails, who i am calling. that is possible. >> i think they will have to show apple users why it's worth switching over. apple has done a great job. they are bert -- better. >> apple has to lookover its shoulder. google is a very big company. >> reporter: officials must approve the deal because motor rolla is a big maker of phones google

tom vacar has more on the tight rope that company is progressing. >> reporter: for many steve jobs is apple. that may or not matter to jennifer crosby who sits on several boards. >> he's been larger than life. it's a real question on what's going to happen next. >> reporter: mac world magazine thinks this about the new ceo tim cook. >> he'll hand it over to the senior people who are in charge of those producting an showing how deep the bench is at apple. >> reporter: but it could go either way. she says the disney company wallowed for years when it lost its founder. >> it took four ceos for the company to regain a strong identity and to develop the kind of track record that it had while walt disney was in place. it took until michael isner. >> her power did a lot to invest in constitutionalizing that culture beyond his reign. >> i think what steve jobs has done is he's helped build that vision into the dna of the company and into those executives. >> reporter: guarantee you this, apple's next new product announcement is coming up in just a few weeks, we'll surely have a worldwide audi

tom vacar, ktvu news. >>> one more new protection, should an airline lose your bags it must refund anybaggage fees you pay. >>> irene is now a category two hurricane and could be a category 3 by tomorrow. earlier today irene hit puerto rico but the storm was weaker then only a category 1. still about a million people ended up losing power. the storm has now moved back out to sea where it is gathering strength once again. >> in the latest on irene here it is now. it's a category three hurricane. you can see it out here toward florida. off of cuba on wednesday. it's a category four that's big. and that's on thursday but look how far off florida it is. and note that it's the right quadrant that has all the juice. so the left side of this hurricane the least damaging side is going to stay offshore. but as you get up here toward the carolinas on saturday. looks like a pretty good hit on north carolina or at least right on the border. we'll be tracking this. the main impact will probably be airline travel. but category 4 is a big deal. so we're going to be tracking this. we're going to be lo

ktvu's tom vacar live now to show us sales are steady and one method in particular is really taking off. >> reporter: you know, when it comes to reputation napa's purple grapes are truly gold. >> reporter: off highway 29, the winery gets 40,000 visitors a year, they are the reason they made it through the recession, because many become repeat customers. >> last year we sold 90% direct to consumers. >> i buy a bottle or two or three. >> reporter: they have been analyzing the winedry for 90 years. direct to consumer sales leave leave -- become more crucial every year. >> establish relationships with the consumers and service them year after year. >> reporter: wine clubs help a lot. >> the only way for a small winery to be able to make people understand what is behind the wine. what heart, what passion. >> reporter: california wines, especially napa winds command prices far, far higher than the national average of $37 a bottle. >> average price is $57 for the napa wineries. and you look at cabernet, $58. >> they have a phenomenal reputation and that's why they are able to command high pric

tom vacar, ktvu news. >>> one more new protection, should an airline lose your bags it must refund anyfees you pay. >>> irene is now a category two hurricane and could be a category 3 by tomorrow. earlier today irene hit puerto rico but the storm was weaker then only a category 1. still about a million people ended up losing power. the storm has now moved back out to sea where it is gathering strength once again. >> in the latest on irene here it is now. it's a category three hurricane. you can see it out here toward florida. off of cuba on wednesday. it's a category four that's big. and that's on thursday but look how far off florida it is. and note that it's the right quadrant that has all the juice. so the left side of this hurricane the least damaging side is going to stay offshore. but as you get up here toward the carolinas on saturday. looks like a pretty good hit on north carolina or at least right on the border. we'll be tracking this. the main impact will probably be airline travel. but category 4 is a big deal. so we're going to be tracking this. we're going to be looking at

tom vacar joins us now live with the opportunity and uncertainty lurking behind the ups and downs, tom. >> reporter: when you take a look at it the market swung wildly over 600 points today. but as you can see, it ended up clearly in the green. hopeful of all new economic action by uncle sam. the stock market spend the day up. but when the feds said only it would keep the interest rates low for two years the market tanked down as much as 200 points from where it started. >> political concerns and political uncertainty is a lot different game for the market to absorb and understand. >> reporter: but then bargain hunters moved in. >> i think some people sitting on the sidelines thought, wow there are good evaluation on strong company that is have great earnings. >> reporter: in the end of rally a rally that lasted to the very last bell. >> the market is really to use an analogy trying to find its footing in this stormy seas. >> to long time market watcher lynne jimenez who reports from the floor, that stormy sea remains a question mark. >> it's an indication nobody really know what is di

consumer editor, tom vacar, ktvu news. >>> there was better news for americans looking for work. the labor department says employers added 117,000 new jobs this month. the unemployment rate also edged down just slightly dropping from 9.2% to 9.1%. >>> president obama welcomed the new jobs numbers today he spoke at an event. president obama said america needs to create more jobs to make up for the jobs lost during the recession. he also outlined a number of steps to get americans working again. >> extending the payroll tax credit put $1,000 in the pockets of the workers. putting construction workers back to work rebuilding america. >> reporter: the president urged members of congress to make those initiatives a priority when they return from their summer recess. >>> among all this volatile economic news, researchers searchers report a surge in anti depressant drugs. there's particularly attention being paid to those doctors writing those prescriptions. >>> michelle bachmann campaigned in iowa telling voters she is not afraid to stand up for herself. >> behind this dress is a titan

. >>> as tom vacar reports, tonight we should see the outline for the very first time. >> reporter: it will hold the signature span. the cap walk under ladders were the massive cable is lying. they are almost 1100 feet long. no more than 50 workers at any one time. >> is the top of the signature tower that can is an awesome view of the bay. >> reporter: for all of its beauty, this at the top is the center that will bear the weight of the people and keep its rate stating for 150 years. >> right now, you can see where all of the catwalks entered the structure and what will hold a cable in place. >> reporter: machinery was to be erected over this cap walk. he would see that evil its outgoing to please, the next year. and tonight is report 8:00 p.m., the light will go on for the first i permanently changing the look of the ban night. >> and so the lighting that is up for construction workers, for the rest of the day it will show you what this is going to look like. >> reporter: it opens about two years from now. >> federal investigators will release their final report tomorrow on the san b

tom vacar, ktvu news. >>> meantime there are reports tonight that 120,000 u.s. postal workers may lose their jobs. the postal service stand to lose $800 billion this year as consumers turn to online bill pay and e-mail instead of traditional paper mail. the washington postreports the postal service is considering cutting thousands of jobs. the agency also wants to pull its workers out of the federal health and retirement system and set up its own benefit structure. congress would have to approve either move. >>> president obama took his message of job creation on the road today. this is the president's first appearance since monday. today he told workers at a battery plant that he wants to boost the sales of american products overseas. >> we've got a lot of americans driving kias and hyundais, i want folks in koreas driving fords and chevies and chryslers. >> reporter: the president also toured the plant. that plant makes lithium batteries that can be used in hybrid cars. tonight the president is in new york for two campaign fund raising events. if you're lookin

ktvu consumer editor tom vacar there to tell us why bargain hunters and house hunters may soon find a deal. >> reporter: i have to tell you, i have not seen this much concentrated construction in one place since the boom before the bust. construction is fully under way on this 120 store factory outlet mall in livermore. almost a thousand construction projects are going on. >> the center means over 2,000 permanent jobs. >> reporter: the carpenters union protest that it is all done with labor that can't shop here. >> we don't have anything right now that is close by. no target which is coming around here. >> reporter: it's not just factory outlets and other retailers, it's housing as well. three developers will have another thousand workers building hundreds of new homes. >> a project of that size in california is enormous at this time particularly in the state of our industry and probably across the country as well. >> reporter: the livermore valley seems to be solidly coming out of recession. >> there's a synergy that happens when multiple projects get under way. i hope synergy create

a 3-d version of the at the fisherman's wharf, and tom vacar was a judge. how did he get that gig? laughter ] >> i wonder who won, though. >> we have to find 0 out. >>> probably not a -- >>> we have to find out. >> probably not a lot of people in a kissing mood. >> yeah, giants are in a tough spot depending upon what happens tonight. matt cain on the hill. rollins led off the game with a double. pablo sandoval gets charged with an error. chase utley is safe at third. and that's a big 90 feet. that's because with -- phillies' starter a little bit better. cain, and two other with were hamels' strikeout victims. cain had two in the right. that's either jack clark or will clark out there making the catch. number 12 on the year for sandoval. 2-1, the final. tim lincecum will try to salvage one game in the series tomorrow. usualliened the independent case -- usually the indication that the start of the season is around the corner. there's no hall-of-fame game but a class of seven members is being inducted tonight. there is a local connection among three of the members. richter was a cal

ktvu's tom vacar joins us live in the news room. we expected the was going to be a sell off but do you think this big of a sell off was a surprise? >> reporter: no. if it happened friday, standard and poor's lowered the rating friday after the market closed it would have been bigger on friday so people had time to think about this. when you are down more than 500 points for, a moment we are down 600 points, tells you the confidence in the market is not there. what is that about? that big deal everybody was talking about a week ago to do it the debt ceiling, it is so unimpressive and kicks the can down the road. that has not impressed the market at all and then we have the problem in europe, with the debts of spain and italy. so as a result you have this going on and then you have the super fast computers doing all the trading, no question something big was going to happen, the question is, when do the people looking for bargains come into the market. that's the big question. i can tell you this, it f you had the average amount of mo

tom vacar will have more on this story at 5:00. live in san francisco, allie rasmus, ktvu channel 2 news. >> thank you. >>> the statement released by the federal reserve confirm with everybody already knew, the statement says they are -- the committee now can expects a somewhat slower pace of the economy, anticipating that the unemployment rate will decline only gradually. the federal reserve will keep its key interest rate near zero for the next two years, much longer than many expected. >>> bill lockyer says the downgrade of the nation's credit rating should not have an impact on california. one he also says came still needs to boost its economy. the state already has the lowest credit rating of any state. >>> last month, standard & poor's changed the rate -- changed the rating from negative to stable after the budget was passed on time. you can go to ktvu.com any time for economic news. you can monitor the markets online. just look for the wall street tab. >>> after the month-long party soon battle, two new national polls show m

tom vacar will be taking part in the afternoon event and heading up there. tune into the news at 5:00 for an update on the size mit retrofit project and a rare view from the top. >>> ahead -- the good news from consumers that has investors smiling on wall street. and the manned president obama introduced to the public -- and the man president obama introduced to the public and how he could be key to helping the nation's economy. >>> taking a live look at the big board. banks and insurers are the big winners in the rally. mainly due to the fact that irene has not caused as much damage as feared. consumer spending increased, easing concern about a recession. right now, the dow up 236 at 11,521. nasdaq is up 75. that's up over 3%. s&p is up 30. president obama has nominated labor economist allan krueger to lead the -- alan krueger to replace austan goolsbee. crewer is is a princeton university -- crewer is a princeton university -- krueger is a princeton university graduate. >>> coming up at 5:00, a new threat to sea otters along the bay area coastline. the pro

tom vacar is live in antioch tonight with a perfect example of this. tom? >> reporter: in fact, out here the question is should you buy or rent? well actually in many cases, it's cheaper just to buy it. >> this one is cute. >> reporter: single mom michelle keys is about to do what was once the unattainable -- own a home. why? because rent is much too high in antioch. >> i'm having a hard time finding anything under $1,200 for a two bedroom, one bedroom and houses you don't want to live in. >> reporter: her realtor just informed her that buying is a cheaper alternative. >> and her payment is going to be anywhere from $600 to $900, depending on the price range. >> and then to find out that you save hundreds of dollars and you're pets are welcome with you, you don't have to worry about moving again, it's a wonderful feeling. >> she's going to have her tax writeoff and its hers. she's not paying someone else's mortgage, for less than rent. >> reporter: for closure broker, jeffman showed us this home that sold for $555,000 at the peak and today it's priced at $1

i am consumer after tom vacar or mac almost one in five children who hasn't autistic older sibling will also develop the disorder. researchers followed more than 600 infants. 19% were diagnosed with autism by there third birthday. the rates are higher for plays, 26% of boys and autistic sibling developed autism. >>> hundreds of mourners gathered today at the indiana state fairgrounds. >> indiana's governor praised the people at the stadium who pitched in to help with the rescue efforts. wind gusts of 6770 miles per hour. 45 people were injured, some of them critically. >> the making of club released figures showing that dog theft in the u.s. is on the rise. they run a national database of stolen pets and so far to a 24 dog owners have reported their pet stolen predate urge dog owners to get microchips for their pets to help identify them. >>> unwanted catalogs, advertisements, and you bonds tend to make up the majority of our mail. how a city is cracking junk mail. >> reporter: and a mail carrier will tell you that everybody gets junk mail. and now woman's complaint could mean less of i

tom vacar joins us live from the so linda complex in fremont to explain why and what this means for the workers. tom? >> reporter: well, so linda says it's -- solyndra says it's a reorganization. the employees, say it's the end. >> came here, the only doors that are open are hr doors. >> sad day today. >> reporter: for a while it was a federally support of green- tech darling that even the president of the united states visited. but so so the stress cracks started to show last year when they started to scale back production. >> tremendous -- solyndra has tremendous gross prospects. >> i think i just have to move on, you know, next chapter. >> something maybe in a different field. i really learned a lot. >> lass december, uc berkeley commits was -- >> this is part of a shakeout we've been anticipating for a while. that's been a huge amount of investment, and also in other parts of the world particularly in china. there's probably more capacity right now thanked market can really absorb. >>> one good note a chip manufacturer from down the road told ktvu today it can put hundreds of solynd

i'm tom vacar the latest job numbers still ahead. >>> fire damages two businesses right in the heart of san francisco . >>> a bit cooler across most of the bay area. coming up, our updated fog forecast model for tomorrow morning in the one direction the temperatures will be heading as we approach the weekend . >>> it is a record-setting day as the dow set a new mark for 419 [ bell ringing ] [cheers and applause] >> reporter: for the first time in history the dow has swung more than 400 points on four consecutive days. at the closing bell the dow was up 423 points and the nasdaq closed 111. that is a gain of more than 4 1/2%. talk about a -- 4.5%. this is the first time in 77 years that daily losses and gains have been this large over four sessions. the last time it happened was back in november 2008 at the peak of the credit crisis. before that it was october 1987 over a four-day span that included black monday when the stocks went down more than 20%. >>> catalyst for today's rally seemed to be a new jobs report that showed a drop in unemployment claims. ark cording to the labor depa

rachel gordon, city hall reporter also with "the chronicle" and tom vacar, consumer editor for ktvu news. well, it's been a roller coaster week. the credit rating late friday of the u.s., downgraded by standard & poors for the first time ever. the white house contested it. it looks like it's going to be downgraded from aaa to aa-plus. >> it's a down tick. most of us would be thrilled to have a credit rating. on the other hand, it says to the world market the united states isn't quite as credit worthy as it was before. this is the opinion of one waiting agency. it does have weight around the world. i can tell you, because i was at the stock market earlier today, had this happened while the market was opened, yesterday would have looked like a picnic compared to what happened today. they deliberately waited. the second i heard that, my antenna went up. here's what you have to understand. we make the debt deal and the market slowly creeps down during the week. they're big numbers but not gigantic numbers. yesterday, inexplicably the bottom seems to fall out. somebody is going to have to tak

ktvu consumer editor tom vacar has been closely watching the action on wall street and is live in san francisco now with what it means on main street, tom. >> reporter: have a look at this, today the stock market turned this into this. >> reporter: whether at a farmers market or the shopping market in orinta the stock marketplaces a factor. >> it makes my nervous about if we're going to recover fully or how long it's going to take us to recover. >> i noticed the stock market figures today, i don't understand it completely but it causes me a concern and worry. >> reporter: to orinda's tom taft, one day is not a concern. >> i will check the numbers occasionally, but i'm in it for the long haul. >> reporter: the drop today took out $1 out of every 10 you had in the stock market. you've lost more than 12-cents on the dollar. since the all time high you've lost nearly a quarter. >> tomorrow we'll really be the tell. and if it continues to go down, then we'll start taking pause. >> reporter: for millions the hurt is right now. >> it affects our parents who are living off the stock market ba

i'm consumer editor, tom vacar. >>> barry bonds is scheduled to return to san francisco, federal courtomorrow to try to persuade a judge to throw out his conviction for obstruction of justice. bonds was found guilty of that one felony back in april. looking into the use of performance enhancing drugs. specifically, bonds was asked if he knew what his personal trainer was given him in a syringe. prosecutors alleged that what bonds said was evasive, and led to obstruction. >>> temperatures did cool inland he locations today. right now outside, we've still got mid-60s in the valley, 70 degrees at the oakland airport. temperatures tomorrow are on the cooler side, plenty of fog. we had a dense fog advisory this morning along the coast. tomorrow morning, more fog is already burning well into the bay. some drizzle possible as well. temperatures tomorrow are going to be mostly three or four degrees cooler than today. the fog footprint at 7:00 a.m., more fog than we've seen in a while. fog burns back quickly, but the damage is done. the cool air is in place. the big changes coming as we head in

i'm consumer editor, tom vacar. >>> barry bonds is scheduled to return to san francisco, federal court tomorrow to try to persuade a judge to throw out his conviction for obstruction of justice. bonds was found guilty of that one felony back in april. looking into the use of performance enhancing drugs. specifically, bonds was asked if he knew what his personal trainer was given him in a syringe. prosecutors alleged that what bonds said was evasive, and led to obstruction. >>> temperatures did cool inland he locations today. right now outside, we've still got mid-60s in the valley, 70 degrees at the oakland airport. temperatures tomorrow are on the cooler side, plenty of fog. we had a dense fog advisory this morning along the coast. tomorrow morning, more fog is already burning well into the bay. some drizzle possible as well. temperatures tomorrow are going to be mostly three or four degrees cooler than today. the fog footprint at 7:00 a.m., more fog than we've seen in a while. fog burns back quickly, but the damage is done. the cool air is in place. the big changes coming as we head

reporting live, consumer editor tom vacar, ktvu channel two news. >>> the california public utilities commission issued a statement. paul clamen says we will conduct an audit of pg & e's integrity mansionment program. the cpuc is expected to release the results of its own investigation in december. >>> many are still convinced the fight over who's responsible isn't over yet. jade hernandez live in san bruno, people there say they want more. >> reporter: they want requirements, they want legislation more than what the ntsb can give. nearly year after the explosion, these lots are still vacant and the father who wants to move his family back into that home says this report is only the first step in holding pg & e accountable. >> reporter: the ntsb report validates bill mcgulligans claim that pg & e acted with blatant disregard. >> we need requirements and we need legislation. >> reporter: a year later this is what it looks like inside of mcgooligans home finally being rebuilt after the explosion. as a survivor his perspective is from a pain only the neighborhood knows. >> it's really di

tom vacar is live in san francisco with how those who do not have a sent invested in stocks are investedl you what, what is interesting about this is it is not just here in the financial district but we took a beating today. we all took a beating today the latest in the long line of them in the hands of our own debts. >> reporter: the bad vibes began before the market opened when the megainvestment bank, morgan stanley, decreased the growth estimates for the u.s. and europe for this year and next. >>and they said that united states and europe are dangerously close to a recession. >> individually and collectively the european union and its member nations are in deep debt trouble exposing banks worldwide to possible defaults. at best most of the world's economies are stagnant. >> that was just fear that we are going from a slow growth to no growth and negative growth. >> without exception usually decisions about money made under pressure are bad decisions. >> reporter: financial educator and journalist valerie coalman-morris says this is no time to panic. >> the best time to sell is in a r

health and science editor tom vacar with what one man calls a miracle. >> reporter: it's called soft wave. this walnut creek clinic opened today. jim dudam hurt his achillum. >> the problem is neurological and the muscles above that joint liner did not work. >> reporter: it's based on what are calling trigger points. on the theory that the point of injury or pain is some where different than the actual source. and the electrical stimulation is placed at the source. >> what i do is change the signal to the spot. >> reporter: exercise floods the spot with blood. >> it's a much more efficient way of breaking down a pattern. >> reporter: future patients will connect with therapists via clinic cams. profootball, baseball and hockey players use the electrical stimulation. >> i couldn't go upstairs without having pain in my knees. comes back from the surge -- coming back from the surgery still having the same pain: we found that the main -- pain was not coming from here, it was coming from here and here. we found this while i was playing hockey. that has an athlete is powerful. >> it's very