♪ good morning. we could be just a couple hours away from learning a federal judge's decision on california same sex marriage ban. >> it's the property approved proposition 8. we have coverage on the pending announcement. let's begin with terry mcsweeney at the federal courthouse. terry? >> anticipation is very high leading up to the announcement this afternoon of judge vaughan walker's decision. some are saying exactly what he writes to impact this case all the way to the u.s. supreme

court. a january trial in the courtroom of judge vaughan walker. closing arguments in june and finally today the judge's decision on the constitutionality of california's proposition 8 defining marriage between one woman and one man. san francisco city alternative dennis herrera who's office joined in the plaintiff's case against prop 8 sayings he is it anxious but optimistic. >> not something that should be protected and tolerated and a governmental interest irrespective of sexual orrenzation. i think we're optimistic, made our arguments in a forceful way. >> attorneys for prop 8 argue that marriage has always been between a man and a woman and it's better for children that way. some supporters fear what a ruling in favor of the same sex marriage would do to people in the 44 states where traditional marriage is the only kind allowed. >> it would be devastatingly disappointing to, you know, for him to overturn the will of 7

million california voters in something so fundamental and foundational to our society. this could have national ramifications. >> while most believe judge walker will rule proposition 8 is unconstitutional he's expected to leave it in place during appeal. what the judge does say in the decision is expected to play a role how the case is decided. >> i think it's safe to say the entirety of the decision is scrubbed by everybody to look what might be of import as the case proceeds up the chain. >> we asked people their thoughts. >> there was a time this country where blacks and whites couldn't get married. that was overturned. i think this is the same thing. >> in favor of the people who are married and want to protect their constitutional rights to marry and allow gay people to marry. >> another comment from randy thomason, the president of save marriage.com. he says marriage between a man

and a woman reflect nature, is in the best interest of children who benefit greatly from having a married father and mother under the same roof and god's magnificent reation as revealed in the bible. judge walk's decision between 1:00 and 3:00 coming out online. terry mcsweeney, abc 7 news. >> terry, thanks very much. heather continues our coverage live in the castro district. heather? >> so far today it looks much like any other day down here but this evening the castro will be the launch point for a rally and march. some people we talked with here this morning say they really just got one thing on their mind today, and they are very anxious for the ruling to come down. they say they'll be paying very close attention to news analysts this afternoon trying to find out about that ruling the minute it's announced. >> are you a twitter person? >> i am not. and i don't belong to any social networks. >> the way you'll get your news

is -- >> i read the paper and i check online. >> you'll be online a lot today? >> i will be online all day today. >> i think everybody should be a chance to live their lives and just be who they wanna be. >> we don't have litigation. are you tired of this? >> i'm getting tired of this but i know it will happen eventually. i just wish it were to happen now. >> there will be a rally here in the castro district this evening beginning at 5:00 from 5:00 to 6:00 and then at 6:00 a march will take place from here to city hall and with a stop at the lgbt center on market street. once at city hall from 6:45 to 8:00 there will be yet another rally. reporting live in the castro district, abc 7 news. >> heather, thank you. >> abc 7 legal analyst dean johnson joins us ahead of that ruling and based on the evidence we saw at trial, what do you expect that ruling will be? >> the trial is really lopsided. the evidence in terms of both

its volume and credibility favored the plaintiffs, favored finding prop 8 unconstitutional. it's important to remember this judge is watching the trial. he has to decide this case based on the evidence that he saw at trial. if he does that he's going to strike down prop 8. >> in california legal history it's been given to a group and taken away. >> no. a bigger issue than same sex marriage. we've seen over the years rights expanded but never seen the situation where one moment a group of people is given a fundamental constitutional right and then weeks later it's snatched away. >> all right. dean, if prop 8 is struck down, what kind of effect will this have on other states that may have similar bans? >> there are five states that have the functional equivalent of a prop 8. we'll is he parallel litigations in those states and that those cases will funnel their way to

the supreme court on very much the same time track as this case. >> the supreme court has heard this type of issue before but years and years ago. >> a little known piece of history, baker versus nelson, the supreme court was presented with the issue of same sex marriage. at that time they said there's no issue. the supreme court would not treat that issue the same way today. >> different times. dean, looking at the current makeup of the high court, should either side feel like they'd have an advantage going in? >> not really. i think most people believe if this court has presently constituted or were to decide the case it would be anthony kennedy having the swing vote. where will anthony kennedy go? we don't know. we know he was the author of a decision called lawrence versus texas in which he said we as a court have not given enough legitimacy to same sex relationships in the past. we now need to reexamine the

jurist prudence of the relationships. >> if prop 8 is upheld, if the judge upholds it, contrary to what you might think, what happens, it goes to the supreme court and then there will not be any marriages of course until there's a ruling on that. >> if prop 8 is upheld the plaintiffs will undoubtedly appeal to the 9th circuit. i think the 9th circuit given recent decisions might very well reverse that and strike down prop 8 and the loser in the 9th circuit will go to the supreme court. >> that ruling between 1:00 and 3:00 and you will be here. >> i will be here. >> we appreciate it. let's take a look at the battle over same sex marriage over the last six years in california. 2004 mayor gavin knewsome issued marriage licenses to 4,000 same sex couples. the state supreme court ruled they were invalid. newsom overstepped his authority

by issuing the marriage licenses. 2008 the court had a legal challenge on the state's definition of marriage. 18,000 same sex couples were married. california voters passed proposition 8 in november 2008 overturning that court ruling. and that is the vote that led to the federal trial on california's same sex marriage ban. please stay with abc 7 news for continuing coveragetivity proposition 8 ruling. the ruling is expected between 1:00 and 3:00 this afternoon. we will carry is live at abc 7 and abc7news.com. several rallies will be going on today after the judge's ruling. you heard that in heather's report. for a list of times and locations around the bay area, go to our website. look under "see it on tv." >> let's move to other news. intel will change some of its business practices as part of a settlement of a federal anti-trust lawsuit. the deal ends what analysts say was harshest legal action intel has faced during a decade of

disputes. the government accused the semiconductor giant as bullying computer makers to protect its dominance. it agreed not to pay computer makers for avoiding rifle chips or retaliating when they do. they maintain it wasn't doing those things anyway. >> president obama saying the operation of the gulf oil spill finally close to coming to an end. he's optimistic after b.p. announced its latest procedure appears to be working. crews began pumping drilling mud into the blown out well overnight pushing the oil back towards its source for the first time since last april. despite the progress, the recovery efforts aren't over yet. >> we have to reverse the damage that's been done. we will continue to work to hold polluters accountable for the destruction they caused.

make sure folks harmed are reimbursed and we're going to stand by the people however long it takes until they're back on their feet. >> president obama praised a federal report that says only about a quarter of the spilled oil remains in the gulf. nearly three-quarters of the oil, 152 million gallons has been contained, cleaned up or disappeared. >> the attempted assassination on iran's president. the story iran is telling. >> and san jose, firefighters have a surprise for an elementary school destroyed by fire last month. we'll have a live report. [ fele announcer ] this is a strawberry pop tart.

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>> closed captioning brought to you by mancini sleepworld. iran's official news agency is denying reports that there was an assassination attempt on iran's president. a grenade exploding near president mahmoud ahmadinejad's convoy traveling from an airport to give a speech on the country's nuclear program. now witnesses say the blast was from an excited fan setting off fireworks. an iranian general says reports of an assassination attempt were circulated by foreign media. he was not hurt. >> the fire station that responded to a devastating fire at trace elementary last month is going beyond the call of duty today to help the kids there. arson investigators are still trying to find out who set the fire that cost $10 million damage. the community has kicked in thousands of dollars to rebuild. theresa garcia joins us now.

fire department 7 is making a special presentation today. >> they sure are. fire station 7 is giving something special to trace school officials today, and that is definitely to help remember its history. station 7 was the first one to respond during that devastating fire. one month later it's giving them something to help lift their spirits as they rebuild. more than 100 firefighters struggled for hours to put out the raging five-alarm fire at trace elementary. the july 5th arson fire gutted parts of the san jose school. today lone concrete columns mark where a building once stood. amongst all the rubble firefighters made an amazing discovery they're giving back to trace. >> while we were digging around trying to put the fire out, we found this american flag that was rolled up and for us it was almost a small miracle. amidst all the destruction. we have an appreciation for teachers and educators. we wanted to do this special thing for them. >> during a special community

gathering at station 7, the burn foundation presented a $5,000 donation to trace to help rebuild and resupply the school. the district superintendent called the firefighters' actions a double gift. >> they put out the fire and now they've come together to raise money for the school to help with the rebuilding effort and help us get back in that school for august. amazing to watch this happen. >> when the first school bell rings august 15th, trace's k-5th students will have a place to go with newportable classrooms. >> moving fast. we are on schedule and we'll have this school open for those kids on that day. >> trace school officials say they're grateful for all the donations of that been coming in. they expect it will take up to two years to rebuild. meanwhile the arson investigation continues. theresa garcia, abc 7 news. >> looks like she's seen a little sun in san jose, mike. >> one of the first areas to see sunshine. the east bay the warmest weather

but even there temperatures could be 1 to 7 degrees cooler than yesterday as the clouds are slow to depart the bay area. this is not even the coolest of the weather. we'll talk about when it gets to your neighborhood. >> mike, thank you. it's president obama's birthday. how he's celebrating and what he says is different as he ages in office. >> a truly bizarre home invasion. how one woman used her feet to call for help after the burglar left her tide up. oprah and former first lady laura bush. the most tragic day of her life. the most tragic day of her life. plus, the twins, barbara and

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♪ president obama turns 49 today and he's celebrating without his family. first lady michelle obama and their younger daughter sasha are in spain for a week-long vacation. malia is in summer camp. president obama is in washington with meetings. mr. obama admits his metabolism is slowing down and he's got a

lot more gray hair since he took office. >> do you feel like the weight of the presidency is accelerating his aging? >> i can't imagine the weight of the job doesn't take a toll. it will just require him to get more frequent haircuts. >> president obama will travel to chicago tonight where he will have dinner with friends. he looks great. >> if a haircut would only cure the gray hairs. >> mike, you don't have any. perfect. >> no gray there but look outside, plenty of gray there. >> let's take a look outside. instead of what's in my head on on my head. the black hairs that i have left. we can see from south beach and downtown san francisco still covered with clouds. how about one more perspective of 2600 feet. sausalito clear out and possibly tibber ron also. look at the clouds. holding stubbornly around the

bay. in fact, from the top down you can see how much slower the clouds are moving away than yesterday. that's going to lead to cooler conditions today everywhere. in fact, we're still in the 50s around napa, san rafael, san francisco, oakland, half moon bay. 60s for the rest of us and of course antioch is different at 75 degrees. around the monterey bay, look how thick the clouds are, even gilroy and salinas where you should see sunshine any minute. hour highlights. the cooling will be felt greatest in our inland areas. you'll see the biggest drop in temperatures, thicker, drizzle doesn't and below average temperatures all seven days of the forecast. san francisco and oakland you see 1 to 2 degrees drop, fremont 4. concord dropping 7 degrees. opening up the cooler air and modified air from over the ocean. you can see how the layer is deepening. because of the stronger sea breeze will bring the clouds, notice how they're hanging

around longer. that's why we're going to be cooler not only today but even more so tomorrow. low to mid-70s most of the south bay. saratoga and los gatos. more 60s on the peninsula, millbrae, san mateo and men low park. upper 50s, mid-50s daly city at 56. downtown south san francisco, sausalito low to mid-60s. mid to upper 70s through your valleys. only mid to upper 50s at your coast. look at ukiah, low to mid-90s. 60s on the east bay shore. jai alai union city and fremont. you'll be arounds 70 and 72. low to mid-80s the east bay valleys today. same thing with morgan hill and gilroy. mid to upper 60s most of the monterey bay. cool at 60. cooling into sacramento and 87. about 81 with sunshine around tahoe. a game at the coliseum. split the first two with the royals. a 12:45 game today. also doing a fund-raiser.

get ice cream and raise money. 56 by the end of the game. low to mid-50s tonight. temperatures dropping 4 degrees tomorrow. so from tomorrow all the way through the end of the weekend we'll be in the low 80s inland, upper 60s to near 70 around the bay and mid to upper 50s at the coast. >> all right. thanks, mike. >> an atlanta woman says she was tied up during a home invasion but managed to type out a cry for help on her computer using her toes. she was asleep when an armed robber wearing a ski mask broke into her home and hit her in the head with his gun. he left her laptop behind. said she was close enough to the laptop to grab it with her feet. she started typing sending instant messages to her boyfriend. >> i used my right toe to operate the mouse on the touch pad. >> uh-huh. >> and i used my left toe and

clamped this power cord between my toes to hit the keys. her boyfriend was awake and online and called police. she cons convinced the robber to leave her computer behind telling them it had a tracking device. they are still looking for her stolen car and the robber. >> she can really think on her feet. (laughter) >> not bad. >> we'll be right back.

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again. stay with abc 7 news for continuing coverage of the proposition age ruling expect the between 1:00 and 3:00 this afternoon. we will carry that decision live here on abc 7 and at abc7news.com. of course, we'll have reaction for you on abc 7 news at 5:00. >> before we go, one more look at this cooling trend. >> yes. pretty significant. we've talked about four months in a row cooler than average. same way. even cooler tomorrow with that 4 degree drop in most areas. a long time before we see sunshine at the coast. stuck in the mid to upper 50s at least through the early parts of next week. >> mike, thank you. >> like we went from spring to fall or something. >> some people like the cool. >> yeah. thanks for joining us. bye-bye! "@wwwwwwwww"@ $gggcccc