and you know where your classroom is? uh huh. mom, i can walk from here. what about your... mom, i got it. ♪ [ female announcer ] they're never too big for a little something sweet. kellogg's rice krispies treats. ♪ same sex marriage supporters and opponents are still waiting at san francisco city hall for the judge's decision on whether to allow gay marriages to go forward. many lined up earlier to get their licenses just in case. >> crowds continue to gather at san francisco city hall and they are waiting for that judge's decision. he has not issued it but did say that he would have it issued

before noon today so we are still waiting. we begin our coverage today with terry mcsweeney at san francisco city hall. terry? >> there are dozens of people on the steps of the san francisco city hall right now and they have been there for hours waiting for judge walker's ruling. take a look at the people out there. yes on 8, no on 8. their signs make it very clear which is which. those in favor of similar sex marriage and those who believe marriage is between one man and one welcome. he's already ruled that prop 8 approved by california voters is unconstitutional but he's got two decisions today. one, would he lift the stay which would mean same sex marriages could go forward? and, two, is he going to delay the imette s the i am platation. mayor newsom out here this morning. >> they vote on this issue and

now everything -- all that stuff is thrown out and one man decides for the state. this kind of authority is scary. >> i'm incredibly optimistic and hopeful. but whatever happens today, that optimism doesn't go away. that hopefulness doesn't go away. thank you, guys, for all your faith and your devotion and constantsy and your incredible work. it's paying incredible dividends. you're changing lives around the world and people are watching you so thank you. >> i don't know if that audio really does it justice. that was ace roar of support from those in fair of same sex marriage. mayor newsom suggesting there that maybe not today but at some point it's going to be same sex marriage is going to be legalized in california and he believes throughout the united states. right now we don't know exactly what's going to happen today. judge walker's ruling still not

coming across joj as we're anticipating. the window is from 9:00 this morning until noon. less than an hour to go before we will know exactly where he comes down on this issue. live at city hall, terry mcsweeney, abc 7 news. >> let's turn to legal analyst dean johnson by phone to talk a little more. thanks for joining us. if the stay is in fact lifted, does that mean gay marriages will resume right away necessarily? >> not necessarily. in fact, probably not. the proponents of prop 8 have asked the judge if he does lift the stay to give them approximately seven days to try to appeal that ruling. during that seven-day period, the proposed to prop 8 would go head and go to the 9th circuit court of appeals and if they're not successful there possibly to the supreme court's circuit justice for the 9th circuit, anthony kennedy. >> what is the standard that's needed for the judge? give us a little lesson on this.

>> it's a triad of factors. in order to get the stay put back in place, the proponents of prop 8 would have to show they're likely to be successful on their appeal, that is they're likely to win the appeal, that they would suffer some irreparable harm and the stay is in public interest. that they have arguments on all three points. >> the fact this appeal could end up with justice kennedy, what could that tell us in terms of a clue towards how prop 8 will ultimately be resolved supreme court? >> assuming judge walker lifts the stay and gives the parties about seven days to appeal, the next week may well be a preview of the entire case. the issues are very similar and the players are very similar. we'll get an idea how the 9th circuit is leaning on this case and we may get an idea how anthony kennedy who will probably have the swing vote how the supreme court is leaning and

these how it could all come out. >> one of the arguments by the same sex marriage people was they wanted to protect marriage as though having same sex marriage would cause harm to heterosexual marriage. >> these the argument they've always made and it's characteristic because there are arguments that they state the principle. but they're very vague on the specifics. they've never been able to tell us precisely how allowing same sex marriage would harm opposite sex marriage. and, in fact, there was testimony in the trial from a harvard professor who said, you know, i live in massachusetts. we've had the longest experience of any state with same sex marriage and, in fact, it seems to have enhanced marriage because massachusetts has the lowest divorce rate in the nation. >> i'm sure we'll be talking with you later today on abc 7 news at 5:00 and 6:00. thanks for standing by with you right now. >> my pleasure. >> continuing our coverage from city hall, officials are bracing for a flood of new marriage

license applications. theresa? >> they sure are. i've been inside speaking with city hall staff about the offices of the clerk as well as the recorder. they have all their staff on standby. they're just waiting to get word whether the stay will be lifted. i spoke outside on the plaza with one couple who arrived at 4:30 this morning. they say this is a moment they've been waiting five years for. take a look at some of the lines inside the city hall. once it opened this morning, the lines moved fairly quickly at the clerk's office. that's where you get your application. there were some couples who started filling out the marriage applications in line to try and be prepared and if judge walker lifts the stay. the city officials estimate about 100 marriages can be performed daily. the very first couple told me they filled out their application online last night. they went out and bought rings and now clearly it's the waiting game. >> we're very hopeful that it's going to happen. the stay will be lifted. if it doesn't, we won't be devastated.

we figure it will eventually happen but it's a matter of time. >> i'm just very happy to have found the right guy. >> me too. >> means a lot. we have a few friends gathered, family's ready to be notified via text and facebook.com and et cetera. we're dressed for it. >> i've been saying all morning i've been waiting my entire life. and she's the love of my life. she's my everything. i'm ready. >> and some of these couples tell me they've already been living together in the vein of traditional marriage vows, being supportive for each other. they say they're waiting for this moment. they say to wait is better than not to be able to marry at all. many are a bit perplexed why judge walker is taking his time from 9:00 to noon. they were hoping it would be earlier. we'll get a addition shortly. we talked to county clerk offices who say they are on standby and ready to issue marriage licenses if that stay is lifted. theresa garcia, abc 7 news.

>> theresa, thanks very much. again, federal judge vaughan walker's ruling is expected by noon. we'll have live coverage of that decision as soon as it comes down and we'll let you know if it happens during this newscast. >> we have other news. salmonella may not be so bad for your health. we'll explain just ahead. >> first the critical vote in congress today aimed at making our borders safer. >> and is he really a hero? new questions are raised about [ female announcer ] don't miss the jcpenney back to school sale this friday and saturday. save on the hottest new looks. doorbusters start extra early at 7am saturday save on hot new skinny jeans like $11.99 city streets skinny jeans for juniors. and $13.99 arizona skinny jeans for guys. get the hottest savings with $4.99 girls and boys tees. and save on bras, just $14.99. plus, get on-the-spot savings... ...with jcp cash - $10 off when you spend 50.

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immigration and customs officials. they would help symptom the flow of illegal immigrants and drugs crossing the mexico border. funds would be used to expand the use of unmanned surveillance drones. >> stocks down for the third straight day today. this has been fuelled by news that unemployment claims rose last week to their highest level in six months. analysts had actually expected that number to drop. sills sco systems fell short of their he can expectations. the stock is down nearly 10%. other silicon valley tech stocks have fallen as a result.

and jurors have reached agreement on only two of the 24 counts against former illinois governor ron blagojevich. they're deadlocked on the other counts, the rest they haven't gotten through yet during the first 12 days of deliberations. the judge will tell jurors to go back and deliberate some more. blagojevich has pleaded not guilty to accusations that he tried to sell president obama's old senate seat. >> new accusations this morning against a jetblue fight attendant who cursed out a passenger, then slid down an emergency chute. the "wall street journal" reports another passenger on that flight says steven slater is the one who instigated the confrontation. the school teacher says when the woman in front of her asked slater where her bag was showed she blurted out an expletive. he looked disturbed before that opening overhead bins and slamming them shut. another passenger said slater was used for her when she asked

for a wipe to clean up a spilled coffee. his ex-wife. >> i find that hard to believe. steven is san absolutely consummate flight attendant. he is a professional. he always has been. he's thrown a number of years and was born to fly. >> jetblue officials are not corporating with the investigation. a charge the company denies. >> check this picture from south beach -- i'm sorry, emeryville. what we're looking at, possibly some shadows, bright spots on the buildings in downtown san francisco. >> could that be sun? >> could it be! it's almost here where the warming trend. we'll talk about how that's going to affect the weekend and there's a day game at at&t park. the forecast for that, too. >> a fire rescue caught on video. the scared kitten that owes a very big thank you to

firefighters in the south bay. >> why you want to be extra careful when you grill your chicken this summer. oprah: meet the woman who lost 530 pounds! come on out! our "she-ro"! whoo! the most jaw-dropping weight-loss stories weve ever had in one hour! weight-loss stories weve ever had in one hour! our weight-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l i spend three hours on my homework --

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♪ poor baby! >> some firefighters in santa cruz are being credited for going above and beyond the call of duty. they were called to an apartment complex on blackburn street yesterday where the kitten you heard from was stuck in a drain. the crew pried off the grate only to find the scaredy cat was stuck between two drains. they rigged up a hose to nudge the kitty out to safety. >> there he is! oh! >> got him! >> you want to hand him to me? yea! >> oh, thank you! >> hi! >> oh, my god! >> the cutest thing, right. >> adorable, scared to death though. >> well, live have i says she's going to keep the little kitten. they're going to take home some

of the other they found under a bush to an animal hospital on mission street where they should be available for adoption. who wouldn't want them after seeing this. >> i bet that made everybody's day. now we just need a little sunshine. >> where's that? >> let's open the weather window and see. there it is. south beach looking to at&t. you can see the shadows developing as the sun is starting to break out over this part of the bay. it's mostly sunny over at the airport and the flight arrival delays are starting to wane which is some good news for folks expecting friends in on flights to san francisco. let's take a look at another picture and show you how compressed the marine layer is coming as we see sutro power sticking above. we should see some sunshine just about everywhere exempt the coast today. let's talk temperatures. we are seeing warmer weather. look at that. 62 santa rosa. we were stuck in the 50s the last couple days.

san francisco, oakland, san rafael and napa. the warming trends moving into antioch, 73. yesterday we talked about it would be the east bay valleys the first to feel that warming trend. 60 watsonville, the sunshine gilroy. monterey bay and salinas mid to upper 50s. not nearly as chilly as yesterday. cloudy tonight but not as damp as this morning. that's the high pressure starting to move in. warmest weather, it arrives in the entire bay area sunday into monday. never quite makes it to the coast. san francisco up 2 degrees. san jose 4, oakland 5, redwood city 7 and concord jumps from 7 yesterday to about 81 today. all these temperatures are still well below average. you can see the slow starting to pull away and with it it's going to drag this colder air and jet stream that's been funneling that cold air into our neighborhoods. jet stream starting to pull away. this high pressure will take over and that's what's going to bring us the warmer weather. today upper 70s danville,

dublin. east bay shore cooler. mid to upper 60s richmond, hercules. south and east of that low to mid-70s. that's where we start, 76 san jose. about 79 los gatos. on the peninsula low to mid-70s until you get to millbrae, 68. the coast cool, upper 50s for you. downtown south san francisco and sausalito low to mid-60s it is northbound through the valleys of the north bay, you hit the mid-70s. around the monterey bay talking about mid to upper 60s with cloudy conditions. that cool air even reached into sacramento this morning. 82. tahoe about 74. palm springs 101. the baseball forecast, the 44th game in the series and the final one with the cubs. developing 12:45. we'll end at 62 degrees. if not careful, you can get sun burned at at&t. look to the east once again fors

warmest weather tomorrow and then saturday. look at sunday, monday and tuesday, low to mid-90s inland. upper 70s arounds the bay. if you don't like the heat, head to the coast. low 60s. >> summer will be back. >> local big wave surfers are trying to take control of the maf vic surf contest. they think the contest has become too commercial and his control of the company. maverick search adventure incorporated. jeff clark sued the company after they dropped him from the three-member board. that suit has since been blocked. they want to get control of the permit and stage a toned down, more community-friendly surf event. >> salmonella poisoning may be danger ris but scientist discovered a benefit. salmonella can actually spark an immune response alerting the body to kill cancer cells. they worked on mice and human cancer cells.

scientists hope they'll be able to use this research to develop a new drug that can one day help the body fight cancer and poultry is the leading culprit in food poisoning outbreak. the centers for disease control and prevention says chicken and other poultry accounted for 17% of the outbreaks are reported by the government. beef and leaf think vegetables were close behind. they were done based on reports from 48 states and puerto rico in 2007. >> the south bay rose garden named america's best rose garden today. the san jose municipal rose garden beat 130 other public gardens across the country. that award is going to be given out by a nonprofit association of rose growers. park staff worked to restore the garden ever since it was placed on probation because it had fallen in such disrepair. >> congratulations. get the weekend started

you can see

today on oprah at 4:00, the woman who lost 530 pounds. then on abc 7 news at 5:00, a word of warning for those who enjoy those veggie lovers salad. the recent behind the company's latest recall. reminder federal judge vaughan walker's ruling on the same sex marriage stay is expected any moment, by noon, and we'll have live coverage of that decision as soon as is comes down and bring you a full report later today at 5:00. >> so much going on but it is thursday sometime to start thinking about the weekend. we've got so much going on. from pirates to circus big-tops. >> don sanchez.

>> dramatic and passionate. david with 100 years of spanish guitar. saturday night, fine arts museum. legends of comedy conversations continue with robert morse and shellie burrman sunday afternoon at usf. ♪ >> award-winning chinese theater is electrifying. for the afternoon. 500 world class equestrians, a benefit for blind and visually impaired people at the menlo circus club. ♪ >> gilbert and sullivan, the pirates of penzance in mountain view. ringling brothers barnum and bailey circus with a new show at oracle arena showcasing what san francisco does best. a celebration of food, wine and spirits in union square. ♪

>> frank ambrosia, help is on the way, the aids benefit with carol channing and more sunday at hertz theater. graffiti artists go off the walls on the canvas on hope street. outside land has bands and food on multistages it weekend at the golden gate park. in san jose great jazz. the annual jazz festival, don sanchez, abc 7 news. >> all right. well, that's going to do it for us for now. >> that's right. but we're standing by for the decision on the prop 8 stay. judge walker will issue it before noon so within the half hour. >> that's right. so we will continue to stay here for you to bring that decision the moment it happens. >> all right. meantime we leave you with a live picture from san francisco city hall where the anticipation

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