former bay area athlete was the key to the research. also tonight, a bay area family mourns for a teenage boy killed when a gun accidentally discharged. and aspiring pop stars descend on at.xt. at&t park. it is tuesday, august 17th. hello again, everyone. i'm heather holmes. welcome to bay area news at 7. a new study suggests that head trauma from sports puts people at risk of developing a condition later in life similar to lou gehrig's disease. a former san francisco 49er was one of the main subjects in this potentially ground breaking research. janet is live in the newsroom with details. jana. >> reporter: heather, researchers say that this study is the very first to provide hard evidence of a link between head trauma from sports

injuries and neural diseases. it could also have big implications for anyone in football, soccer, boxing, or other collision sports. when it comes to contact sports, blows to the head can be a regular part of the game. now a study, to be released tomorrow in the journal of neuro pathology and experimental neuroorology, says it's found the first pathological evidence that repetitive head trauma experienced in collision sports might be associated with the development of motor neuron disease, it's similar to a.l.s. or lou gehrig's disease. one of the study's main subjects was ericing so begins who played football at u.s.c. and briefly in scan francisco with the 49ers before he died last year. >> every day activity. >> reporter: skoggins was originally diagnosed with a.l.s. and spoke openly about his condition and his foundation to raise money for research and

patient support. >> you can be a difference. i chose to be a difference. >> reporter: skoggins donated his brain and spinal cord to the research study upon his death. now that study has found that skoggins did not have a.l.s., thought to be hereditary, but a similar disease caused by head trauma. >> very grateful to-to-him and his family for agreeing to do that. the more patients with neurological diseases are willing to donate their brain and spinal cord for research, that helps us advance our understanding of the disease. >> reporter: today, at the a.l.s. center, the director said the study, while intriguing, is not conclusive. >> i think what would be most valuable is to compare to all of those football players and soccer players who have had a lot of concussions, but never developed any type of neurological problem. what do their brains look like? rip still, dr. although man hurst says this study might

increase athletes to take precautions and protect their heads. it could also have implications for military veterans and others who experience repeated head trauma. live in the newsroom, ktvu channel 2 news. ktvu has learned that two deputy chiefs of the san francisco police department have been demoted. multiple sources tell us that assistant chief kevin cashman and investigations commander john loftus were demoted this week to the rank of captain. the shake up come 2 months after chief george gascon reorganized his top staff in the wake of the crime lab schedule. cashman and loftus were included on confidential memos last december about whether lab technician deborah madden should be investigated for allegedly stealing drugs from the lab. the investigation did not begin until several months later, in march of this year. fairfield police say they've arrested three people, including a juvenile, in connection with the attempted armed robbery of a cell phone

store. investigators say this video shows what happened last night at a metro pcs store on north texas street. they say the robbery was foiled when an employee pulled out a gun and fired at the juvenile, wounding him. police say they arrested the juvenile yesterday in a fairfield park, as well as two men, including the suspected getaway driver. the mother of a man shot to death by police last night said she called police for help, because her son was drinking and refusing to take his medication. gladys tells the san francisco chronicle she called 911 from her home near howard avenue. police say when they arrived, 20-year-old edgar arisondo came at them with a knife prompting one officer to open fire. he was pronounced dead at san francisco general. a police standoff in sacramento came to an end in the past 90 minutes when

authorities took an oakland man into custody. 23-year-old brian brown is wanted for a fatal shooting outside an oakland liquor store last month. swat teams surrounded the sacramento apartment complex late this afternoon, after learning that brown was inside. brown surrendered after three hours when police fired tear gas into that apartment. a vigil is set to get under way at this hour in emeryville to remember a 15-year-old boy killed last night in a tragic accidental shooting. as paul chambers reports, police say the boy was playing with a gun when it discharged. >> reporter: in a few weeks marquel good win would have been a sophomore in high school. that all ended last night just before 8. he was at his aunt's house with his 13-year-old brother. officers say the two were in the bathroom playing with a gun. it went off and killed marquel. >> a nice kid, you know, little for his age but he had a big heart. >> reporter: todd walker coached marquel and his younger brother in football in 2006 and 2007. he says the two boys were best

friends and inseparable. now that the tragedy has hit the family he hopes people do nor to keep kids safe. >> you can get a gun quicker than you can get a pencil. we need to find out why these kids is playing with guns. >> reporter: police say it's unclear if any adults were at home when the accident happened. last night the officers questioned the 13-year-old and released him. police believe the boys brought their gun to the house, and the officers are trying to figure out who the gun belongs to. >> we know what happened. right now we're trying to find out how the child got the gun. hopefully our investigation will be able to lead us to how he got that loaded firearm. >> reporter: the vigil starts in a half hour, and the family is accepting donations. we already know a woman from fremont has already donated a burial site. in emeryville, paul chambers, ktvu channel2 news. two military jets scrambled today in response to an air space violation near air force 1 in seattle. president obama was rallying support for washington senator

pat murray's reelection campaign. the federal aviation administration said the pilot of a sea plane unknowingly entered restricted air space. the plane departed the area before the f15s arrived. the f.a.a. said explosion-like sounds that shook the area were sonic booms from the military jets. former illinois governor rob blagojevich says he will appeal a jury's verdict today convicting him of lying to federal investigators. the federal jury in chicago found blagojevich guilty of just one of the 24 counts against him. the judge said he'll declare a mistrial on the other 23 counts. prosecutors say they'll ask for a new trial on those counts which include accusations blagojevich tried to sell or trade the senate seat president obama vacated. a chain reaction collision shut down the golden gate bridge foreclose to an hour this morning. sending two people to the hospital and causing a huge traffic backup. the c.h.p. says there were four vehicles involved. just after 9 a.m., the highway

patrol says a northbound big rig rear-ended a car just north of the toll plaza. that car then crossed into southbound traffic and struck another vehicle. a fourth vehicle then plowed into those two cars. all of the lanes were blocked. c.h.p. says the two taken to the hospital had minor to moderate injures. after years of stawed movable barrier designed to stop cross over collisions is in the works. >> back then it was heavier, they were wider, and they brought them down in width. it was a foot previously, now down to half a foot. >> the $25 million barrier is scheduled to be in place by late 2011 or early 2012. a widespread egg recall is under way tonight after an outbreak of salmonella poisoning here in california and in two other states. an egg producer in iowa is recalling 228 million eggs. the eggs are being linked to 200 cases of salmonella poisoning. people became sick in california, colorado, and

minnesota. the eggs were distributed around the country under more than a dozen labels, including safe way's lou certain label, and the albertson's brand. for a full list of the egg brands involved visit ktvu.com. a remembrance is scheduled for tomorrow for the virginia man shot to death in downtown oakland, just a day before a job interview at google. 45-year-old jin hung king was killed a month ago. his wife is expected to attend the remembrance which will raise money for their three children. the event is scheduled to start at 6 p.m. a man and a woman are changed with kang's murder. the china town chamber of commerce said kang's death as well as the slaying of another man in april has had a chilling effect on china town business. the chamber says it is researching how much it would cost to hire unarmed security

guards. adding to the safety concerns, the oakland police department says recent layoffs have reduced the number of officers patrolling chinatown by 2. >> there are resources that are not at the same level they were a couple weeks ago. but, we're trying to work the best we can to still provide the same service. >> chinatown merchants say they also plan to install more security cameras. bay area researchers say for the first time in three decades, obesity rates have declined for some groups of california children. researchers at ucsf studied 8 million california middle school students from 2001 to 2008. and they found that obesity rates dropped for white and asian children. and actually leveled off for latinos. but african american and native american girls were more than three times as likely as white girls to be severely obese. researchers said nutrition and fitness programs should be taylored to high risk communities. some teamers in richmond say high-tech jerseys are

helping them focus on teaching. preschoolers at george miller children's school have started wearing the jerseys which are embedded with a radiofrequency tag. the tag, along with sensors all over the school, can track when a child arrives, leaves, or eats. teachers used to have to log all of that manually. contra costa county said the system, paid for by a federal grant could eventually save thousands of work hours. singers and musicians follow their dreams to stardom right here to the bay area. ♪ that's all right, mama, that's all right with you. ♪ >> coming up here on bay area news at 7, the sights and sounds as thousands converge for a shot at "american idol." and treasure island officially changes hands. what the future may hold. a pretty nice day across most of the bay area. outside right now, still mostly clear skies over the bay. if you're making your weekend plans, definitely want to see a in just a few minutes. droiiiid.

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>> two key pieces of the new eastern span over the pay bridge have arrived from china, and could soon be in place. they are deck sections from the road bed, each one of them 220 feet long. cal trans says they'll be in place by next week. more sections of the signature tower should arrive in october. the tower will completely change the look of the bridge. treasure island is now officially back in the hands of the city of san francisco, after a ceremony on the island today. the u.s. military had controlled it since world war ii. san francisco, though, plans to create a brand new neighborhood. kind of a city within a city. >> reporter: today secretary of the u.s. navy ray mavis, house speaker nancy pelosi and mayor

gavin newsom commemorated the official hand over of treasure island from the navy to san francisco. >> from these shores, 10s of thousands of sailors and marines left to fight in the pacific in world war ii. and a lot of those sailors and marines who left from here, this was the last time they saw america. >> reporter: mayor newsom thanked former mayor willie brown and others who he said worked through a pains taking process. it was first launched in 1994. >> this project was not easy to put together, but we're here today to celebrate that agreement. >> reporter: the 63 will pay the navy $105 million over the next 10 years in return for ownership and development privileges. the plan is to develop 8000 housing units, three hotels, shopping areaing, a new marina and 300 acres of open space. the navy will er than a return on the development as part of the purchase agreement. >> ground breaking is scheduled for next year. many if not all of the 30 or so

businesses already on the island will need to be relocated. jim morowski founded treasure island wines about three years ago and wants to be part of the island's future >> we want to work with the developers and understand how we can be part of the redevelopment and be part of the newest neighborhood in san francisco. >> reporter: part of the agreement calls for the navy to clean up treasure island before it's turned over to the city. on treasure island, sol castaneda, ktvu. the man-made island was created from bay dredgings for the golden gate exposition of 1939. next it became home of the legendary china clipper flying boat. it was turned into a naval base in world war ii, a major embarkation point for the par in the south pacific. and now san francisco has it. san francisco tourism officials say they are seeing new signs of life in their industry. in may, the most recent month for which numbers are

available, hotels rented 8% more rooms than a year ago. some hotels are seeing an even bigger boost. the general manager at the chancellor hotel near union square says occupancy is near 90%, up 20% from last year. however, san francisco's convention business remains relatively flat and isn't expected to improve for several years. en couraging earnings report from wal-mart and home depot sends stocks to their best finish in days. the dow ended its run of five straight losing sessions gaining slightly more than 100 points. the nasdaq was up 27 points. it showed up today at mcdonald's restaurant and across the state not for foods, but in hopes of landing a job. the golden arches held a one- day hiring event in an effort to bring on 1000 new workers statewide. many people were attracted to the benefits the fast food chain offers for part time work of 20 hours a week. the man who hit baseball's

legendary shot heard round the world has died. bobby thomson was 86. >> the giants win the pennant? the giants win the pennant? the giants win the pennant! >> the home run in 19 51s is forever embedded in giants lor expesm considered by many to be baseball's most historic moment. it's handed the new york giants the national league pennant with the national league playoff victory over the brooklyn dodgers. bobby thomson died yesterday in georgia after a lengthy illness. in the pre-dawn hours today, aspiring singing sensations arrived by the hundreds at at&t park for a shot at stardom. they are all on a singular mission. to become the next "american idol." >> claudine wong listened to some of the talent and has our report. ♪ you are beautiful >> reporter: before the sun came up, hundreds then thousands lined up. >> i want to be the next "american idol." >> she is the next american

idol. >> you with convinced? >> i am very convinced >> so convinced you will stay out here in the cold? >> until it snows. whatever it takes. >> reporter: registrations for thursday's auditions will be held for the next two days but the die hards came early. >> i'd rather be safe than sorry and have but too late and they say you can't try out. >> it's going really well. it was really cold this morning but we have a huge crowd. like 7 or 8000 already. >> reporter: in season 10 of "american idol," even registration is an event. >> a hot chocolate and kettle corn here guys. >> all right, baby! >> reporter: even now idol hopefuls did what they could to stand out. >> this is the new glaze we sell in san francisco. >> but can you sing? >> yes, i can sing. >> i just hope that i make it through and america votes for me. >> i am excited right now. i'm ready. >> are you ready? give us a couple notes. >> no. i'm going to save that. >> oh, come on.

gar ♪ left a good job in the city. ♪ >> reporter: singing on bionic legs apparently a little hazardous. ♪ whoa, sweet child of mine >> reporter: so despite the willingness of many people to sing today, today wasn't actually about the singing, it was about those wrist bands. those wrist bands guarantee that everyone can come back here on thursday morning at 5 a.m. that's when auditions begin. in san francisco, ktvu. well, a different kind of competition in san mateo county. you could call it iron chef behind bars. the county jail was the setting for a first ever cook-off for inmates taking part in a new job training program. the contestants are enrolled in culinary classes inside the jail, offered by job train. the goal is to prepare them for careers in the food service industry. four teams competed today, each preparing the same recipes for local celebrity judges. team 4 won the contest, but by a very slim margin. coming up on bay area news

at 7. young people in east bay, they get a special visit from some of their idols on the baseball diamond. and no sign of a heat wave yet. but the bay area could be warming up ever so slightly. mark will have the full details in the forecast. and if there's no tv nearby, watch the news at 7 on your computer. we're streaming live on the web at ktvu.com. >> closed captioning for the bay area news at seven is brought to you by: citibank. city never sleeps. [ man i was deciding what to do with my citi thankyou points when it happened... [ glass breaks ...again. ♪ [ child run! [ man first it was the mailbox.

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>> key political leaders from california and nevada gathered near lake tahoe today to talk about how to preserve the area's environment. u.s. senators diane fine 69 of california, and harry reid and john en sign of nevada are among those attending the 14th annual tahoe summit. the focus this year is on developing new ways to protect lake tahoe and its surrounding forest while trying to revive the region's economy. time for us to talk about our local weather. it seemed to be a little nicer in the city today. >> yeah. i think today is probably one of the nicest days of the month. get ready for the cooling trend. once again, the five-day forecast, especially by the weekend. tomorrow minor changes. the maps i can show you this. mostly clear skies over a good portion of the bay area.

the fog bank to the west and already a few patches approaching right around point reyes and the cloud deck on the increase overnight. as far as a look outside right now, we can show you this looking towards san francisco bay and a few patches of fog already doing their thing and developing. and temperatures right now at least right around the bay mainly in the upper 50s at 59 degrees. temperatures from today, we warmed up coast side, also for san francisco, but we actually cooled off inland compared to yesterday's readings. warm spot 75 in antioc, 74 in san jose. weather story is this. fog increase overnight. cool for tomorrow coast side but a warm day inland. another cooling trend approach the bay area coastline. temperatures from the 60s for the beaches, 70s as you head inland, warmest locations on track to reach the lower 80s. really not a big change from today. by thursday, a little bit of a bump in the numbers as high pressure rebuilds and temperatures may be about 3 to 5 degrees from tomorrow's readings. the extended forecast, this is

the next development, you can't see an area of low pressure moving in from the north and the key impacts. we'll increase the fog and temperatures respond by cooling off for saturday and also into sunday. as far as tomorrow morning, areas of fog and drizzle once again. low to mid 50s, and that fog concentrated coast side, also right around the bay into the afternoon hours. partly to mostly sunny. still patchy coastal fog, especially south of the golden gate bridge. temperatures from 60 to 84 degrees. a look at the numbers. santa rosa 77, concord 81. antioc in the mid 80s. san jose a forecast high of 74. here is a look ahead, your five- day forecast, a mini warm up heading into thursday. but the next cooling trend begins on friday and kicks in by the weekend. heather. >> oakland a's players took a break from baseball and tried their hand at games of a different sort in hayward today. the players jointed children for some rowing games of cards and a few rans of connect 4. local high school student

leaders also joined the fun. volunteers of america and the major league baseball players trust sponsored the event for low-income children. nice to see that happening there. way to go a's players. >>this's our report for tonight. i'm heather holmes. coverage couldn't online at ktvu.com and tonight at 10. keep it right here. tmz is next here on tv 36. [ male announcer when meg whitman arrived at ebay,

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