headquarters. the second ceo forced out of hp? scott? >> reporter: big surprise. mark herd took over the top job in april of 2005 and stabilized the company. better news for investors. company stock price doubles since he took over but this afternoon his legacy is crumbling, he resigned his post as chief executive and investigation finding that herd had a personal relationship with a contractor who received pay from hp that was not business related. >> again, it's very vague, but no matter what, it was deemed inappropriate and that is what caused him to have to step down. >> reporter: mark herd releasing a statement saying, quote, as the investigation progressed i realized there were instances in which i did not live up to the standards and principals of trust, respect and integrity that i have espoused at hp and

which have guided me throughout my career. many investors holders of hp stock -- and they are all over the bay area -- responding to the news by selling their shares. in fact, hp stock was briefly halted when it resumed trading in after-hours activity. it fell by about 9%. reporting live from hp headquarters, scott budman, bay area news. >> scott, who runs the company now? >> reporter: for now, they are turning the reigns over on an interim basis to their 24-year veteran at hewlett-packard who is saying that she's not going to be the next ceo. from what we're hearing from hp watchers there will be a search, once again, the first time since car carly fee reno left the post. it could be at much as $12.2 million in severance. >> that will ease the pain.

>> scott, thank you. now to the latest numbers on unemployment. for the third straight month, the private sector remained kraushs when it came to hiring. the national unemployment for july was 9.5%, staying unchanged from the previous month. experts say it would likely cliek back to double digits because companies are not creating jobs fast enough. private employers reported gain for july but that's far below the 200,000 jobs needed to keep the unemployment rate steady. day 37 without a state budget and the governor is hitting the road, giving his version of the delay. today in santa clara he told the bay area council he has not missed any budget deadlines but the legislature does it on a regular basis. a $20 billion deficit makes this year worse and it grows by $52 million per day as long as the legislature fails to act. >> it's because they are not coming into the budget that we already lose $2 billion. and because they have not made

the cuts that we're asking them to make in the beginning of the year, we lost another $2.8 billion. so you add those two things together and you're almost at $5 billion and that's what they want to increase in taxes and that's what they want to borrow. this is why i said no to borrowing and no to tax increases. >> the governor says he is frustrated that the legislature he says, hadn't cooperated in building the rainy-day fund which he considers crucial to california's financial health. the clock is ticking for the rabbits at the a hayward animal shelter. the shelter is seeing an abundance of bunnies and unless some are adopted this weekend some my have to be destroyed. tracy grant tells us about the scramble to find a better outcome for the rabbits. >> someone abandoned these two and their mother right outside the animal shelter. workers found them when they came in the morning and that's the problem. every time they seem to get some of these adopted, more show up.

11-year-old kimberly ramos is focusing on sea lions during this type. like many of the people who show up here, interested in adopting a pet. but ramos was once the proud owner of a rabbit. >> he was my best friend. >> reporter: there are plenty of rabbits at the shelter right now. in fact, there are far too many. hayward animal services housing nearly three times the amount of bunnies as usual. the manager says that the shelter has been inundated with rabbits over the last month or two and the numbers don't seem to be petering out. they say the economy is leading a lot of people to get rid of pets including cats and dogs. add those financial difficulties into the usual summertime surge on rabbits. >> people get them and then they realize they're -- they require quite a bit of care. once they find that out they decide they no longer wish to

keep them. >> oh, you're ready, huh? >> reporter: then, they wind up here. a animal shelter in dublin is having a bunny show to raise interest in adoption. the local rescue societies are pushing people to get these animals. while they don't want to put a deadline on the lives of these animals, unless they're adopted soon their futures are grim. >> the reality is some of them will be put to sleep because they don't find homes. >> that really upsets me. they're really nice animals. and they're very gentle. >> there's a special adoption going on and the fees are significantly discounted and they're hoping that by the close of business tomorrow at least half of these will find a new home. in hayward, tracy grant, bay area news. two people from the south bay are dead tonight after a small plane crash in northern colorado. hikers spotted the smoke on wednesday from far away but it wasn't until yesterday that the source of the smoke was

identified. the plane registered to a 70-year-old sunnyvale man, john howard, authorities say he and 56-year-old catherine heaven died along with a spokane man. the ntsb investigators plan to head back to the site tomorrow. bank patrons at this campbell u.s. bank were surprised to see this this morning. a car completely inside the building. police say the 55-year-old man driving appeared to have a medical issue when that accident took place. the driver was inside it and alcohol and drugs don't appear to be part of the accident. luckily, no one was hurt. a federal judge has set a trial date of march 21st in barry bonds perjury trial. attorneys on both sides have until october 15th to file a list of their planned witnesses. the 46-year-old bonds faces 11 felony charges in connection with his 2003 testimony in which he told a federal grand jury that he never knowingly used

steroids. bonds initial trial date of february of last year was delayed at the last minute when prosecutors appealed the judge's ruling to exclude key evidence from steroid tests. prosecutors ultimately lost the appeal but decided to go ahead with the trial anyway. a san francisco judge accused of a conflict of interest in the city's drug lab scandal has been clear of the any bias. district attorney complained that the superior court judge had a financial interest to rule against prosecutors in the case in part, because she's married to a defense lawyer who handled at least one drug-lab related case. they said that prosecutors kept damaging information about the lab and their reliability of exlab technician deborah madden from defense lawyers. >> today mercuries the 65th

anniversary of her ro she may. a rally honoring the people killed that day the bomb was dropped. organizers say people are still suffering from the blast decades later. they call for militaries worldwide to stop using all nuclear weapons. [ bell tolling ] and for the first time, represents from the u.s. attended the annual commemoration ceremony. the move was seen as a sign of hope in the fight for nuclear disarmament. britain and france also made their first official appearance at the ceremony, along with u.n. secreta secreta secreta secreta secretary. >> the mayor said he hopes president obama will someday visit the site, an idea the president said he would consider but that would be highly controversial for a sitting joopt at 5:00 we're following

late developments in the same-sex marriage fight the governor and attorney general are now calling for the immediate resumption of gay marriages. >> and important new information for women who have experienced a miscarriage. how long they should wait before trying to have a baby again. the fight against dementia takes a turn. we'll show you the lifestyle changes that could help ward it off it. >>'s not a dream, it's true. he spent years behind bars and claims his innocence all along. coming up, why the car one man was driving in a deadly crashed helped to set him free. and good afternoon. i'm chief meteorologist jeff ranieri. something to smile about. we're finally getting sunshine here in san francisco. it's 69 right now. we'll tell you in widespread 80s will return coming up.

joof tonight, a minnesota man is free after spending more than two years in prison for a crash that killed three people. the man was driving a toyota camry and has said he did everything he could to stop his car and after the recent toyota recalls he is now a free man. >> it's over! it's over! >> he has always maintained he stepped on the brakes on june 10th, 2006, but that his 1996 toyota camry would not stop. it slammed into another car killing three people. a jury convicted him of criminal vehicular homicide. >> thank you. >> lee asked for a new trial this year arguing that it was a case of sudden acceleration and today, judge joanne smith granted the new trial saying

that there was new evidence that his original trial attorney made mistakes. >> and the soon as she started to read and give an indication of what she was going to do i wrote out a paper, "you are free." and he immediately grabbed and squeezed my hand and held it the rest of the time. >> with the charges dropped, lee is a free man for good. >> he's not -- it's not a dream, it's true. >> he says living in prison away from his wife and children was a nightmare. >> sometimes i have dreams and i wake up and i'm still in the little room. but now my dream come true. >> more than anything, he wants his four children to know the word "daddy." >> long time. very long time! and they don't know me. >> finally, he wanted the victim's family to know that he's sorry about the deadly

crash. >> i also want to ask them to forgive me and to believe me. >> well, in fact, the family of the victims long ago said that they were convinced of his innocent and joined the effort to free him. they are now suing toyota. you better check your freezer. california companies at the center of a big ground beef recall. valley meat company of modesto sold the potentially contaminated beef in multitim states including here in california. one million pounds of beef, mostly sold frozen. the establishment number 8268 inside that usda label. the company is trying to pull the packages from store shelves. at least seven people have reported e-coli-related sicknesses. >> bp is in the final stage of permanently sealing the blown-out well in the gulf. up next, crews will work on the relief well which they will fill with mud and cement above the

source of the oil, effectively sealing the well from the bottom-up. the process seems to be going so well that after more than 100 days with, the chief operator is leaving the gulf to go back to houston. >> clearly, we feel like it's moving to a new phase because we've been three weeks without new oil flowing into the sea. >> now, it's the oil that they can't see that worry ms. people along the gulf coast. bp said there was little water in the open water but the crude near the shoreline may still be a problem. again, a lovely friday around the bay area. good day to get out and help the community, jeff? definitely. all across the bay area we've got some bay area proud volunteers that made it out, yes, with their own nbc rob mayeda, my colleague in the morning, meteorologist, rob mayeda. him and 25 other volunteers worked at the family giving tree and their back-to-school program

packing backpacks with school supplies for those who need it. of course, with the economy down and jobs being lost, a lot of people certainly can use the extra head start. you can still donate and go to nbcbayarea.com or you can go to bay area proud.com to find links. other weighing you can donate and help out. such a great cause. great for rob to get out. thanks a lot. here's the san francisco camera. this is actually a time lapse. the fog and conveyer belt pushes in this afternoon. but we did have some of the most substantial clearing we have seen in days in san francisco, actually before noon. i was out looking at the fog this morning, looking at my watch saying, okay, all right, it's before noon and we're getting some sunshine so that was a nice treat for us here that have had three weeks nonstop of fog. 63 in san mateo. then the south bay and we got in on some warming.

80 in sunnyvale. 76 in san jose. and a few spots peaked up. we have more fog coming back as we head to the morning hours. not so fast. no major heat but more mild days in the forecast. the good news, in the next ten days a possible pattern shift that could get some real summer heat back in the bay area. we got to look out ten days before that's possible but i know a lot of you are asking, where is the heat? it's gone and the marine layer is up at about 2,000 feet and pushing back in. the high pressure won't heat us up. in fact, we have a cool front here, pushing the rain into seattle and temperatures in the 60s, about 15 degrees below average for the weekend and that will help to keep us mild here across the bay area. for saturday, 70s inland and 50s

and 60s at the coastline and saturday, summer skips out on us, yet again. it will be mild and comfort so get out and enjoy. kale start off tomorrow morning at 6:00 a.m. if you're getting an early start, 53 inland. and some patchy fog. we'll get sunshine in here for inland spots by 11:00 a.m. saturday's forecast, upper 70s to near 80. not bad. 79 in evergreen. 78 in san jose. 71 in san mateo. 73 in redwood city. and a mix of mid-to-upper 70s as we cross to san ramon and a few isolated 80s throughout concord and also, fairfield. 75 in san rafael and heading to napa or sonoma, mid 70s. fantastic day and more on our seven-day forecast. you can get additional information on the any time on the weather channel on cable. i talked about the next ten days and the possibility pattern shift. you can see the -- what would be the word?

the inkling or something by friday, 84 degrees. >> that's something. >> some of the models may show potential 90s beyond that but we'll have to wait and see. >> thanks, jeff. we will see. santa clara residents can turn their junk into cash. the city is organizing a citywide garage sale. the one-day event is august 14th and apparently, mass garage sales have become all the rage because the city of saratoga held a similar event last month. beauty might be worth more than you think. accountants with the mta tell the "chronicle" it would cost $11 million to build the system today and most of the system is working well. to modernize and keep up with repairs it would cost about $455 million a year, the numbers are part of an inventory report within the mta. the first lady is getting criticism over her vacation in spain. and coming up, it may seem unlikely but a family facing

foreclosure has been saved by none other than -- superman! and new recommendations for women whofeufa riag ree. we're back in two. e.

encouraging news for women trying to get pregnant again, research show that women who get pregnant less than six months after a miscarriage have the best chance of having a healthy pregnancy and that goes against the recommendation from the world health organization. which is currently advising women to wait six months before trying to get pregnant again. the advice does sometimes differ from doctor to doctor. >> it concerns everything that most women have gone on to have successful pregnancies after miscarriage probably already know but it he's reassuring to know that that's now going to be backed up by the advice given by medical practitioners. that the focus can be on, i guess, couples being emotionally ready. >> the study also says that waiting is especially

detrimental to women over the age of 35. as we all know, dementia robs people of their golden years long before their time. a new study shows that there are ways to cut your risk. french researchers say that reducing bouts of depression, getting an education and staying clear of heart and vascular disease cuts dementia cases by 21%. s last, big factors? increasing fruits and vegetables and steering clear of getting diabetes. the nation's newest supreme court justice was honored at a reception at the white house. newly-confirmed justice elena kagan was greeted with wild applause and a standing ovation. members of congress, the president's cabinet and supreme court justices ruth bader ginsburg and anthony kennedy were among the well-wishers. the family of the late supreme court justice thurgood marshall was on hand. kagan was once justice marshall's law clerk. >> much more importantly, this

is an obligation. an obligation to protect and preserve the rule of law in this country. an obligation to up hold the rights and liberties afforded by our remarkable constitution. >> kagan will be sworn in tomorrow at the supreme court as the successor to retired justice, john paul stephens. michelle obama has faced plenty of criticism for her spanish vacation when the u.s. economy is struggling. and the day at the beach leading to the latest outrage. after a day of sight seeing ifth first lady and her youngest daughter, sacha, hit the beach with their entourage. i don't know lookers were searched. the obamas are staying at a five-star luxury resort. back superman is helping to fight foreclosure, that's in a moment. what this droid does will change how you do movies.

with blockbuster on demand, this does hit films on a 4.3-inch screen so big, the way you see them will never be the same. introducing the new droid x. pre-loaded with blockbuster. the next generation of does. a budget disaster. california on the brink. jerry brown's plan? you run for office and the assumption is, oh, i know what to do. you don't. i didn't have a plan for california. [ female announcer ] with our state in crisis, we need a governor with a plan. you need a real plan, something i'll acknowledge i did not have.

[ female announcer ] jerry brown. no plan then. no plan now. meg whitman. a plan for jobs. log on. learn more.

superman as we know has saved countless number of people over the years and now, add a family facing foreclosure to the list. a family in the south who wishes to remain anonymous lived in their home 70s the 1950s and they were about to lose it to the bank and were packing up their things when they came across a box of comics in the basement. inside they found a copy of the first comic book in which superman appeared. the original price for the comic? 10 cents and now estimated to be worth at least $250,000. the family, needless to say, will be keeping their home and by some estimate wbs this comic book could bring in between three and four. keep their home, get a car and some furniture, too. >> miracles can happen. >> that's a miracle.

that's for sure. the "nightly news" is up next. thanks for joining us tonight at 5:00. seen see you again at 6:00. have been