like they don't have the energy. they have lost their homes and along with them, a big chunk of their lives. that fact has never been so painfully clear was it was today, as homeowners got their last chance to comb through the ashes where their houses once stood. the city of san bruno will soon knock down these chimneys and fireplaces that in many cases are the only remnants of the families that lived there. off camera one man told us after searching for hours, he didn't find anything that he could keep. well, the people with red-tagged homes are facing the worst challenges. some work is still being done on the green-tagged homes where residents have been able to return. >> this lady here, the blast actually broke her window in the master bedroom and the soot carried throughout the house. >> reporter: serve pro is one of the countries pg&e is paying to go through these homes and remove the residue and scent left in these homes that could cause respiratory problems. these burned bits on the ground are pieces of paper, photos or

chemicals that crews are picking up. public works is worried about what would happen to the ash and chemicals if weather forecasts are accurate and it actually rains this weekend. these bags filled with rocks are being placed around catch basins to filter out sediment and hazardous materials before they get washed into the bay. >> right here where we are, we're in the lowest location, so everything is going to run this way if it rains. >> reporter: now, the city of san bruno has not issued a timetable of exactly when they plan to level these red-tagged properties but they have told the homeowners that they won't be able to return. live in san bruno, traci grant, nbc bay area news. >> thank you. there was a warning today about scam artists trying to take advantage of fire victims. the state department of insurance called a press conference to say that it's going to be watching closely for contractors who are not licensed and for people promising legal and insurance help. police also announced the arrest of four people who were allegedly trying to get free

food and other help by posing as victims of the explosion. police say one couple came to san bruno to try to cash in on the services being offered to victims and a pair of women who do not live in the blast zone were arrested the same day. well, the smell of gas this morning led to the evacuation of a san bruno elementary school. portola elementary is located less than a mile away from the site of last week's explosion. there was no gas leak found. several firefighters and pg&e trucks were called out just in case. while the all clear was soon given, classes were cancelled for the rest of the day. >> they smelled gas this morning and i guess because of what happened last week, they were -- they decided to be as cautious as possible and evacuate everybody out. they did a great job. >> san francisco elementary school was also evacuated this afternoon. a fire official there says reports of customers who smell gas have increased following last week's explosion and fire. family and friends are

gathering tonight to remember a mother and daughter killed in the san bruno explosion. 44-year-old jacqueline gregg and her 13-year-old daughter, janessa are among the four people killed in the explosion. family and friends will gather at st. cecilia church in san francisco which is affiliated with the school janessa went to. a vigil for jessica morales who was also killed in the fire is scheduled for tomorrow as well. stay with nbc bay area news for continuing coverage of the san bruno explosion. we'll have a special section at our website at nbcbayarea.com. well, this was not a false alarm. we're following developing news out of oakland where a contractor broke a three-inch steel gas line today causing the evacuations of buildings just east of lake meritt. the leak was reported around 1:00. a pg&e spokesperson said the contractor was installing cables in the area when the line ruptured. no customers have lost service. new tonight at 5:00, a san

francisco man pled guilty today to threatening house speaker nancy pelosi because of her support of the president's health care bill. he admitted to making more than 30 abusive and harassing phone calls to pelosi's home and office. he even spoke directly to pelosi in march and threatened to destroy her northern california home if she voted for the health care legislation. under a deal with prosecutors, he'll be sentenced to 21 months in prison and ordered to stay at least 100 yards away from pelosi, her family and her staff when he is released. also new at 5:00 tonight, the california government claims board unanimously voted to reject a claim filed by the mother of jaycee dugard. terry probin wanted the california department of corrections to pay more than $25,000 in compensation for emotional and psychological injury caused by her daughter's abduction. she said various lapses by the corrections department contributed to jaycee dugard's continued captivity, ongoing

sexual assault and abuse. a board spokesperson said today's decision was a formality. anyone who believes the state has caused them harm must first file a government claim before they begin litigation against the state. well, it was certainly an unusual sight today as a cargo ship arrived at the port of oakland. the ship struck a whale, apparently at sea, and then dragged it into port. the coast guard believes the whale was already dead when it was hit because there appear to be shark bites on the carcass. the national marine fishery service will have to figure out how to get the whale off of the ship. investigators will also take samples in order to learn more about the whale, including its species. the state's budget deadlock is poised to be the longest in california history. today marks the 78th day lawmakers have gone without approving a budget. despite this, legislative leaders say they are making progress. senate president said today democrats and republicans are about $2 million away from a

deal. some lawmakers have suggested borrowing from the state's largest pension fund, calpers, to help balance the books. >> it's frustrating, it's maddening and it's embarrassing. the people of california, i think, have every right to be unhappy about it. >> calpers would have to approve any loan to the state and the organization has already released a letter yesterday blasting that proposal. well, the bay area housing market is struggling, if you've heard. and the latest numbers prove it. nbc bay area's business and tech reporter scott budman is here. scott, what's wrong? >> reporter: lisa, we are still too nervous to pull the trigger on a new house. home sales here still falling. now an 18-year low because potential buyers are worried about the future. lack of job security still trumping falling prices and interest rates. bay area sales dropped slightly more than 1% last month. we're now down 11% from this time last year. tough times continue for the

overall economy as well. the poverty rate in america is now the highest we've seen in 16 years. 14.3% of us are now considered poor. one in every seven people in america were found to be poor last year. that's a rise of 8% from the year before. poverty means an income of just above $10,000 for someone who's single, $22,000 for a family of four. and more bad news, lenders took back a record 95,000 homes in august, but the number of people starting the foreclosure process and new unemployment claims are both dropping, positive signs, and president obama took credit. >> we've had to act across many fronts to get folks back on their feet. >> reporter: soon after the president got a win, two senate republicans joined democrats to okay the next obama economic plan. the $30 billion small business bill to open up to $300 billion in credit.

democrats say it will help create half a million jobs. speaker pelosi says the house will okay the small business bill but will not okay extending the bush era tax cuts for the wealthy. >> tax cuts at the high end have not produced any jobs. they have only increased the deficit. >> reporter: that's the next big fight. >> republicans in the house and senate are united, that this is not the time to increase taxes on anyone in america. >> reporter: and as many as 31 house democrats agree. one area of strength, the stock market. after an august swoon, stocks have been hot so far through september. another up day overall today thanks largely in the drop in first-time unemployment claims. stock also where we might see some optimism tomorrow. tech giants oracle and research in motion both reporting better than expected earnings tonight. both saw share prices spike higher in after-hours trading. >> scott, thank you. still ahead this evening at 5:00, is life as the first lady not all it's cracked up to be?

the alleged comment by michelle obama that has the white house doing damage control. also coming up, they say breaking up is hard to do, but if falling in love can be just as hard on your social circle. speaking of social connections, you might be surprised by a new study on who is more likely to get the flu. and good afternoon. i'm chief meteorologist jeff ranieri holding on to a little bit of heat today in the east and the south bay with some 70s and low 80s, but still a few cool spots across the map. as we look into tomorrow in the south bay, upper 60s at 11:00 a.m. as we look into the weekend, we're still tracking showers. your full timeline in minutes. and an alarming report on drug use here in america. what experts say is behind a major spike ouns

our state is in a real mess. and i'm not going to give you any phony plans or snappy slogans that don't go anywhere. we have to make some tough decisions. we have to live within our means. we have got to take the power from the state capitol and move it down to the local level, closer to the people. and no new taxes, without voter approval. we have got to pull together not as republicans or as democrats but as californians first. at this stage in my life, i'm prepared to do exactly that. super amoled screen. six-axis 3d gaming and access to thousands of free apps. all in one ultra-thin package. you want it, we got it.

the samsung fascinate. only at verizon. carly fiorina laid off 30,000 workers. when you're talking about massive layoffs, which we did... perhaps the work needs to be done somewhere else. [ male announcer ] fiorina shipped jobs to china. and while californians lost their jobs, fiorina tripled her salary. bought a million dollar yacht. and five corporate jets. i'm proud of what i did at hp. [ male announcer ] carly fiorina. outsourcing jobs. out for herself. [ barbara boxer ] i'm barbara boxer and i approve this message.

in the south bay, two men are dead, killed in a crash following an aborted police chase. the chp says at about 1:30 this rning tw officers stopped a vehicle with no license plate, but it sped off when they approached. investigators say the officers turned on their lights and siren, but lost the vehicle and called off the pursuit. minutes later, they spotted the suv driving erratically before it lost control and crashed on st. james and north 6th streets. the two men in the back seat were killed. police are still not sure why the driver took off. a man who became distraught as a doctor explained his mother's medical condition pulled out a gun today and shot the doctor at johns hopkins hospital in baltimore. the shooting led to a two-hour stand-off. the gunman then shot and killed his mother before he turned the gun on himself. the doctor is expected to survive.

>> during the course of the conversation with the doctor, mr. davis removed a small, semiautomatic handgun from his waist area, waistband area, and fired a single gunshot that struck the doctor in the lower chest, upper abdomen. >> it is unclear what the gunman's mother was being treated for at hopkins. the hospital is well known for its cancer research and treatment. now to an alarming new government report on illegal drug use. researchers say it is at its highest level in a decade. >> and as nbc bay area's damian trujillo reports, a growing acceptance of one type of drug is considered a major factor. >> reporter: a growing number of teens and young americans turn to illegal drugs last year according to a government report. the rate of use shot up nearly 9%, the highest in a decade. >> the increases that we've

seen, both 12 to 17-year-olds and 18 to 25-year-olds include increases in the use of marijuana, prescription drugs, ecstacy and methamphetamine in different places. >> reporter: reports showed nearly 35,000 people die each year of drug overdoses. >> that's actually greater in 17 states than from car crashes. it is greater nationwide than from gunshot wounds. so we really need to start paying attention to the drug problem in this country, particularly with our youth. >> reporter: first lady nancy reagan led the effort of the "just say no" efforts in schools. fast forward to this decade, 14 states have legalized marijuana for medical use. arizona and south dakota voters take up the issue on ballots this november. changes in attitudes, health experts say, may leave the wrong impression, that recreational use of drugs is not dangerous. >> we've also seen, when we ask

questions about young people's perception of risk of drugs, that they don't see drugs as risky. >> reporter: this november california could become the first state to legalize marijuana for personal use. for adults 21 and older. health experts say no matter what states do, parents need to caution their children about the dangers of illegal drug use and keep prescription drugs out of reach. damian trujillo, nbc bay area news. some encouraging signs tonight that parents are getting their kids vaccinated. the centers for disease control today reports that immunization rates are near or above the 90% level. epidemiologists say it's good news after reports that parents were increasingly reluctant to get their children vaccinated because of fears of a link between vaccines and autism. studies have failed to establish such a link. an overhaul of retirement benefits for uc workers is officially underway as leaders voted to boost contributions to their pensions.

beginning in july, employee contributions will rise from 2% to 3.5%. in july of 2012, it will rise to 5%. but the university will also be paying more as well. the uc pension fund faces a $12 billion shortfall. until this year neither workers or the uc system had made any payments for 20 years. well, despite a ban on texting behind the wheel, a new study shows more california drivers are doing it. the survey, conducted in orange county, found that nearly 3% of drivers texted from behind the wheel. that's twice the rate of drivers surveyed in january of 2009 when the ban went into effect. drivers caught texting are fined $20 for a first offense. nearly 6,000 people died in car accidents in 2008 that were blamed on distracted driving. the bay area has a new clean air blueprint. the air quality management district comes up every three

years with ideas to make the air healthier. up for consideration now requiring that homes with open heart fireplaces be upgraded to low-emitting inserts or stoves before they are sold. that's been considered before. starting a bay area version of cash for clunkers to get more polluting cars off of the streets. another idea would require dairy farmers to give their cows special feed to reduce the amount of methane gas they emit. not all measures get adopted. those are just a few of the ideas that are now under consideration. >> well, it seems like plenty of clean air to me. a beautiful day. >> yeah, yeah, yeah. we've been staying away from those hot temperatures that typically reduce the air quality out there. let's go ahead and look outside right now. the fog has moved in. we have 73 in san francisco and we did manage some sunshine in and throughout the city today. winds westerly at 20 miles per hour. let's get you out of the fog here in oakland looking toward san francisco. we still have some sunshine here with 71 currently and winds west at 13 miles per hour.

now, currently right now temperatures, well, they're down here along the coastline with the fog just holding put, not wanting to go anywhere the past couple of days. we do have some pockets of heat out here. 81 in livermore, 71 in hayward, 76 in san jose and 81 in gilroy, so some of you in the east bay right about where we should be for this time of the year. the thing all of you are wondering about is not the fog but the showers we have been previewing. the system looks to stay offshore a little longer, so for friday the system is mainly offshore. that will still bring us 70s inland but that will keep showers in our weekend forecast here, mainly for sunday at this point. we'll have more on the timeline in a minute but let's get to what's happening right now. the current radar is dry. we do have some moisture streaming offshore with a front that's lingering. this is not going to bring us the rainfall here as we head into the weekend. the system we're watching is still more to the south and still several hundred miles out here towards the west. so this weakened system is shaping up in pretty good fashion, tapping into some moisture in this rare oddity of

showers this early, still looks to come into play. so 6:00 a.m. friday it's dry in the north bay, dry for the entire region. by 6:00 p.m. friday still dry in the north bay. s may see a few showers north of santa rosa. saturday p.m. is when our better chance of showers will be here in the north bay. but it's really all about sunday at this point as the timeline has been pushed back. 6:00 a.m. on sunday, north bay, east bay and south bay will get in on a chance of showers and that continues into sunday p.m. as well. totals anywhere from a trice right around 0.15 of an inch for this timeline. the east bay as we look at tomorrow, we'll start off with low clouds and upper 50s. by 11:00 a.m. the sun pops out and we'll look at temperatures in the upper 60s. for the overnight hours low to mid-50s in the east bay and 50s back towards the peninsula. south bay tomorrow, close to 80 degrees for morgan hill, also

for gilroy. as we look at dublin 75. slight cooling in livermore to 77. 77 in san jose. the peninsula expecting a wide range of anywhere from upper 60s in san francisco to 75 in redwood city. oakland 71, san ramon 78, napa 79. we'll see a decent amount of sunshine for tomorrow as the showers once again have been pushed back a little bit as the system is kind of slow to get here. morning time on the weather channel on cable. a slight chance of scattered showers on saturday. once again mainly for the north bay. it's about sunday for the entire bay area for those scattered showers. temperatures in the mid-70s. as fall arrives on wednesday, wouldn't you know it, the temperatures warm up -- >> of course. >> -- to 80 degrees. >> we're not complaining. >> that's right on schedule. >> thanks, jeff. and still ahead at 5:00, splish splash. a sneak peek at what may be the world's largest water show. also coming up, the cost of love. why gaining a partner can cost you some friends.

and the controversy surrounding michelle obama's alleged comment about life as the first lady. we'll be right back.er wouldn't it be nice if every time meg whitman told a lie her nose would grow? newspapers report the claims in this meg whitman ad are false. and she knows it. taxes went down under jerry brown. but whitman's nose keeps growing by the millions.

meg whitman's nose keeps growing. whitman says california lost jobs under jerry brown. turns out 1.9 million jobs were created. she spent millions saying jerry brown raised taxes. fact is brown cut 4 billion in taxes. but whitman's nose keeps growing by the millions.

the first lady does not hate her job, that assurance today from the white house. michelle obama is known for her community outreach and her willingness to get her hands dirty, whether she's painting a home, a garage or digging in the white house vegetable garden. but a new book claims she's really gritting her teeth at such events. the book about france's first lady claims mrs. obama told carla bruni sarkozy that life in the white house is, well, hell, i can't stand it. they deny either woman said any such thing. if you tend to be one of those people that gets the flu before anyone else does? congratulations. it could mean you're popular.

researchers followed some 800 harvard students and found those who were the most social became sick at least two weeks before the less popular classmates. researchers say this is important information because it could help them identify an epidemic before it spreads. well, certainly most of us are familiar with the concept of making sacrifices for love. but a new british study finds that when lovers pair up, they lose friends. the research finds that most people have about 150 friends and family and aquaintances with about five of those people making up an inner circle, just like on the tv show "friends." but when a romantic relationship begins, that inner circle drops from five friends to four. the reason? well, romance is time-consuming and lovers have less time for others in their lives. luckily when monica and chandler married, nobody quit the show. oh, that was such a reli what's considered to beck with what's considered to be the world's largest water show. [ male announcer ] jerry brown's good old days.

but what really happened? cnn -- not me -- cnn says his assertion about his tax record was "just plain wrong." jerry brown went out there and took credit for the fact that the people of california voted for proposition 13, which lowered taxes, which he opposed. and now he's going around taking credit for it. he raised taxes as governor of california. he had a surplus when he took office and a deficit when he left. he doesn't tell the people the truth.

and a deficit when he left.

well, look at that. a new show in china looks like a cross between the bellagio fountains in las vegas and cirque du soleil. a chinese casino premiered the world's largest water show called "the house of dancing water" and it's performed by a cast of 77 people wearing elaborate and waterproof costumes. the stage is an enormous tank which holds the equivalent of five olympic-sized pools. it's the only show we know of which has scuba divers on the stage set. >> it's all wet. >> it's all wet and getting wetter too. here they go. >> up next on "nightly news" in

times like these, why are people rushing to buy gold? >> thank you for being with us at 5:00. we'll have more local news coming your way at 6:00 and look for you then. r state is in a real mess. and i'm not going to give you any phony plans or snappy slogans that don't go anywhere. we have to make some tough decisions. we have to live within our means. we have got to take the power from the state capitol and move it down to the local level, closer to the people. and no new taxes, without voter approval. we have got to pull together not as republicans or as democrats but as californians first. at this stage in my life, i'm prepared to do exactly that. baccalaureate. correct. [ audience groans ] since this competition has been continuing for 48 hours and we have yet to eliminate anyone, it is the decision of this board to declare all 20 contestants winners. you have all competed admirably. admirably.

a-d-m-i-r-a-b-l-y. admirably. [ male announcer ] at&t is making high speed internet affordable for only $14.95 a month with select services. at&t. rethink possible. carly fiorina laid off 30,000 workers. when you're talking about massive layoffs, which we did... perhaps the work needs to be done somewhere else. [ male announcer ] fiorina shipped jobs to china. and while californians lost their jobs,