. the dow closed higher today but it's what happened after the bell that may have you worried. for the first time in u.s. history, the country's credit rating is downgraded. >> from aaa to aa plus, a distinction meaning the u.s. may have a harder time to borrow money. standard and poors bumped the

u.s. from the highest possible rating down a notch. leaving the u.s. with a lower credit rating than countries like canada, france, germany and the united kingdom. >> reporter: jessica, of course, everyone wants to know what does that mean? how will it affect your retirement plan, ability to get a home loan or low interest rate on your credit card? a financial adviser says the impact will be immediate. >> it bothers me. i'm concerned. >> reporter: with much of his financial future tied up in his 401(k), robert is concerned, for good reason. >> in the last few days, it's down maybe $40,000. that's a significant amount. >> reporter: the 57-year-old scientist was planning on retiring within two years. but now with the nation's rating

being downgraded for the first time since 1917, he fears he'll have to stay in the workforce longer. >> i have a lot of money tied up in 401(k) plans and i'm expecting not to have to work for the rest of my life. >> absolutely the common man is going to suffer vis-a-vie highest interest rates. >> reporter: speaking to nbc bay area, new york city financial adviser raj gupta says we all should be worried about dropping the country's rating by one notch to aa plus. he says it could lead investors to demand higher interest rates from the federal government. >> all debt, whether it's credit debt, mortgage debt, it's likely to suffer. >> reporter: s&p's move comes after congress haggled over budget cuts and the nation's borrowing limit. >> the big challenge is getting the fiscal house in order.

>> reporter: until then, don't plan on retiring early. save as much as possible. and try to keep your portfolio diversified. he says it's a reality he never thought he would see in the u.s. economy. >> i thought that the economy in this country was solid and i figured that i would be able to retire early because my wife and i saved and did well. >> reporter: another economist we spoke to says the impact will be minimal. he argued that other rating agencies disagree with the s&p and this is all about the political climate, not about what's happening in the u.s. obviously, time will tell. and all eye also be on the market when they open monday morning. >> thank you, elise. today's news could make the cost of a college education even higher. making sure that there is enough saved for college, the tricks to paying that huge bill, even during tough times.

a bench clearing brawl tonight at at&t park. it started aft ramone ramirez hit shane victorino who then charged the mound. henry, what happened? >> baseball fans realized there was bad blood and don't expect to seems to sing kumbaya in the future. shane victorino was at the plate. ramone ramirez hits him in the back with a fastball. ely whiteside is ready to fight. and the brawl lasted a minute and 20 seconds. very long for a fight. shane victorino was the only philly ejected from the game. two giants were ejected. ramone ramirez and ely whiteside. here's what bruce bochy had to say after the game. >> hey, it's baseball.

you know, it happened fast and tempers flared. you know, it's part of the game. but hopefully nobody got hurt out there. >> well, the fight continued as we mentioned a minute and 20 seconds. expect several suspensions and fines and they could come down even during this weekend. much more coming up, much more interviews from the giants coming up in about 15 minutes. >> thank you, henry. it was a must have different mood before the game tonight when the giants and the phillies actually came together to honor that young fan run down by a suspected drunk driver. just as the 9-year-old and his family were leaving last night. ryan white, we have his photograph for you, and his family. he's in critical condition tonight. jean elle is at the hospital and jean, do we have any word on how the boy is doing? >> reporter: he is in critical

condition surrounded by family tonight. both the giants and the phillies have reached out to the family offering support and assistance and tonight, thousands of fans are rooting for a full recovery. giants and phillies fans walked to at&t park under the eyes of traffic safety officers, directing cars and people so they don't fix. some visiting fans say walking in san francisco is dicey. >> really busy, lots of people, crazy. >> reporter: safety is a priority outside the ballpark. but several blocks away at mission and new montgomery, fans are on their own. that's where a drunk driver hit 9-year-old ryan white in a cross walk. he was walking to his hotel with his family after the thursday night game. this family photo is from his mother's facebook page. ryan is the smaller boy. they're visiting from pennsylvania. now white is in critical condition with a head injury at san francisco general hospital.

fans at the ballpark friday night had a moment of reflection in his honor. >> keep ryan and his family in your thoughts and prayers. >> reporter: ryan and his brother are big phillies' fans. >> they're always out playing ball, throwing the ball back and forth. >> reporter: san francisco police arrested andrew vargas. you can see the truck he was driving had front end damage. they say he was driving erratically and hit several cars along with white. at the ballpark, fans who are saddened by white's injury are twiing twice about walking. >> take cabs. >> reporter: suspect var cass is held on suspicion of driving under the influence. reporting live in san francisco, jean elle, nbc bay area news. >> thanks, jean. police are hoping newly

released video will help them catch two men outside a bingo hall. in the upper left hand corner, you will see two men approach the victim there. they knock him down and take off. this happened in the parking lot of the american legion home. the two men are still on the loose tonight. parents in the gilroy area are watching their children more closely after police informed them that some men may be trying to kidnap young kids. it's happened twice in the last two weeks. the first incident happened last week on miller avenue when a man ordered a 10-year-old girl to get into his car. the second incident happened this past wednesday on or tago circle. a man tried to lure three kids away asking them to come to a nearby restaurant with them. george kiriyama is live with the story. george? >> reporter: a few families are thankful that all the lessons about stranger danger paid off

when put to the test. tonight we talk with one boy who did the right thing by running away. 11-year-old jacob flores says a stranger came up to them. >> he just asked us if we wanted to go with him. >> reporter: he wanted to know their names. he said something didn't feel right. >> since he's a stranger, i don't think i should go with him any place. none of us answered his questions. all of us were like really scared, because we had no idea what to do. >> reporter: but they refused to go with the man. instead, they ran and told their parents what happened. >> i was proud of him and of the girls, as well. i think they did exactly what they were supposed to do and what we taught them to do. as a mom, that made me feel good. >> reporter: on miller avenue, police say there was another attempt at kidnapping, this time a 10-year-old girl was out in driveway getting clothes from a family car when a man in a honda drove up.

the girl's uncle did not want to be shown. >> yelled at her to get in the car. she screamed and ran to the house. >> reporter: she said she learned how to deal with a danger at home and school. >> we were very happy that she had gotten -- ran to the house and got inside the house. >> reporter: both families say they know how lucky they are. >> you think about what could have happened had they not reacted the way they did. just a real sense of relief they knew what to do. >> reporter: police are looking for a white dirty looking 1990s two-door honda with a black colored roof and modified exhaust. this was seen by the family on miller avenue. investigators believe both attempted kidnappings are not related. if you know anything, call police. george kiriyama, nbc bay area news. >> george, thanks for the update. still ahead, home invasion

robbery attempt foiled. how a teen helped defend a friend's house with quick thinking. you scrimp and save but there may be something else you could do to pay for college. the one trick to paying that huge bill even during tough times like these. and proof that hard work can pay off. you'll meet the young man who stayed away from gangs in east san jose and tonight learned he may be soon competing in the 2012 olympic games. and in san jose right now, 62 degrees, clear skies in san jose, very foggy now in san francisco. low clouds part of the morning forecast. and will those clouds spoil what has been a spectacular night for northernatghe mie t ser lateghni to what we might see later tonight, coming up. turn left.

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to kraft natural shredded cheese, which adds a touch of creamy to any dish. kraft touch of philly shredded cheese. we're not just making great cheese. we're taking it further. ♪ it's happened again. another kid buried alive in the sand. this time near huntington beach in southern california. here's a picture taken by a witness. the 11-year-old was digging a tunnel when it collapsed on top of him late this afternoon. it took about two minutes to dig him out. he was breathing but had sand in his mouth. no word on his condition.

a witness described the chaotic scene. >> it must have been about a dozen men that pulled him out and starting do -- and the life guard started doing cpr. it took him a minute before he came to. he thought we had lost him. >> just two days ago a 17-year-old nearly died and last month a danville teen was buried alive. he remains in a coma. a savvy 15-year-old foils a robbery. >> he pointed the gun at my face. >> that friend says three men tried to rob his dad as he returned home to their apartment in mountain view. victor's pal, jesus romero, was fiddling with a broken bb gun. when he saw the robbers, he pretended tdheoa l the gun, which sent the men running.

>> if he had come in, he would have probably shoot us. >> police say while romero was brave, they say it's usually not a good idea to confront anyone with a hand gun. no kids allowed. some airlines, hotels and movie theaters are considering the idea. now runlts are on board. caps restaurant in florida has a no-kid section. the owners say they have received complaints since they started the section three years ago but business is g.booainom many grownups are enjoying their quiet dinners. >> we want to have a nice bottle of wine and dinner, you should be able to do that without children crying and running in and out. >> we're not babysitters. >> other parts of the restaurant are kid friendly but just not one room of that restaurant. the cutoff age is 16. passengers hoping to get a

refund are out of look. today, the irs reversed course saying people who bought tickets before the shutdown and flew in the last two weeks will not get their money back. one more note, now that the shut down ended, you can expect to see those taxes back on tickets as of sunday. if you have a debit card, you may be getting money back from the bank. they just settled a class action lawsuit over the way it processes debit transactions. people who had debit cards from 2001 to may of this year and paid overdraft fees as a result of that process would get those fees refunded. >> >> can you afford college? a question more parents and students are asking, especially here in the bay area where fees and tuition costs keep rising.in but there are new ways to ease

the financial pinch. vicky nguyen has more. >> reporter: he's already thinking like a businessman and came up with a plan to save $500 a semester. ray designed a hybrid college schedule. he'll take one course for his major at san jose state and taking a full load at deanza college where fees are cheaper. he says the credits will count toward his degree and keep him on track to graduate on time. ching ching lu turned h hobby into a cash maker. >> my life, my adventure, everything. >> reporter: he applied google ad sense to her blog, which averages 100 visitors a day. she brings in about $100 a month just for writing about her life. >> i figured why not try this? i have a lot of friends who read my blog. >> reporter: she also recommends students find an on campus job instead of an off site job to

save on gas and time. >> it saves a lot of headaches and commuting. >> the cost of education is going up by 6% a year. >> reporter: 529 plans are a good place to invest and offers parents a tax break. >> many people consider it as an alternative to paying an estate taxes, if they have a sizable estate. in 18 years, it's estimated it will cost $240,000 for a public four-year education here in california. double that if you want to send your student to a private college or university. >> are you saving enough? and if not, what's the gap? >> reporter: and just how much you need to save is no longer a mystery. online tools like this one allow you to build profiles for each student and even plug in the exact numbers for specific schools. >> this is the amount you're going to have saved up. >> reporter: even with the rising cost and fees, the return

on a college education is still worth tin vestment. >> your average grad earns 60% to 70% more than someone that doesn't go to college. and that's in the first year. >> reporter: so whether you're a student or a parent planning for the future, there are creative ways to get the credits for less cash. vicky nguyen, nbc bay area news. >> it does sound astounding. >> let's take a look at our forecast, our weekend forecast with rob mayeda, in for jeff ranieri. >> sunshine and fog still comes for free, compared to that story. 62 degrees right now in san jose. we're awaiting the low clouds. not too bad in san jose right now. 56 degrees in oakland. across the golden gate bridge, well, we're back in the drizzle storm again, seeing some of the mist flying probably through about 9:00 tomorrow morning and some clearing around san francisco. temperatures right now, 50s and 60s outside. and a healthy sea breeze pumping

in the low clouds. you see the winds west at 16 miles per hour and southwest at 14, bringing in the low clouds into our north bay valleys, as well. so temperatures as behead towards tomorrow, air quality is going to be great. things are not going to be too hot. we should see the temperatures in fremont in the 80s. we're going to see the low clouds hanging out along the coast, for most of the weekend. there.1:c in the meantime inland, temperatures should climb into the 70s and 80s. so the weather headlines, drizzle to start the day, sunny skies inland. upper 80s well inland and next week we'll see warming but temperatures overall staying below average. now the northern lights have dropped into the northern part of the u.s. some sightings in colorado to the east and some of the views have been tremendous, from germany over towards scotland,

the netherlands, seeing the brightest light display in many years. and now over to maine, that was the view on the east coast earlier tonight. now seeing some sights in colorado and idaho. so tonight, we'll hope that our skies stay clear long enough. prime viewing is from midnight to 3:00 a.m. so if you don't have low clouds, look for the northern lights. in the morning, low clouds and misty skies, 60s and 70s on our way to 80s inland for tomorrow. and pretty much the same story on sunday. this mild weather pattern will take us through next week and maybe some 90s monday and tuesday. >> i like the forecast. coming up, we'll go back to at&t park and that fightts and . the giants and the phills.

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> putting him in contention to go to the 2012 games in london. his olympic journey began in east san jose with the help of his brother. lopez has been training boxers for 30 years but never had an olympian, until now.

>> this will be the pinnacle. this is what every amateur boxer, this is what our program is all about, for them to reach their potential. >> she hasn't quite made it to next year's summer games yet. he has to qualify at the world championships which take place next month. and we wish him the best. >> what a great story. the other big sorts news, the at&t park, the giants game at at&t park, what a brawl. let's check in with henry. >> a boxing story over to the boxing that took place at at&t. yes, the giants and phillies acting like enemies and boy, did it get ugly. all your highlights and tell you who got ejected. plus hear from a player when we -dad, why are you getting that? -that's my cereal.

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have you considered this ? it's got all that and more than 200,000 apps. technology to learn and play on-the-go. only at verizon. android powered. playstation certified. the xperia play by sony ericsson. only $99.99. welcome back to nbc bay area. fans paid to see a baseball game but had no idea wrestlemania would break out in the 6th inning at at&t park tonight. giants and phillies, oh, boy, did they work up a sweat. catcher ely whiteside gives

ramone ramirez the signal to throw a fastball inside. ramirez hits shane victorino in the back and then it was on. whiteside is pumped up, ready to fight. yes, and there was phillies ready to fight. benches clear and there's multiple fights going on, all at once. the brawl lasted almost a minute and a half. shane victorino was the only philly ejected. plus two giants ejected from the game. ramone ramirez and ely whiteside. here's what the guys had to say after the game. >> i just called for a fastball inside and, you know, a little too far inside. >> did they do anything objectionable earlier on in the game in your estimation? >> i don't think so. >> i had no intentions of going out there and charging the mound. i just wanted to know why he was around the plate all night and throughout that inning. obviously two outs, i get up to the plate and the first pitch is

at my back. i just wanted to get an answer. i had no intentions of charging the mound. i did step forward and obviously ely felt like from looking at his reaction thought i was going to go and he started jumping around and he tackled polanco and everything escalated from there. >> we have no injuries, and that's the good thing. hey, it's baseball and it happened fast and tempers flared. it's part of the game. hopefully nobody got hurt out there. >> phillies went on to win the game 9-2. but when the phillies had the lead 8-2, they were still stealing bases and many believe that's why the giants started to throw at the phillies. one thing is for sure, we all get along here and that's what

matters z. there's no brawling he. .e >> one big happy family. >> we'll be right back. [ female announcer ] at the jcpenney huge sale, back to school style is hugely affordable! with unbeatable doorbusters... ...find huge savings... like $14.99 juniors' dresses.... ...$12.99 boys' and girls' arizona jeans.... ....and $4.99 guys' screen tees. save huge on nike and new balance shoes too -- just $38.99! plus, with jcp cash, earn 10, 15 or 20 dollars off on the spot.

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do you snail mail? not many do anymore, with e-mail and the internet, it seems putting pen to paper has become a lost art. a san francisco man has decided to bring it back. ivan cash has launched a project called sni mail e-mail.org. people can send him an e-mail and a team of volunteers will hand write an actual letter and mail it. since launching the project, they have mailed 2,500 letters across the globe and i hear they will include the postage for you. >> why not just write the letter yourself? >> laziness. >> that's going to do it for us. have a great weekend. >> bi bye. indu