they could take worker's rights away. >> reporter: now a team of federal negotiators, of federal mediators have been here since sunday says despite their best efforts they couldn't bridge the gap. so they announced they are headed back to washington. there is nothing more they can do. again the union announceing that unfortunately their workers will hit the picket line tomorrow morning. >> that means the train will stop rolling. reporting live in oakland, i'm jody hernandez, nbc bay area news. >> definitely disappointing news, jody. let's check in with kimberly perry who has reaction from bart riders. >> this is something bart riders have been dreading word of another strike. many tell us today they feel like they are victims of a vicious tug and war between bartd and its union. one step for them that has gone on for far too long.

negotiations between the two sides have lasted now for six months. still no resolution. in july a four-day strike crippled the mass transit system. riders say it was horrible then and are concerned it could be worse this time around since more people are on the road, going to work, dropping their kids off at school. >> i think it's ridiculous that they're repeatedly overnight, you know, trying to shut down bart. so it's hard for us commuters to even plan for the next day. yeah. >> what are you going to do? >> well, luckily, i don't have class tomorrow, but i have been staying up all night throughout this week trying to figure out what to do the next morning. >> frustration. i wish they dragged it on for so long, why don't they just settle it? so. >> what are you going to do tomorrow? >> work from home. i have my computer. >> reporter: many of bart riders say they have been living with anxiety over whether this day

would come. some say they stayed up late monday, tuesday, wednesday, all of these deadlines waiting for word on whether the train will run. now they're scrambling to find alternative plans, some who don't have cars told us getting to work will be next to impossible and they are concerned they may lose their job in the process. some 400,000 people use bart daily. we've heard some say they'll be crashing on couches with friends or working from home to avoid tomorrow in gridlock. live in san francisco, nbc bay area news. >> thanks. we continue our bart strike threat on bay area.com. click on the bart strike resources page. for more information. you can also sign up for an alert so you can get notified if we get confirmation of that strike, which looks like it is happening at midnight or miraculously there is a revolution. well, bart is in a crisis. the federal government is recovering from its crisis. bay area workers and tourists

couldn't be happier. for the first time since the october 1st government shutdown, visitors were allowed only a ka it is a and every boat today was full. alcatraz is a part of the huge park network which was closed by the 16-day political standoff. >> united. yes, happy not to be able to to yosemite. yes, wonderful news. to be able look at all the people here today they have been waiting to see this big tourist attraction. >> happy tourists. happy small businesses. also reopening today, muir woods and swenson. workers expressed relief at being back on the job. one of the post-beautiful places on earst also back in business. yosemite actually reopened last night within an hour of the house vote to end the shutdown. even outside of the park, small

towns >> here's steve handelsman in

washington, d.c. >> reporter: the closed signs came down. federal employees returned. >> it feels great to be back to work. >> reporter: vice president bidengreeted epa workers. they will get back pay. federal workers returned to the center for disease control. back in washington, the space museum opened. the u.s. capitol filled with tourists. ted cruz staged a photo-op outside. cruz forced the government shutdown at near default trying to kill obama care. president obama sternly warned congress. >> the american people are fed up with washington.

understand how business is done in this town has to change. >> reporter: little changed last night as lawmakers left the hill. they funded government for just three more months. a new committee of lawmakers got to work to try to prevent another crisis in january as the nation and the nation's employees tried to get over this month's crisis. new at 5:00, a suspicious package in san francisco's union square turned out to be nothing, but it forced the closure of the area and caused major delays this early afternoon. all businesses facing union square were all told to use their back doors only and shelter in place while the bomb squad investigating the package. after 90 minutes, the all clear was given. it's been a terrifying day if redwood city. 75 people are without a home

tonight after a massive fire ripped their complex. no lives were lost, but there is damage physically and emotionally. >> reporter: they escaped in seconds to spare. the investigation is still ongoing, so we don't know the cause of this fire. damages estimated at more than $3.5 million. firefighters tell me the fire started in a fourth floor apartment unit in the living room area of that apartment and it quickly spread to the entire complex. the fire marshal said this reason it spread quickly is this building had no fire sprinklers. it was what was going on inside that was even more terrifying. >> i came out. there was flames shooting out of

the apartment. >> just kind of like a quick grab for stuff. we went on the balcony and there was tons of people outside because the third floor you couldn't go in the hallway. >> reporter: they used their rock climbing gear to get down from their third floor balcony. >> we just kind of dropped down on to it. >> reporter: this woman in red couldn't get out her front door because flames were shooting down the hallway, so a firefighter carried her down a ladder to safety. most left with only a few belongings. one man didn't have time to put on his shoes. 75 evacuees registered at the

red cross shelter. all 75 units are considered unsuitable for living. had their been sprinklers in this building, some of the apartments might have been spared. >> fire sprinklers do save lives. >> reporter: as firefighters continue to mop up, they come to grips with what they have lost. they ever holding tight what they still have. we just got on update from the fire marshal. those four people who are unaccounted for have now been located. they searched this entire building and they found no victims. sadly, several pets died in this fire, including two guinea pigs. residents are asked to go to veterans senior center on madison avenue where they can spend the night. >> they were lucky to get out

alive. we'll take you underneath the bay area into a tunnel. a tunnel designed withstand a large earthquake, but for what? >> i didn't know i had forgotten how to drive. >> something as simple as being able to drive had been taken away because he spent years in prison for making the wrong choices. >> we're seeing a warm evening around the bay area right now. temperatures still in the 70s and 80s outside. we're starting to see some changes which will bring some cooler temperatures. could those changes include showers come sunday? we'll look at that when we come back.

take a look. these pictures captured the moment the bell tower of a church came crashing down. it's the oldest church in the philippines. the death toll after the earthquake there earlier this week. it continues to climb. the 7.2 magnitude quake hit tuesday morning. thousands of buildings were damaged. tonight the 24th anniversary of an earthearthquake. the utility took us behind the scenes of a new water pipeline und underneath the bay. >> reporter: i just got out of the tunnel a couple of hours ago. the engineers had to act fast to

prevent a water supply emergency here in the bay area. it is 120 feet beneath the surface of the earth. by this time next year, engineers hope to open the pipeline to millions of gallons of water. this is part of the water system improvement program. it is designed to with stand an earthquake with a 7.9 magnitude. there's long been a fear of major failure in a big quake. it had to act. >> to be able to deliver water in the case of an earthquake. we built this tunnel resilient to resist any activity in any one of the three faults. >> reporter: if they did nothing, the bay area could find

itself out of water for as long as two months after a major earthquake. the new pipeline is five miles long. engineers say the san francisco bay area is part of that ring of fire where 90% of the world's earthquakes happen. we have breaking news now from the peninsula. our helicopter over a horrible crash. twin boys are hospitalized. one in critical condition after an elderly driver plowed into them at the walgreens store on santa cruz avenue. police say the 90-year-old driver was trying to back out of a parking space, but hit the gas instead of the brake. the 6-year-old twins with an 11-year-old brother were pinned

to the building. one boy suffered major injuries is undergoing surgeries. the other two boys have nonlife threatening injuries. the ninth circuit court of appeals heard testimony on a case. the t-shirts had american flags on them. they were wearing them on cinco de mayo. the white students say they were only being patriotic. sounds a bit like a movie. michael santos' story begins with the movie scar face.

he aspired to be like tony montana. >> it's just the beginning of an amazing story of crime, punishment, and redemption. >> reporter: he moved as a 20-year-old to miami to live that dream and within two years he was a drug kingpin. at least that's what federal prosecutors called him when he was arrested. a conviction followed. before sentencing, santos says he vowed to do his time and change his ways. boy, did he ever. it's tonight's bay area proud. >> did everybody check their e-mail today? i sent you ten questions. >> reporter: san francis-- >> today we're going to talk about the federal prison system. >> reporter: michael was in federal custody. >> i just want to share my

experience with you. >> reporter: prison is where michael santos has spent the past 26 summers of his life. >> 9,500 days from entrance to release. >> reporter: it was in 1987 michael was convicted in federal court of being a drug kingpin of shipping kilos of cocaine from miami to seattle. before he was even sentenced, before he spent a single of those nights in prison, michael made one very good decision. he picked up a philosophy book and learned about socrates. >> when he had the opportunity to escape, he said, i'm not going to do that. i don't have the right to break the laws.

it transformed my life. >> reporter: he vowed then and there to do his time and educate himself and become a contributor to society. what followed was a bachelors degree and a masters degree. he was on his way to a phd until the warren shut that down. that enabled him to focus on writing aided by his wife carol. they met while michael was behind bars and have been married for ten years now. while in prison, michael published more than half a dozen books about his experience and prison life in general. it was one school that decided to add michael himself. >> i said, really? it was an amazing moment for me to know the university was going

to hire me. >> reporter: the transition was not without its bumps. >> the biggest surprise was learning how to drive. i know i had forgotten how to drive. as soon as i got behind the wheel, i realized i don't know how to drive. if you are the bright mind that this institution cultivates. >> reporter: michael true to form, has conquered that by now. he's traveling the country and spreading the word about what he sees is the biggest evil across the country. how society and prisoners can overcome it. >> i believe anybody can do it. anybody can become more than their past. >> stand up, be heard. >> reporter: michael has developed a program to help transition prisoners from when they get released into society.

he wrote the book. he made money while in prison and paid taxes. he came out of prison with $100,000. he baugs a house. just just a remarkable story. i bet there's going to be a movie. another day of beautiful weather. how long is this going to last? >> in san francisco, we're 73 degrees. san jose close to 80 right now. 82 in santa rosa. notice the winds started a bit of a sea breeze out there. we have high pressure on top of us. the air compresses down and warms up and dries out towards sea level. you see it right there.

high static electricity around the south bay right now. san jose 17%. you only get those numbers if you have very strong winds and high pressure. this is a super sized ridge of high pressure that we typically see in july. it has cleared out the gulf of alaska. things are staying dry and warm. if you like today, you're going to like tomorrow. you'll like the start of the weekend. we may have misty skies in monday morning. you see how far we have to go to find some chance of some rain. this is going to be thursday. that's outside our seven-day forecast. overnight tonight, chilly night. clear skies and dry area

allowing the temperatures to drop down to the mid 40s. close to 80 in san jose. mid 80s around the tri valley. a bit of an earlier start to the sea breeze that will cool off san francisco. into the low 70s tomorrow. mid 80s in the tri valley. the coast will start to cool down. continued cooling next week. this late taste of summer not going to hold on. we're going to see some cooling. just how bad is air pollution for you? the startling discovery when we return. pepper jack cheese, mushrooms,

jalapeños, bacon, tomato and avocado. i call it, "the avocado da vinci". create your om'lart with denny's build your own omelette menu.

new information out shows air pollution causes lung cancer. the world health organization said air pollution is a carcinogen. a quarter of a million people across the world died from lung cancer linked to air pollution. we'll be right back.

she is happy. the government shutdown is over. there's one federal worker here in the bay area that couldn't wait to get back to work. >> she's the country's oldest anytime park service ranger. we first met up with her whenfu. now she's back. >> it's exciting to me. i've been many people during my lifetime, but this betty is one that i think i identify with most clearly. >> she gives tours three days a week. we want to recap our top story, our breaking news that we continue to follow. there's been a breakdown in the bart negotiation late in afternoon. here's what you need to know.

bart workers are threatening a strike at midnight as the talks have broken off right now or broken down. we'll continue to follow the story at 6:00. taxpayer money. the big glitch. tonight we look inside to find out what went wrong with the rollout of the new health care law as so many americans still can't sign up. all around us. new evidence that's tough to take. it's because it's about a leading cause of cancer around the world. close calls. dick cheney is out with a surprising story of his own heart history and how close he came how many times, including an undisclosed heart scare he had on 9/11. and a woman who became an inspiration during the shutdown back on the job tonight. "nightly news" begins now.