john fowler, ktvu channel 2 news. >> john, there's fire started at the height of rush hour. can you tell us how traffic is being affected? >> reporter: there is a traffic break here. a police officer is making sure that traffic gets through. folsom st., however, is blocked. people are trying to get around this part of san francisco and pacing somewhat of an obstacle. >>> nurses are preparing to walk off the job. new at 7:00, jana katsuyama is live outside the hospital with the labor dispute is already impacting patients. >> reporter: nurses are expected to start picketing at 7:00 a.m. tomorrow. patients could find that this quietness tomorrow is not so quiet. joshua is just two years old, too young to understand the impact that his mother does. she drove more than 100 miles so she could make three dr. appointments today. >> he had an appointment tomorrow and they had to reschedule it today because they are going on strike. >> reporter: negotiations are breaking down and two-day nurses prepare their picket signs. >> we had been negotiating since last may and our contract expi

ktvu's john fowler tells us why and what that could mean for arnold schwarzenegger. >>> well tomorrow's either the end of the world as we know it or just another saturday. depends on what and whom you believe. you may have heard the rapture is just hours away. ktvu's paul chamber live in oakland where at least some people are taking that claim very seriously. >> reporter: we're outside family radio. there's protesters here right now. do not believe in judgment day, the signs speak for themselves. but we came early to talk to them, but they closed early to let their families spend the last day as they know it. >> you never know. >> it's the end of the world some where and the world is still here. >> how are you going to tell us that today is the ends of the world. how do they figure that? >> that's the same question i asked the spokesperson of family radio on the phone today. >> the date is engraved in the bible. that's in stone. >> reporter: looking in matthew 24:26 it says no one knows about the day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, not even the son but the father. >> i said it w

john fowler has more on that railroad . >> on that. >> reporter: right now doctors say he is in critical condition still, but signs of progress continue. >> however i'm happy to report that after 30 hours of e o g monitoring he has had no further activity. >> reporter: they say after he was transferred to san francisco monday he was able to stop one of five high dose anti- seizure medicines. the 42-year-old paramedic was severely beaten outside dodgers stadium 48 days ago. >> i think it is great that he is closer to home. and i think having his family around him will help him to make more progress. >> reporter: it is known as a top place for recovery. >> this will bring him back. >> reporter: they say they worked a miracle on his cousin. >> within a couple of months he was up and walking just like normal. gunshot to the head. >> reporter: doctors say traumatic brain injury is very complicated, even mysterious. but that stowe now briefly opens his eyes and responds to pressure stimulus. >> he is beginning to show pressure functions, but again, how it relates to the long-term progress is s

but first, we talk to john fowler, who is at ocean beach. and john, some people should have been at work? >> reporter: yes, can you blame them. this is ocean beach right now, barely a breath of wind. temperatures in the mid-70s, people streaming here. and i should tell you about 3:00 today, the temperature hit 83. >> reporter: it felt more like a southern california summer day. several thousand people at ocean beach. we found some playing hooky. >> my wife actually, she called in sick today. we -- we woke up this morning, it was really nice so we decided to come to the beach. >> reporter: others did have the day off. >> too beautiful to stay inside. >> reporter: you're not working? >> no, i am a union painter, look out for me. >> actually i was trying to get away from the heat of marin county. and it is cooler here, the nice ocean breeze is nice. >> reporter: downtown san francisco hit 90 in the mission district. people came from far and wide. >> this is our nice back yard area, found water, hanging out here. >> reporter: east bay folks came

john fowler investigate understood bay area research suggest something big oil spills may not be so bad after all. >> reporter: the deep water horizon blowout, the biggest oil catastrophe every. but we are seeing is evidence that we may have reacted. >> there won't be as much to worry about and as much groom and doom as we saw in the media -- gloom and doom as we saw in the media from this oil and i. >> reporter: this sample came directly from the blown out well. he said when the oil gushed out, much of it simply disappeared. >> it's bio degradable, naturally. >> reporter: they searched the gulf top to bottom looking for signs of oil. >> we can't find any oil at all. we can't detect it. >> reporter: in his laboratory, new strains of oil consuming bacteria are more efficient than any predicted. bp partly paid for the research, but he initself is it had no input on his work. other studies so that the spilled gulf oil may be no problem in as little as two years. >> they will use that type of science to justify their reckless per suit of oil anywhere on the plan it. >> reporter: lawmakers a

john fowler live with new information that may make you rethink that choice. >> one of the most popular things on sports fields is sports drinks. this one has 20-grams of sugar for 8-ounces. that's more than a soda. doctors are urging children to avoid drinking sports drinks. >> reporter: doctors will say grueling endorse sports require reflexing water, eelectrolytes and carbs. >> very juicy. i like instead of water, it has more flavor to it. >> reporter: but doctors say active young people are at risk of obesity from repeated high doses of sugar. we found many sports drinks loaded with it. look at the label monopolies this one, 14-grams of sugar. this one 20-grams. the highest we found, gatorade, 25-grams. one gulp as much sugar as a pack of candy. >> reporter: doctors recommend what parents say, no to sports drinks. >> high in sugar. sodium. best way is to drink water. >> sometimes water doesn't finish the job. >> 230mg. >> reporter: doctors urge parents to read the label and keep their children away from sports drinks. to consider them the equivalent of a soda pop. john fowler n ktvu

john fowler, ktvu news. >>> more news coverage from chopper 2 of the cinco de mayo celebration. you can see a lot of motorcycle police officers have gathered, it appears they pretty much dispersed the crowd. there were reports that they were taking rocks and bottles from some of the partyers and working to keep the crowd in check. now they just appear to be keeping an eye on things. if we get more information we will bring it to you. live pictures here from san jose where police have gathered during a cinco de mayo going on. >>> weakening demand in the u.s. and prices down almost 9%. the closing price $99.80. but the falling prices aren't being felt at the gas pump just yet. in fact, gas prices have actually gone up for 44 consecutive days. the national average is about a penny shy of $4 a gallon for regular unleaded. the gasoline demand has been declining since march. a government study this week reenforced that. american's demand for gasoline has dropped for six straight weeks. >>> despite oil, gold and silver prices also stumbled today. the nasdaq was off 13.5. the dow jones

reporting live, john fowler, ktvu channel 2 news. >>> a investigation tinhorns of thousands of dollar missing church in denville led to the arrest of three people associated with the church. kathleen dake, evelyn peinado, virgilio lukban are all charged with several counts of embezzlement. the women stole about $580,000 from the church through fraudulent use of church credit cards and checks. >>> open wound. my heart suffers every day. >> how she and other are reacting to the death of osama bin laden. >>> things are turning around for the bay area. a nice spring-like weather pattern. some cities can reach 90 degrees this week. which cities and which day that could happen. >>> while 9/11 was a national disaster, for thousands it was a personal attack. the memorial in union city with how some of the families are taking the news that osama bin laden is dead. >> reporter: each one of these stones represent someone who died on united flight 93. today i caught up with a daughter whose mother died on that flight. she says the wounds he inflicted will never fully hill. >> reporter: september

john fowler, ktvu news. >>> more news coverage from chopper 2 of the cinco de mayo celebration. you can see a lot of motorcycle police officers have gathered, it appears they pretty much dispersed the crowd. there were reports that they were taking rocks and bottles from some of the partyers and working to keep the crowd in check. now they just appear to be keeping an eye on things. if we get more information we will bring it to you. live pictures here from san jose where police have gathered during a cinco de mayo going on. >>> weakening demand in the u.s. and prices down almost 9%. the closing price $99.80. but the falling prices aren't being felt at the gas pump just yet. in fact, gas prices have actually gone up for 44 consecutive days. the national average is about a penny shy of $4 a gallon for regular unleaded. the gasoline demand has been declining since march. a government study this week reenforced that. american's demand for gasoline has dropped for six straight weeks. >>> despite oil, gold and silver prices also stumbled today. the nasdaq was off 13.5. the dow jones

john fowler, ktvu. >>> some special veterans are about to get a new home. you will recall that operation involved the navy seal dog named cairo who helped track anyone who tried to escape osama bin laden's compound. authorities say they've received hundreds of adoption applications since the raid. in past years, dogs were euthanized after completing their tour of duty. >>> julie haener is in the newsroom with a look at some of the other stories we're looking at. >> also at 6:00, this young girl was abandoned at a hospital months ago. the key piece of information police still don't know about her and how you can help. >>> a shouting match erupts over a proposal to build new housing by san francisco state. the plan that brought this woman to the end of her rope today. >>> and we take you inside the massive natural gas pipeline that ruptured in san bruno. the inch by inch inspection being done right now to prevent a future tragedy. it's all coming up at 6:00. >>> we have an update now on a story that ktvu first brought you last week. officials have confirmed a

john fowler, ktvu news. >>> the california high speed rail authority heard a proposal. leaders want to modify existing tracks. they say it would save millions of dollars. but opponents says that true but it would slow down the trains to the point where they would no longer be high speed trains. >>> julie haener is in the newsroom with other stories we're working on. >> reporter: the price pg & e now wants you to pay for switching to smart meters. >>> also new life for the san francisco matrioarch. >>> the big legislative win for immigrants here in california. the dream they are closer to attaining here on this cinco de mayo. >>> a new study claims mercury emissions are on the rise around the world and could become a threat. a group of scientists from the eight nations say nuclear levels could rise 20% by the year 2020. that would pose a threat to polar bears and seals. >> we're going to talk about our weather now. beautiful weather but there's still going to be a change. >> the bay area weather is going to be nice for the weekend. it's going to be cooler. but that's typ

. >>> scientists today reported discovering something, john fowler here to explain why it's a risk to our hearts. >> reporter: i want you to think of this donut as bad adl. enough of these can clog your arteries. now add sugar to your blood. and like this glazed donut, the bad cholesterol actually becomes much stickier, more dangerous. researchers call this the worse cholesterol. >> this newly discovered form of bad cholesterol researchers say is most common in people with adult onset type 2 diabetes. >> i have issues with type two diabetes. my levels spike and then come down. >> this probably is contributing to the increased risk of vascular disease and diabetes. >> reporter: dr. john cane says his research suggests there maybe more contributors. the government said a vitamin people widely use to boost good cholesterol does not work as hoped. it stopped a clinical trial. although when people with genetically elevated gpa, other studies show only niasin work. >> it may be that group of people may be treated with niasin. i don't think we should jump to a category judgment here. >> repo

our health and science editor john fowler has our report. >> reporter: you pay for it on your electric bill, average $2 to $3 a year. everyone has for 25 years. billions of the dollars for spent fuel. the trouble is there's no such thing. radio active spent fuel is simply piling up at nuclear power plants. nationwide 71,000-tons and growing, most stored in potentially dangerous pools including this one at diablo canyon. >> who is to say that a freak accident may occur. but i feel pretty safe. i work one mile away from it. >> reporter: how are the plant's packing fuel rods closer and closer increasing risks of overheating and fire. there's no more space. >> we're just at about our capacity. >> reporter: pg & e is moving cooler rods to concrete casts on diablo county property. still it will need more storage there's just no better plan. yaca mountain was supposed to be the storage site chosen by politics rather than by science. last year the obama administration decided the site was unusable. some in congress are incredulous. >> we have $23 million sitting in a fund we collected from ele

reporting live, health and science editor, john fowler. >> for more information on landslide risk in your neighborhood, you can go to ktvu.com. >>> a gilroy man is facing life behind bars for an attack on a chihuahua. julie haener has the story. >> reporter: this could be his third and final strike. ktvu's robert handa talks to this man behind bars. also the debris has been cleared away, but their emotions remain. the impact the nation's transportation chief says he felt walking through the san bruno neighborhood that went up in flames. it's all coming up in less than 15 minutes. >>> thank you julie. back now to our chief meteorologist bill martin. bill, the sun is coming is going to have an impact on us. >> it already has. there's already a lot of fog at the coast. the winds gusting through the golden gate bridge up to 20 miles per hour. gusting to 24, there's the current reading right there. so definitely breezy along the coast. the fog is a fixture for the next few days. it's going to be a player in your forecast for the weekend. here are the highs from today. high temperatures we

. >>> john fowler tells us how a rebound effect could put the bay area at risk. >> reporter: the same kind of falls devastated japan. new research shows that risks here may be as great. >> this is where i live. i am not going to move. >> reporter: the march 11 japan quake was big because of a rebound effect discovered by a stanford geophysicist. >> it starts out here. >> reporter: it shows slip burst towards japan and then away. the discovery means reevaluating other zones such as northern california. >> there is a possibility of very large earthquakes on them. >> reporter: perhaps bigger than an magnitude nine. >> i am glad i'm going back to atlanta tomorrow. >> reporter: the last big quake was january 1900 and they come every three years so we could be 11 years past two. >>> san francisco has some of the deadliest street in the nation. san francisco ranks third in the country for pedestrian deaths. two cities in new york state ranked higher. some streets are especially dangerous. a pedestrian was struck and killed earlier this month. investigators are trying to change the timing of

health and science editor john fowler, ktvu, channel 2 news. music. >>> and we did get some rain here today. especially up in santa rosa nearly a half an inch. quarter of an inch near mill valley. 2/10ths in oakland. enough to wet the plants and knock the pollens out of the atmosphere. more than that up in the tahoe area. went weather advisory stays in effect all night until tomorrow morning. easily another 1 to 3 inches. look at a half foot of new snow above 5500 feet tomorrow. here we go tomorrow morning. a little bit of fog along the coast. the rain stays north. tomorrow afternoon, look at that, still activity to the north of us. but we're clear. and as we get into the afternoon commute plenty of sunshine. things are changing around. we do have more of this in the forecast. not rain but clouds and some temperatures. five day forecast the long range forecast back here at 10:45. [ music ] >> we're getting our first look at the man accused of beating giants fan bryan stow. we will have a live report from la. >>> oprah bids farewell after 25 yea

ktvu's john fowler went inside the cockpit of a 747 to show us what we gained and loss since 9/11. >> reporter: security is supposed to be the same on every flight. and passengers told us, it's unthinkable anybody would rush the cockpits these days. >> safe on the ground. >> reporter: what was it like for pilots last night, a passenger yelling in arabic, ramming the door, a week after the death of osama bin laden? he showed us this cockpit. >> the faa required airlines improve cockpit safety. adding bullet proof material to the cockpit door and two kinds of locks so no one could get in the cockpit again. >> it makes me feel better. terrified because he is there, but better. >> most of the time the flight is not in jeopardy. >> what is in jeopardy is connecting with passengers. many pilots miss those visits. >> there is that personal contact with the public that you don't have. and i think -- i think you lose the prestige. >> reporter: still the trade off for security is a good one. we visited museums, working cockpits remain guarded even on the ground. >>> a man is in custody after tr

health and science editor john fowler, ktvu, channel 2 news. music. >>> and we did get some rain here today. especially up in santa rosa nearly a half an inch. quarter of an inch near mill valley. 2/10ths in oakland. enough to wet the plants and knock the pollens out of the atmosphere. more than that up in the tahoe area. went weather advisory stays in effect all night until tomorrow morning. easily another 1 to 3 inches. look at a half foot of new snow above 5500 feet tomorrow. here we go tomorrow morning. a little bit of fog along the coast. the rain stays north. tomorrow afternoon, look at that, still activity to the north of us. but we're clear. and as we get into the afternoon commute plenty of sunshine. things are changing around. we do have more of this in the forecast. not rain but clouds and some temperatures. five day forecast the long range forecast back here at 10:45. [ music ] >> we're getting our first look at the man accused of beating giants fan bryan stow. we will have a live report from la. >>> oprah bids farewell after 25 yea

john fowler ktvu channel 2 news. >>> health officials are issuing a warning tonight about a resurgence in measles. this year there have been 12 cases. measles can cause inflammation of the brain,seizures even death in some cases. they are encouraging parents to vaccinate their children. >>> going bald for a good cause. that's what 30 men, women and children did today. they had their heads shaved to raise money for the st. baldwick foundation. it raises money for the children's cancer research. the event was even close for the event's host. >> our chief's daughter has cancer. >>> and it was a very nice day here in the bay area. what are we looking at tonight and for the rest of the week. >> pretty nice tonight as well. a little fog out there. that will be the big difference. right along the coast, there it is now. you can see up by the marin head lands. you get a break. this is that kind of fog if you're in daly city and pacifica. you see the fog shooting through the san bruno gap there. we see winds 20 to 25 miles per hour. that's the gap you see the fog always push through. it's going

john fowler first brought us billy's story back in 1999. >> reporter: he was 19, joined the army right out of high school. assigned to the 101st. call sign ghost writer 679. it was may of 1969. his unit hit a dug in force of the north vietnamese army in the asha valley. soldiers who were there say scenes from this movie were dramatically accurate. a slaughter on both sides. >> psychologically, sometimes things are so horrific you don't remember it. i remember flying in to a fire base once and there was a call that had been overrun. and when we got there, it was only two or three guys. this is left. >> reporter: americans there also died from friendly fire. >> we really got angry. we got real pissed off. because when we heard that our own ship came in and wiped out a lot of our guys, that was pretty tough. we lost some ships in our company. and some of our fellow crew members and stuff. you know and -- you know we went to substance abuse to deal with it. >> reporter: in 10 days, 56 americans died, 420 seriously wounded. about 600 vietnamese were killed. for a hill the size of two city b

john fowler is live at cal with the last minute work to making this young man's dream come true. >> reporter: right now families are strolling on the campus. but for one graduatuation senior says just doing this -- graduating senior just doing this will change his life. no one will be more excited than austin whitney. >> i have no doubt that it'll be one of the most important moments of my entire life. but here i am about to walk. walk at my graduation. >> reporter: paralyzed from the waist down in a car crash three years ago. whitney plans to walk with this exo skeleton device he's been helping develop for the last nine months. in fact, he's there right now fine tuning for tomorrow. >> we want him to walk toward the chancellor and receive his degree. that's always been his goal. >> reporter: unlike the $100,000 machine i told you about last october. the new version is smaller, lighter and cheaper maybe $15,000. >> we're trying to make the model t. something that you would actually see through normal every day world. that feels like an extension of your body. >> to realize that they have hop

john fowler, ktvu news. >>> and residents near scotts valley are worried about landslides. >>> in aptos some cliff side homes could be in danger again. some residents have build their own makeshift retaining walls and they aren't very effective. the office of emergency services says it will monitor the situation even after it stops raining. >>> the storm has officials in san pablo reconsidering whether to drop the emergency declaration for a landslide there. six homes are still threatened by a wall of mud. last night the city council decided to hold off on rescinding the declaration until june. the city manager told us today the slide hasn't moved in four weeks and it's unlikely the city would receive state or federal disaster funds. >>> all these storms have detoured top cyclists from the tour of california. locals are hoping that fans will still show up despite the threat of rain. sal castaneda has the story. >> reporter: it was raining here a little bit. as you can see it's bike night here in livermore and some people are gathered. a couple of dozens, stage four will begin here in th

health and science editor john fowler, ktvu channel 2 news. >>> the first person to receive a full face transplant appeared before cameras in boston. dallas wiens, the 25-year-old from texas lost most of his features when he hit a power line while painting a church three years ago. he received a new nose, lips, skin, muscles and nerves from an enormous donor. >>> jaycee dugard's memoir is set to go on sale this july. the title is a stolen life. she was kidnapped in 1991 by philip and nancy garrido and held captive in this -- the back of their home for 18 years. in the book she details her abduction and her thoughts now that she is free. the garridos pleaded guilty to kidnapping and sexual assault charges. they are scheduled to be sentenced in june. >>> the google executive turned activist is writing a book. they announced today that revolution 2.0 is set to be published in january. the proceeds will go to a charity to encourage education. >>> an executive said that bids for the publishing rights topped $2 million. >>> the two u.k. berkeley graduates imprisoned in iran are set to go on t

health and science editor john fowler, ktvu channel 2 news. >>> the first person to receive a full face transplant appeared before cameras in boston. dallas wiens, the 25-year-old from texas lost most of his features when he hit a power line while painting a church three years ago. he received a new nose, lips, skin, muscles and nerves from an enormous donor. >>> jaycee dugard's memoir is set to go on sale this july. the title is a stolen life. she was kidnapped in 1991 by philip and nancy garrido and held captive in this -- the back of their home for 18 years. in the book she details her abduction and her thoughts now that she is free. the garridos pleaded guilty to kidnapping and sexual assault charges. they are scheduled to be sentenced in june. >>> the google executive turned activist is writing a book. they announced today that revolution 2.0 is set to be published in january. the proceeds will go to a charity to encourage education. >>> an executive said that bids for the publishing rights topped $2 million. >>> the two u.k. berkeley graduates imprisoned in iran are set to go on t