america this morning. >> get the latest about hurricanr on "good morning al news or on " i'm expressway terry mcsweeney live in the hercules where police believe they have the motive for two of the four killings tied to a man. we'll take a look at the story and some unanswered questions coming up. >> what she did counts, was she who voted for the wall street bailout. >> barbara boxer and carly fiorina trade jabs in their only scheduled zee bait in the senate race. >> another spare the air day with hot temperatures inlands but not as warm at our coast. >> good morning. heading into san francisco on the bay bridge, there's road work to be on the lookout for.

>> we should get the results of an investigation into pg&e's controversial smart meters. some customers claim the devices are wildly inaccurate. 4:31 a.m.. thank you so much for joining us. i'm eric thomas. kristen is off today. a suspect was killed in a shoot without with police tuesday night. officers are still looking for another potential victim. terry mcsweeney is live in hercules and that's where this all began, terry. >> yeah. a fight over a woman appears to be the reason for two of the killings. but there are two other killings that are still unexplained. it's a very involved case. let's start by taking a look at the suspect and the woman he was interested in, 38-year-old valued marrow and cindy tran. he was killed tuesday night after a high-speed chase.

she was found in the car strangled. he had kidnapped her earlier in the day. now, the house owned tran where valdamro lived on and off in hercules is where police arrived saturday to find the body of 73-year-old ricardo, his son frederick missing, still missing. police looking for him. some say valdamro was dating tran and that's why they fought. >> that did seem to be the issue. >> an acquaintance of mr. valdamro does not bode well for having a long life. >> today hercules police will resume their search for frederick salas but hope is running thin as time goes by finding him alive. tran's family says that she broke up with valdamro a couple of weeks ago. she wanted to get back with her ex-husband, the father of they

are three children. there were also two more bodies found in vallejo yesterday tied to all this. eric has more. for now live in hercules, terry mcsweeney. >> terry, thank you. the two other victims terry mentioned in vallejo will be autopsied in hopes of determining a specific calls of death. police say the victims are friends 262-year-old an lan and 60-year-old smart. neighbors say for the past decade they lived off and on at the vallejo home where the two were found. that was owned by alan and her husband charles writtenhouse. they're not sure what the suspect's relationship with the homeowner was but say police visited the home on several occasions and have reports he fought with them, stole money and disturbed the neighborhood. rittenhouse lived in the house after reporting his wife missing on sunday. >> all i can say is when he was confronted with the fact bodies were located in his residence, we believe he may have been involved. he did not react in the way we

feel a normal person would react. >> rittenhouse was arrested yesterday morning and is being held at the solano county jail for possessing a cache of highly explosive material. investigators are still trying to determine whether he played a role in the death of the two women. carly fiorina and barbara boxer went after each other last night in an aggressive debate. it happened at st. mary's college. >> fiorina teed off on barbara boxer in her opening statement. >> her long track record in washington d.c. is consistent and clear and the results of her policies are devastating for this state. >> she attacked fiorina's six years as ceo of hewlett-packard. >> who made her name as a ceo in hewlett-packard laying thousands and thousands of workers off, shipping their jobs overseas, making no sacrifice while she

was doing it, taking $100 million. >> fiorina defended her tenure at h. p. saying in the 21st century any job can did anywhere and outlined some ideas for promoting jobs at home. >> i proposed a two-year payroll tax holiday for every small business that will hire an unemployed worker. i proposed five year tax holidays for new businesses that locate here. >> barbara boxer talked government programs. >> we doubled the transportation funding. that means thousands of jobs and jobs are my focus. that's why i'm working to make california the hub of the new clean energy economy. >> boxer prize the the lead in green energy and fiorina stumbled when she was asked about prop 23. >> do you support prop 23 which would suspend ab-32. >> my focus is on a national

energy policy -- >> yes or no. >> just answer do you support it. >> i have not taken a position on it yet. >> boxer pounced. >> that shows me that china takes the lead away from us with solar, that germany takes the lead away from us with wind but i guess my opponent is kind of used to creating jobs in china and other places. >> they would like to see more debates. none however are scheduled. >> time now 4:36. a group of republican lawmakers is asking governor schwarzenegger to appeal a federal ruling that struck down proposition 8. 27 members of the assembly said its up to the governor. a judge overturned measure last month and the state has until september 11th to challenge the ruling. schwarzenegger and jerry brown say the governor's ruling should

be implemented right away. the utility commission set to release results of a long-awaited investigation into pg&e's controversial smart meters. many consumers complain their utility bills shot way up after the smart meters were installed. the puc had a firm to independently test the meters. a consumer advocacy group says no matter the results there should be a moratorium on smart meters because of continuing doubts about the new technology. >> when you have thousands and thousands of consumers saying, wait a minute, i don't like it, i don't trust it and i'm not benefiting from it, those consumers' complaints should be heard. >> pg&e says its own tests show the meters are working well. >> 4:37 now. let's see how much electricity you'll need to cool your house today if you live inland. lisa argen is in. >> you're only going to feel

effects of subtle changes if you're at the shoreline. we're into the heat again. look now, san francisco 69 degrees. we have had some cooling in novato at 67. 58 napa. 59 menlo park and elsewhere we're in the 70s in fremont, antioch 74 and los gatos 74. looking for another hot day inland, a spare the air day. not as warm at the coast but you'll still see those upper 70s and a cooling trend really tomorrow as the sea breeze becomes more widespread around the bay and eventually into the weekend in our inland valleys. 78 downtown, 85 oakland. look for 98 livermore, 94 san jose. no records but we could be getting close in some areas. we're shy of two or three degrees from the record but still very hot. morgan hill 96. look for 84 in watson vil and a comfortable 75 in monterey. while today won't be as hot at the coast it will be triple digit heat inland and slowly

cooling trend for the holiday. >> cal tran working on the bay bridge now. you will find on the upper deck the two right lanes are blocked between the incline and treasury island. through san jose let's start with a live look at 280 right at the 17 overcrossing. no problems here heading northbound through downtown san jose but there is a crash northbound 280 at the 4th street on-ramp and that is closed while they clear the scene. the 880 overcrossing, no problems northbound but we have road work southbound to be on the lookout for. you will find a couple lanes are blocked between highway 87 and silicon valley build but that should be cleared up by about 5:00 this morning. eric. >> megan, thank you. 4:39. the dramatic new safety measure that little league officials are taking to protect young players. the airport connection that may be derailing. what a new study is revealing about airbart.

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good morning, everyone. 4:42 on the abc 7 morning news. a look from the east bay, our ballmer peak camera looking at the bay bridge there. you see traffic in this early hour moving right along. no problems to report there. gonna be another warm day inland. let's find out what's gonna happen there and along the coast in a couple minutes from lisa argen. bart's planned oakland airport connector would costs dramatically more nan what was projected a decade ago. the san francisco examiner reports the project would cost $484 million and serve only 4300 passengers each year. it was originally projected to cost $130 million and transport 13,000 passengers annually. the report was researched by an oregon-based transportation firm called hire by translate which

has strongly opposed the connector project from the coliseum station to the oakland international airport. it would replace the current airbart buses. last month the bart board of directorless reaffirmed its commitment to the project. some law enforcement experts are questioning the uses of a taser on a 64-year-old marin county man. this video from a camera mounted on a device shows him as he's confronted by two marin county sheriff deputies and inside his home. they want to take him to the hospital because they believe he may be suicidal. when he ignores deputies and' orders and says he's going to bed, they taser him three times. on camera. >> the officers should have tried hand techniques and if those weren't successful and he started to pull away, then, yes, use the taser. but why go to the taser right away. >> mcfarlane is suing marin county. the department says it takes

charge of excessive force but is confident the deputies and will be vindicated when all facts are considered. little league baseball says it's placing a moratorium on the use of compass sit bats. it's similar to the one put in place by the national federation of high school associations. concern over the use of the bats happened after a player from marin county. balls travel faster than bats made of allie or wood. still ahead why one bay area law enforcement leader says it's time to opt out. >> hurricane earl moving in. >> hurricane earl moving in. people told to mov ok. what if i just had a small slice? i was good today, i deserve it! or, i could have a medium slice and some celery sticks and they would ccel each other out, right?

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we are looking at some thunderstorms in the midwest from illinois to oklahoma with damaging winds and perhaps some hail heading towards missouri, the upper midwest cools down and this cold front will impact that hurricane you can see off the eastern seaboard. i'm going to talk more about that and our own local hot weather which includes a spare the air day coming right up. eric? >> lisa, thank you very much. federal authorities agreed to meet with san francisco sheriff mike hennessey and that may open the possibility of the city to opt out of a federal fingerprinting program. to fingerprint them, they're sent directly to immigration authorities. they have an ordinance which prohibits city workers unless a felony charge is involved. the san francisco examiner says hennessey sent another letter to federal authorities asking to opt out of the program. some supervisors in santa clara county say it should also opt

out of the fingerprinting program. two men arresteds as possible terror suspects are free this morning. the men from yemen were arrested after u.s. security officials became suspicious of their actions. there were concerns they may be going through a dry run of an attack. investigators now say there's no evidence linking them to a terror plot. the yemeni embassy say it highlights a misunderstanding of yemen and its citizens. millions of residents along the east coast are bracing for hurricane earl. social security checks have even been mailed early to recipients in ten states. the storm is expected to reach the north carolina coast later today. that's where emily schmidt is tracking the latest conditions. >> this is the eye of hurricane earl, an area of calm in the midst of what is a monster category 4 storm. it's threatening more of the east coast than any hurricane in

nearly 20 years. >> he's on the way. >> and that means people are on their way out. >> they won't let us stay. going to make us sit in this traffic. >> roads are likely to overwash and be closed for several days. >> mandatory evacuations are spreading across north carolina. those leaving with unexpected memories. >> we were looking for a nice vacation and now our vacation's over. >> emergency shelterers are being set up in the hurricane warning zone. homes boarded up, boats pulled out of the water for safety. >> a hurricane comes up the coast, we try to be prudent. >> you never know what you're going to get. >> we could see watches and warnings continue to move up the east coast. >> fema is already directing food and water north to cape cod hoping to get ahead of a storm that so far shows no signs of retreat. >> overnight president obama signed a disaster declaration for north carolina.

officials know they only have a few more hours to get in place for earl before all they can do is wait to see what earl has in store for them. emily schmidt, abc news, atlantic beach, north carolina. >> earl, category 4, that's very powerful. >> very powerful. it's moving into cooler waters and our cool waters aren't going to do anything to help us cool down today. it will be comfortable in the 70s but outside from emeryville, you'll notice that it is a nice looking evening out there. morning, i should say. what is it, morning or night! (laughter) >> it does feel like a very balmy one at that with temperatures already still in the 70s. we haven't dropped off that much. 73 fremont, 74 antioch. it's 69 in san francisco with 50s from napa, novato, menlo park and on the coast at half moon bay. >> today we'll look for another hot day, a spare the air day with a 24 hour temperature

change. starting off with the calm winds of 12 degrees warmer in the city, 11 degrees warmer in fremont and 4 degrees warmer in san jose. without the effects of that generous sea breeze, it's going to be a very hot day today near triple digits in our inland valleys but not quite as warm at our coast and the cooling trend gets underway today, more significantly though tomorrow. we're looking at hurricane earl. this is the biggie. i'll talk about that in a moment but tropical storm fiona and tropical storm gas stone. those two storms weakening, not affecting any land but earl here continues to move to the north. it's going to take a turn to the east. a very powerful storm. hurricane warnings up through north carolina, watches through cape cod and nova scotia. continues to hug the coast and it will weaken. by tonight it's just off the outer banks of north carolina. they're going to be battered with very strong waves, 2 to 4 inches of rain and we're looking

at the sea level anywhere from 2 to 4 feet above normal sea level range. so we are looking at some strong winds, perhaps some rip currents, dangerous conditions along the eastern seaboard throughout the next 24 hours. today though the fog is nowhere to be seen. we'll be looking at very warm temperatures today. once again mid-90s, los gatos and campbell, 90 sunnyvale. 92 menlo park, comfortable 70 in pacifica. 78 downtown, beautiful golden gate park. yesterday you were in the 90s at the airport. a little cooler around the coast today, 90 petaluma. look for 86 in san leandro. as you head towards the valley, 90 castro valley, 97 concord. sure, we could hit 100 in brentwood today. monterey bay, a pleasant 75. gradual cooling just at the coast today and getting underway just in time for the labor day weekend. good morning, megan. >> pretty quiet for your thursday morning commute.

road work is the only thing out there that may slightly inconvenience you. in oakland a couple lanes blocked between 580 and highway 13. that should be about 6:00 this morning. also today a spare the air day. you're encouraged to take mass transit. no delays the right now. a live look in contra costa county, this is walnut creek on southbound 680. taillights moving southbound. no delays heading into the san ramon valley. also the drive time on 24 westbound between 680 and the caldecott tunnel is about 10 minutes. you can always go to abc7news.com for the latest traffic updates. just click on the traffic link. >> it's 4:53 now. an 18-year-old muslim american woman is suing abercrombie and fitch. she says they violated her rights refusing to hire her because she wears a head scarf. she claims the manager told her

it violated the abercrombie look. it was inspired by the hollister store at the hillsdale mall last february for wearing her head scarf. coyotes are plaguing a community. they've been attacking pets in saratoga and neighboring cities. we have a video we want to show you of a female and her pups taken by animal control in the back of a saratoga home last month only 20 feet from the back door. no one has been attacked so far. >> there's a good reason to be concerned, not to leave toddlers or infants on their own in yards in these areas where these coyotes occur. >> map shows where the highest concentration of coyotes are in santa clara county, including san jose, los gatos, saratoga and along the western foothills.

residents in san francisco's mission district are expressing concern dolores park has become too popular. a group called safe, clean, green says it wants fewer events and more police. there were 25 city-sponsored events last year. >> there's underaged drinkers, people smoking pot all day. there's kids doing heroin now. and i feel like everybody goes by my house with open containers. >> the park and rec department has posted signs reminding people that drinking and smoking are not allowed. some park users say they too want a safe environment but not a war on fun. a homeless man in portland, oregon, is getting a lesson what really constitutes an emergency. mark called 9-1-1 to tell the dispatchers he was the sheriff

of washington county, was sitting in a hot tub and needed someone to bring him towels, hot chocolate and could use a hug. he later admitted he wasn't a sheriff but had been yelling for a new towel about a half hour. police did come out to the home but didn't bring any hot chocolate. instead they brought handcuffs. he's facing charges of trespassing and improper use of 9-1-1. you don't get a hug for doing that. 4:56. just ahead at 5:00, a community comes together for a fremont police officer critically wounded in the line of duty. >> i'm terry mcsweeney live in hercules where police have some answers but also many questions after a bizarre relationship ends in five deaths and there could be a sixth. the story coming up in a live report. >> and meg whitman's day in court. why her civic duty may complicate her campaign for governor. ♪

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yoplait delights. get rid of the "or." i'm terry mcsweeney live in hercules where police believe they may have the motive that led to a chain of events resulting in five deaths and a sixth person still missing. the story coming up in a live report. >> also in the headlines, oakland police say they're looking for people they think helped a gang member accused of shooting a fremont police officer try to flee the country. >> good morning. another very hot day today inland.