concerns that the previous lethal injection protocol was unconstitutional. we're live with more. >> reporter: frank, this ruling comes from the same san jose judge who previously halted california executions here. now he's giving the go-ahead and he's giving the condemned man some choice in how he dies. two years old, san quentin's new execution chamber has never been used. but that could change overnight next tuesday with albert brown, convicted of kidnapping, raping and killing a 15-year-old girl in riverside county in 1980. >> they built a new execution chamber. they did that in secret. >> reporter: the aclu says the judge hasn't approved the new death chamber or lethal injection procedures so he should not let the state rush into ruling executions. but in the ruling, the judge found a three-drug combination acceptable, so brown can choose if he wants that or one shot. concerns about lethal injection were first raised by murderer, michael morales, who averted execution. analysts are not sure why the state is pushing executions now. >> i don't think anybody could really predict what's gonna happen on tuesday night. >> reporter: if the execution goes forward, hundreds of protesters will likely gather, the last inmate put together by lethal injection shun was clarence allen in 2006, convicted of the contract killings of three people. >> there's no humane way to strap a human being down to a table and methodically poison them to death. >> reporter: two legal arenas could stop the clock on albert brown, a hearing in state court monday morning or intervention from the 9th circuit court of appeals on the federal site. whatever happens, jailers here at san quentin say they are ready to go forward. back to you in the studio. californians' support for capital punishment is strong according to a recent poll. 70% support the death penalty, 24% oppose it, 6% had no opinion. we asked people for their reaction to today's decision to resume lethallic injection. >> i believe in the death penalty. some people there's no recourse after things they've done. >> i think it's a good idea. >> why? >> i believe in an eye for an eye, tit for tat. >> everybody says an eye for an eye will leave everybody blind. that's kind of my take on it. >> we have mere information on the death penalty and a slide show at ktvu.com. criminal proceedings against fill imgarrido are on -- phillip garrido are on hold after a short pretrial hearing today. he's accused of kidnapping jaycee dugard, raping her and holding her captive for 18 years in his backyard in antioch. the judge says he has concerned about his ability to stand trial and he says he based his information on his own observations and information from his attorney. criminal proceedings against his wife will go forward. san francisco police are warning people who plan to be out and about this weekend to be aware of thieves. they say there were at least ten robberies overnight and the thieves were not just going for wallets, police say many had smartphones or music suppliers. some were riding public transportation, others were just walking on the street. police say there is a reason why robbers are just going for more than the cash. >> smartphone, those electronic readers, social things have become a -- those things have become a bit problem because they are easily sold on the street. >> police advice those who use these devices to stay away of their surroundings. so far no arrests have been made. but police have muni video in two cases. police in danville are reviewing surveillance video following a take-over robbery. the robbers used pepper spray on the worker and a sledgehammer to open the safe. allie rasmus has more. >> reporter: we have watched all day people trying to come here to shop, only to find the note on the door that it's closed after three people were robbed -- robbed the store inside. crews replaced all of the shattered glass. the storeowners were taking inventory of things robbers left behind. >> 1266 h after. $13,000. >> reporter: the store's manager remembers the sound of these cases smashed open with sledge hammers around 10:0 this morning, that's when three robbers ran into the store with their faces hidden. >> it all happened so quickly. the employee was grabbing the phone and was hit by pepper spray and she was calling 911. >> reporter: three workers were hit by pepper spray. the whole thing took only 26 seconds. >> it was a very chaotic scene, but a very chaotic scene. they came in, used pepper spray and smashed the counters. >> reporter: this store stems $ $1 million worth of jewelry. >> somebody may have done in before and realized there was julie and there might be a -- jerusalemry and they might be a target for jewelry. >> reporter: customers were surprised to find the store closed today. >> they have really nice stuff. >> actually, i lost my wedding ring on vacation and i've been looking for a replacement an i've been coming in quite often. >> reporter: and while three people robbed the store, danville police say a fourth person was waiting in the parking lot for him and drove off with the three robbers inside driving a white cadillac style car. danville police would like to talk to anyone who has seen a vehicle like that in the area. the san francisco business times quotes sources are saying a strike at the hilton union square could start next week. no official comment from union workers or hotel management. workers at 60 san francisco hotels have been working without a contract now for more than a year. governor schwarzenegger blasted the state's largest union for coming out in support for the november ballot measure that would legalize marijuana. the union says proposition 19 could bring in much-needed tax revenue. the governor fired off an opinion piece in today's "los angeles times" calling the initiative flawed and it would make the state a laughingstock. the san bruno explosion and fire may be factoring into a key california election raise. the new exclusive ktvu field poll on the race for governor shows it's tightening up there. there are new numbers on kamala harris's request to become governor. >> reporter: the lieutenant- governor's race in the past two months, abel maldonado has cut newsom's lead half. in july, up 9%. now it's down to 4. newsom, 34%. mallmallmaldonado 35. no tv ads yet. so what's changed? the most likely explanation -- tragedy. when the san bruno pipeline exploded, governor schwarzenegger was out of the state. >> i think mall maldonado benefited a bit from his role as kind of acting governor during the san bruno fire. >> reporter: malmaldonado rushed to the scene, comforted people and held briefings. >> he's now a little better known, maybe 20% in the north. >> reporter: looking forward, newsom has raised more money for maldonado, money for ads. in the state attorney general's race, san francisco's district attorney kamala harris, a democrat, continues to trail the republican district attorney from los angeles, steve cooley. cooley, 35%. harris 31. >> this is actually, a regional battle. los angeles district attorney versus san francisco district attorney. >> reporter: the feel polls say cooley is better known and favored in the south. harris in the north. >> the problem for harris is that 57% of the voters are in the south and just 43% are in the north. >> reporter: harris told us today to compete in the south, she's raising money. >> the only way to run in this big state and shake the hand of every voter is through television. >> reporter: a sign of hope for harris? there's still a lot of voters who haven't made up their minds yet, more than a third. randy shandobil, ktvu channel 2 news. bay area residents are being asked to spare the air this weekend. bay area air quality management district has taken the unusual step of declaring a spare the air day on a saturday due to expected warm temperatures and stagnant air. smog was evident in the south bay. air quality officials say tomorrow could be much worse. how hot will it get for your bay area weekend? bill martin has tomorrow's forecast in less than ten minutes. >> reporter: and a record- breaking rally on wall street today. but is it enough to scathe off a double-digit recession. do not put patti lee is live in san francisco with the story on the stock rally. >> reporter: julie, it may be too soon to read into this rally. afterall, just a month ago, many economists were predicting a double-digit recession. on market street, a surge of optimism thanks to wall start, with the stock up just 2%, the do do dow is on its way to september of 1999. >> feeling very optimistic. yes. put your money where things are currently ruling. >> reporter: as recently as september 1st, some economists were forecasting a 30% chance of a double-digit recession. the about-face has some skeptical the current rally will last. >> it's kind of like a roller coaster ride, kind of going up and down. i do see some changes. i'm hoping that things are getting better. i don't know if i necessarily believe it 100%. >> there are reasons to be concerned about the outlook. how far, there are other numbers that are providing some hope that things are stabilizing. >> reporter: experts say better than expected earnings from nike helped fuel today's surge, also the back of bad news on the housing front. >> i don't mean to suggest that things are roaring and the confidence is real but it may be less negative. >> reporter: to be less negative is not the same thing as being positive. >> just yesterday, i made some changes, as a matter of fact, to my portfolio. >> reporter: michael diaz says the fact that stocks are about since april -- >> now i feel like things have changed to the point where i made some thing. >> reporter: the relatively good economic news is neutralizing this threat of a double-digit recession. but economists say the economy is fragile. patti lee, ktvu channel 2 news. the saying worth its weight in gold may not be more true than today. gold trade the at $1300. investigators made a run on silver pushing its high to a 30- year. speaking to an audience at princeton bernanke said -- house speaker nancy pelosi promised today that the house will vote to extend tax cuts for the middle class before those cuts expire at the end of the year but did not promise a vote before the upcoming november elections. democrats are fearing republicans will attack them for not extending tax cuts to the richest americans. the senate deheyed the vote until november 2nd. in marin county, investigators are investigating the check of mail. thieves are looking for checks that be altered and then cashed. mike memike mibach has more. >> reporter: the crime starts when the thief sticks his or her hand inside, and starts grabbing bills that were left for your mail carrier. this is the town of san an san anselmo. >> fairly quiet, stable. >> reporter: like many street, mailboxes are front and center. this long time resident -- >> there have been mail thefts around here for forever. >> reporter: including one this week and last week. >> a resident placed their mail at a curbside mailbox in front of the residence with outgoing checks to pay some bills and the mail was taken from the box subsequently. >> reporter: in one case, a thief cashed in $12,000, not in san anselmo. the crime is called white washing. >> it's where they use bald point ink, not printed ink and then they can go in and fill out their name on fictitious checks. >> reporter: we ran into this mail carrier in san anselmo. what appears to be becoming more common than leaving mail in the boxes is people going to the mailbox. >> i do the same thing with pg&e and other bills. >> reporter: why not put a stamp on it? >> it's not reliable. just my opinion. >> reporter: at this point in time, san anselmo san anselmo police agree. >> we would like people not to place any outgoing mail in their personal mail boxxs. >> reporter: police are pursuing one lead and looking over surveillance video of someone cashing one of those stolen checks. mike mibach, ktvu channel 2 news. santa rosa police have vasted five teenagers in connection with a frightening roadside attack on a family. it happened yesterday afternoon on 9th street on cleveland avenue in west santa rosa. police say the group shouted gang challenges to the car and then threw rocks and bottles shattering the window. two children, ages 6 and 4, were inside the car and suffered minor injuries. police later arrested the five teenagers. a late september heatwave that's taking hold across much of california is prompting a warning for bay area health officials. >> i think people need to realize that the things we didn't have to do in the summer we have to do now which is really to protect ourselves, the onest and the oldest amongst us. >> health officials are reminding people to drink plenty of water. they add that children, seniors and those taking part in strenuous outdoor activities are most susceptible to the heat. and in fact, it is heating up. it heated up today. this isn't that big of a deal, though, let me tell you. this is what happens this time of year, right? we got a spare the air day tomorrow. probably see one on sunday and monday. temperatures tomorrow will be a few degrees warmer. we have a spare the air day tomorrow, the fire danger comes up. inland temperatures in the 90s. this is the heart of fire season. even though the winds aren't going to go to the red flag warning level, we're concerned for fire this time of year. so keep your eyes opened and be careful of that. as you look at the forecast tomorrow, those are the reds, the 90s, pushing out to the bay. it's gonna be a warm weekend ahead. when i come back, i will pinpoint the hottest days. people in a rural area of san mateo county are on alert after two mountain lion sitings -- sightings. the first one occurred yesterday near a school. the second one happened this morning. sheriff deputies say they will be on the lookout in the coming days to make sure everyone stays safe. a judge sent actress lindsay lohan to jail tonight. but there's word she could be freed tonight. allegations of wrongful death after a man died in sheriff custodies in a an attorney for the family of a man who died in jail custody plans to sue for wrongful death. the 38-year-old man died on the 6th floor of the hall of justice in what the medical examiner is calling a homicide. downs weighed 300 pounds and the medical examiner is reporting he fought with deputies as they were trying to monk him to an isolated -- move him to an isolateed sell. >> forced to his back, which ultimately asphyxicate him, this needs to be investigated. actress lindsay lohan remain remains in a los angeles jail tonight but maybe not for too much long he. this evening a judge ruled though can be released if she poses $300,000 in jail. she was sent to jail by violating probation by failing a drug test. the judge set her next date for october 22nd but her attorney challenged the no-bail decision. former prisoner, sarah shourd, and her mother met with iranian president, mahmoud ahmadinejad, to plea for the replease of her two friends still being held in the in the country. the meeting took place in new york. shourd said mr. mahmoud ahmadinejad was very positive and asked questions about her family. she called the account a very gracious gesture and good moving and described it as a very human manner. mahmoud ahmadinejad told her he hopes the young men will provide evidence that they had no ill intentions of crossing into iran from iraq so they can be released. president obama today blasted the iranian president for what he called offensive remarks about the september 11th attacks during a speech at the united nations. >> people of all faiths, all ethnicities who see this as the seminal tragedy of this generation, for him to make a statement like that was inexcusable. >> while addressing the u.n. general assembly yesterday, mr. mahmoud ahmadinejad said that most of the world believes the u.s. staged the attacks to benefit israel. president obama told the bbc he considered the speech hateful especially since it was delivered in manhattan so close to ground zero. just before fleet week, b.a.r.t. is promoting its free pass program for troops on leave from iraq and afghanistan. it was announced this afternoon that b.a.r.t. will conduct their free passes. any service member on leave can go to oakland's lake merritt station to apply for a pass. for some the san bruno site, cleanup has become a daunting task. >> up next, we'll take you inside the fire zone to get people's lives back on track. >> reporter: for the past couple a chain reaction crash near the oakland airport tonight smashed up four vehicles on the 9700 block of corral road. police say the driver of a stolen toyota slammed into an suv which in turn hit the cars. officers say they arrested a young man on suspicion of reckless driving t appears no one was seriously injured in the crash. three to four weeks, that's how long san mateo officials said today it will take to clear away what remains of dozens of houses destroyed in the san bruno explosion and fire. reporters were allowed into the fire zone today for a look at the operation that for many of the workers has become a personal task. ken pritchett has our report. >> reporter: except for the chimney still standing there's little to demolish. a giant excavator scooped up giant cars and chipped away a concrete wall and foundation of the 37 homes destroyed in the september 9th gas pipe explosion. today, the media was allowed a close-up look. >> as far as i'm concerned, these are my homes and i'm treating them as such. >> reporter: he says the goal is to prevent a public health hazard while respecting property owners. >> there are some homes that have the falls fallen down. those walls will be removed and if it looks like there may be anything down there, we'll cut the equipment down and brings the homeowners back in. >> reporter: the county is paying for the cleanup and will seek reimbursement later. across the street, there were flowers marking a spot where at least one of seven lives were lost. >> these are our neighbors. >> reporter: the county says as it is, the debris is not a public threat. water is being used to keep potentially harmful con tam nats in the ash from becoming airborne. so far, there's no significant hazards. but the concern is rain, typical for fall, could spread contaminants and create a hazard. so the goal is to complete the removal by october. >> i do not want to be in a position to try to deal with the runoff that will be coming off these properties. that would be a task that would be near impossible. >> reporter: the county says it has no hard deadlines to complete this work, just a cool and that could be a setback, if, for example, they found personal items in the debris and they have to bring the homeowner back to retrieve the items. back to you. a private funeral service was held in lure ling game for three explosions victims. 85-year-old lavonne bullis and her son greg and grandson were killed in the blast as well. there was a memorial held at mills high school for the boy who just started his senior year there. steven cole bare spent the day about working in a farmfield. he was asked to testify about it which he did as a mock-pipe situation. but his jokes did not go over well to some. there was a major shakeup at the top of the nbc universal the chief executive, jeff zuker, is leaving. the change will take place as comcast completes the takeover of nbc. today zuker said leaving is not his choice and is incredibly emotional and gut-wrenching. after a couple of years, the cruise business is looking you. but to really make money, the city wants to take things to the next level and in this case, it means building a world- class terminal. tom vacar shows us where it would be and what it would look like. >> reporter: it was busy here on the embarcadero here but not park, the reason, the cruise ships that flooded the area in the week, had gone. >> i love them. i look forward to them come. >> reporter: unfortunately, rising has been -- cruising has been on a downward slide to 41 from 59. next year, 59 ships are already booked. >> the cruise ships get us through the slow times and in the summer, it really jump starts the businesses down here. >> reporter: the problem is san francisco's cruise business is it is usually for day-trippers, those who saw for just a few hours. to really make money in the city and bay area, you have to have cruises starting and ending right here. >> you can't get -- you really need to get three or four nights spent here. >> reporter: to that have happen, the city wants to build a terminal. >> that's pretty unique among cruise terminals in the country. >> reporter: if san francisco gets the world cup, the completion date for this could be moved up because that would provide viewing space for those who come to the city. tom vacar, ktvu channel 2 news. volunteers from federal express donated groceries and backpacks today for families in oakland. dozens of fed-ex workers formed an assembly line to pack up the goods at the united way's oakland center. families from the lion creeks crossing complex received the groceries that included fresh produce. afterward, they hosted an ice crime social. tomorrow is drug buy-back day. why it's not illegal drugs federal agents are looking to recover. it's definitely heating um for your -- up for your bay area weekenú pants, pants, pants. i am folding the pants. the pants are lonnnnng. [laughin do they go on my head? do they? do the pants go on my head? [baby squeal no, they go on my legs! narrator: everyday moments can become teaching moments because learning starts long before school does. give your child the start they need at bornlearning.org. some sense moments this morning in florida. a bank teller says he was kidnapped at home and then forced to rob the same bank where he worked. the fbi is investigating the elaborate bank heist that happened this morning at a bank of america branch in coral gables. the teller told authorities three armed men abducted him and strapped a bomb to him. the bomb ended up being a fake but the abductors got away with more than $100,000. the fbi extensively questioned the bank teller and just a few hours was released. in news of the world tonight, in afghanistan, a car bomb targeting a u.s. convoy in the northern part of the country instead hit a bus carrying civilians, killing at least one child and injuring at least 28 other people. an afghan police official said many of the injured are women and children and the taliban militants likely carried out the attack. it's not clear if anyone from the convoy was hurt. in indonesia a small plane crashed during an airshow. the pilot appeared to be attempting a stunt but came in too cloe. a wing from thplane clipped the runway causing it to flip. the pilot was criticry injured. no one was hurt. organizers say there's no plans to cancel the airshow. and in peru, a fight over water hundreds of students clashed with police near the airport. the protest was over building a dam. police fireed tear gas to break up the crowd and detained two of the students. no word if there's any injuries. a federal judge roomed that the don't ask/don't tell policy violates the constitutional rights of a nurse discharged for being a lesbian. today's ruling only applies to the woman today, whit. but the judge noted an earlier appeals ruling -- ruled this was also unconstitutional. hoping to keep prescription pills out of the hands of children, the drug enforcement agency tomorrow plans to hold the first ever drug take-back day. the dea said it will accept any solid prescription medication, no questions asked. investigators say the first drugs ages 12 to 15 take are pain pills from their parents' medicine cabinets. they say vicodin, percocet are drugs of the case. >> vy a whole -- i have a whole cabinet full of drugs that are prescribed. i don't know what i'm gonna do with them. >> for the complete list of bay area locations for tomorrow's drug take-back, be sure to visit our website and click on the ktvu.com "right now" section. engineers began taking a tunnel -- digging a tunnel under the bay would will flow through it and when. and we now a big dig got underway in menlo park as engineers began to build a new tunnel beneath the bay. the tunnel will carry water from the east bay replacing aging pipes that could fail in a major earthquake. jim vargas was there when the first shovelful of earth was raised. >> reporter: the first scoop of earth and mud came up between what will be a five-mile tunnel from the north to the tunnel to the hetch hetchy system. it will run anywhere from 70 feet underneath. >> we want a system that we believe will be back in service at a regular winter time level we call it within 24 hours and will be fully operational within 30 days. >> reporter: 2.5 million in the bay area depend on the hedge hetchy system. laying the pipe in the only underthe bay tunnel is to be delivered next spring. >> as we're progressing with the tunneling, there are major -- very significant panels that get laid in the ton toll prevent the ground from collapsing essentially as we are moving the machine. >> reporter: there were a lot of hard hats worn today. hundreds more will be hired to complete the $350 million tunnel. >> we have members right now on the bench ready to go to work. >> reporter: this is just one of the projects san francisco voters approved in a 4.5 billion bond issue years ago, all aimed at making the water supply safe and reliable in a big earthquake. it should be completed by 2015. in menlo park, jim vargas, ktvu channel 2 news. shakespeare is preparing to take over alcatraz island. a troop of actors called "we players" are putting on the production. it spent two years trying to weave together the theme of the play with the island's history. >> what it means to be free and whether or not that's something that can be granted or taken away and hamlet is grappling with these fundamental questions about how to live and what to do. >> the audience also becomes part of the play. the first scene takes place as visitors arrive and the audience follows the show and moves around the island. opening night is one week from tomorrow. it's a warm night out there right now. we've got temperatures in the upper 60s in san francisco in the downtown area. temperatures out at the beach are in the mid-60s. let's take a look at the current temperatures. in san jose, we have 71 degrees right now. it's 70 in palo alto. highs tomorrow, warmer than they were today. no fog tomorrow morning. without to fog we're looking at a big heatup. a warmer weekend ahead. the extended forecast calls for a very warm weekend into monday, which will be very hot. gradual cooling after that. we're looking for overnight, 49 in napa, 47 in santa rosa. they will get down after the warm dies down. the nights are pretty long. we'll still get down in the middle 50s. the fog is gone, the fire dang is coming up. the air quality, we have the spare the air day tomorrow. if you have the spare the air day tomorrow, you almost will have one on sunday. sunday will be warmer. monday we could see near spare the air day. highs will be in the 90s. no warning for fire danger yet. temperatures in the mid-70s at the beach. low 80s at golden gate park, the grove and out towards the panhandle you will find very warm temperatures. 92 in napa. 90 in vallejo. no records tomorrow. san francisco downtown on sunday and monday, they do see a -- they could see a record. this is not an unprecedented heat. this is what you would expect in the fall but it's going to get hot enough and the records are significantly low enough that could pop. overall, a very warm-to-hot fall weather pattern. it had make for a very nice weekend. if you are heading out to the beaches in san francisco or pacifica, the heat will drive you to the beach because it's gonna be so nice and mild out there but the swell is coming up. it will create a dangerous riptide condition. i was talking to the lifeguards at ocean beach. it's one of the most dangerous beaches in the world. the rips are so strong. i can't ask you not to be careful. enjoy the weekend. plenty of fluid. make sure the pets have plenty of fluids. take it slow. it looks like sunday, monday, significantly warmer. sunday will be the warmer -- will be the warmest day over the weekend. monday will be the warmest day for the week next week. the giants were in denver tonight with tim fred's in for mark tonight. the giants, another close -- >> no matter how this pennant race endses, giants are already witnessing history. san francisco's pitching staff has gone 18 consecutive games giving up just three runs. that's the longest streak in baseball since 1917. and two-time cy young award winner, tim lincecum led the charge in the 6th, eric young singles and another run scores. tim, don't throw pat burrell the slider. he threw the slider. pat burrell is looking for it. a two-run homer, that's all she wrote. the giants are now 20 games over 500. the san diego padres used star trek figures for good luck. the older figures worked their magic. and it's miggie, miguel tejeda, the single that scores two. the padres beat the reds. so the giants remain one game ahead of san diego. the giants have just eight games left and they can pretty much eliminate colorado with a couple more wins in denver this weekend. in oakland, 30-year-old rookie pitcher was trieding to raise his record 3-0 but texas is thinking about raising it. sladdy this is his 7th inning, reliever bondser. rangers win 10-3. so tomorrow texas can clinch its first division title since 1999. our high school game of the week was in union the patriots came in undeep feeted and averaged 47 points a game. the james colts came in. miles long scores this knifety 25-yard touchdown. logan led 6-0. but heritage, averaged 47 points a game because they use a no-huddle offense. a lot of motion, a lot of fakes. look at that. the ball is outside. the patriots take the lead. heritage fakes out james logan and the cameraman once again. where is trey? which way did he go? how about that way? 5 yards. the patriots scored half of their average and still win. heritage climbs to 4-0, while james logan finishes at 2-2 in. in san jose, the sharks played hockey. danny leetly scores -- dany heatley scores. sharks open the regular season in sweden on october 8th. and they leave for european thursday. three weeks ago, jim furyk overslept and missed the pro-am so he was disqualified from playing in the first of four tournaments. a 5 under 65. he's now co leader of this championship. the 46-year-old man wins the event, if he wins it, he can claim the $10 million price. luke donald shares -- shares first place with furyk. it's donald and furyk in front but there's 36 more holes to play. giants win, so do the padres. so san francisco stays in first by one half game. eight more games to go. >> a lot to go. >> you bet. >> there's something something fun about seeing a cameraman faked out. >> well, that was crazy. they purposely try to confuse you and they did it today. >> that's what it's all about. >> they are supposed to fake them out. >> and that's our news for tonight. i'muply haner. >> i'm