tonight two teenagers are behind bars, accused of robbing and killing a castro valley woman, then setting the woman's house on fire. nbc bay area's jodi hernandez has more on the suspects and the alleged murder plot. >> barbara was one of the most special people that i ever met. and she was always, always there for anyone that needed her. and she was very loving. >> reporter: friends and family of 58-year-old barbar latiolais can't believe someone the castro valley woman and her boyfriend trusted and tried to help is one of the teenagers accused of killing her. >> there is some absolute evil out there. and these two are evil to do something like this. >> reporter: investigators announced this morning they arrested 18-year-old cody nicosia and a 16-year-old boy who was distantly related to the victim's boyfriend, a young man who did yard work for the couple and who latiolais's boyfriend tried to mentor. thinking woman is in the sanctity of her own home. she is violated by a person that she knows, she trusts, about these two men, young men commit an absolutely despicable act to murder her, and then to return hours later to set her body on fire. it's just a despicable act. >> reporter: investigators say the teenagers knew latiolais's boyfriend was out of town, and that there were guns and valuables inside the house. they say the pair hid in the yard last wednesday, waiting for latiolais to leave. and when she didn't, investigators say they decided to enter the house, strangle her to death, and rob her. >> the two finished off their burglary, taking the money, guns, and jewelry. they took her car, and they went and had lunch. >> she knew him. she didn't think it was anything. she opened the door to someone that she knew. >> reporter: latiolais's loved ones are grief stricken and shocked. they didn't want to be shown on camera, but they want to make it clear the teenagers need to pay. >> i hope they rot for the rest of their lives. and i hope that they think about this every single day, and i hope it kills them, because they ruined a family. >> reporter: jodi hernandez, nbc bay area news. >> grief counselors are on hand at an east bay high school today to help students deal with the death of a classmate. kathy cue's body was found near half moon bay. she was a senior at albany high school. she was a honor student and a member of the tennis team too. school officials say cue had been missing since last month. now police are trying to figure out whether she was kidnapped or if she ran away. still no deal. the shark tank remains empty with the exception of the disney on ice tour. a live look now at the hp pavilion. the lockout continues. no hockey until december. and that's the best case scenario. today the nhl canceled more games through november 30th, which is about a quarter of the season. on to some more positive news now. the world series. giants fans cautiously ecstatic. today is an off day so we can all catch our breath, and realize what we're seeing here. it's a lot like what we saw in 2010, the baseball gods smiling upon the giants. the ball just seems to be rolling their way. a commanding 2-0 series lead after last night's tense victory. this morning, take a look. hello to tim lincecum and barry zito, the team meeting at the ballpark, loading the buses outside of at&t park there is matt cain and his toddler in tow. their trip to michigan, brian wilson, the whole gang was, there and they got a nice sendoff. the scene at sfo now. the water cannon salute. their united flight took off just before 11:00 a.m. it's not just the players on that airplane, but the entire organization. from the secretaries to the interns and the executives, everyone is enjoying the world series run. the giants have now arrived in detroit, and so have our reporters. among them, jaymee sire from comcast sportsnet who reports now from michigan. >> reporter: the giants on the field here at comerica park, working out in advance of game three coming up tomorrow night. and it will surely be a special night for giants starter ryan vogelsong. what a journey it's been for him through the minor leagues, to japan, back to the major leagues again, and now pitching in a world series. >> it feels great. when you think about ryan and his story and, you know, how much he did have to persevere and to see what he is doing now, you feel great and good for that guy because of all he has gone through and all the work he has gone through to get to this point. >> obviously you realize you're in the world series. and tomorrow is a big game, just like all of them are in the postseason. but when this thing is all over with, i'll take some time to really let it hit home. but right now i'm just worried about going out and having a solid effort tomorrow and giving us a chance to win the game. >> reporter: vogelsong has been the giants' most consistent start their season. he is 2-0 with a 1.42 e.r.a. in three play-off starts. reporting from detroit, i'm jaymee sire from nbc bay area news. >> thank you. we saw her bundled up with the gloves. we saw brian wilson with the cap on. it's good because they're going to need it. that means we bring in our chief meteorologist, jeff ranieri, mr. bay area, and mr. detroit, at least for this weekend. >> we have some huge changes coming their way after an awesome game last night. a lot of sunshine and some pretty warm weather, at least for san francisco standards. we're going to to see things split quite a bit here from that san francisco sunshine. let's get a look on the doppler radar. detroit is dealing with a storm system. the good news by tomorrow that will be shifting to the east. and that will leave detroit with mainly a few showers. but look at these temperatures. they'll be in the 40s for game three on saturday. also the wind beginning to pick up. downright cold on sunday with upper 30s and low 40s. and by monday, windy, 15 to 30-mile-per-hour winds. it will be dry, but windchills could be in the low 30s. we may actually get a few snowflakes by the end of game five. so drastically different conditions for both teams, no matter what f you're used to playing in this kind of weather or not. it will be impacting everyone out there at the field. now, if you're traveling here in california by plane, or you're doing any traveling at all the next seven dwarks have hurricane sandy across the east coast. winds at 75 miles per hour, will be impacting millions of people. right now the storm track does have this parallel to carolinas by sunday. moving up the coastline with a potential landfall on tuesday right near washington, d.c. a slight deviation in that track, and we could have drastically different conditions for a lot of the east coast. and the other thing is the flooding rain, 6 to 13 inches from the carolinas potentially up to new york city. some big weather on the maps 24 evening. well want to join nbc's danielle leigh who is in maryland with the very latest. i'm sure everyone is on edge this hour. danielle? >> they are. here in chesapeake beach, it's empty. they have brought the furniture inside. inside you'll see several empty slips on about the dock. that is because they are moving their boats to safety. people know now is the time to prepare. strong winds, rain, and a rising surf from hurricane sandy are already lashing out on the florida coast. there a jet skier caught in the surf needed rescue. across the caribbean, sandy has left dozens of people dead. it rips through houses, downs trees, and flooded entire communities. models have the storm smashing right into the northeast. >> common sense says you should start taking precautions, get ready just in case. this is a potentially dangerous storm. >> emergency workers say anyone from virginia up through new england should get ready now. on long island, new york, we find people filling up sandbags. in manchester, connecticut, homeowners were preparing to lose power, snatching up generators, flashlight, and batteries. >> i would rather spend the money on the generator and know that i have heat and a full fridge of food for my two kids. >> reporter: in sussex county, delaware, boaters pulled their vessels out of the water. in maryland restaurants emptied their patios. sandy is expected to bring unusually high tides, intense waves and coastal flooding. further inland it could down trees and knock out power. energy companies are already calling for backup. >> all of the utilities have reached out beyond our borders and put contracts in place already from as far away as washington state. >> memories of hurricane irene last year that left billions in damage have people determined not to get caught offguard. several states have declared emergencies. people are being told to prepare for the worst, possibly five to seven days without power. reporting live in chesapeake bay peek beach, maryland, i'm dannielle leigh, nbc bay area news. could cord blood be used to cure autism? i'm marianne favro. how a cord registry here in the bay area is playing a critical role in new research. the balance of political power at san jose's city hall lays right here in evergreen. i'm danian trujillo. that's up next. decision 2012 now just 11 days away. nationally and locally, the races are coming down to the wire. among the hottest races in the south bay is the fight for the eighth district seat in san jose. this one district could impact the entire city. nbc bay area's damian trujillo joins us in san jose this evening. damian, why is this race so critical? >> reporter: the battle is between incumbent rose herera and her challenger jimmy wynn. herera says this whole battle is about fiscal reform, but jimmy wynn says it's about safety. >> we just came by to say hi. >> reporter: she spent the morning shaking hands with potential voters in evergreen. rose herera finds herself in a bitter battle to keep her seat on the san jose city council. >> if you have done good things in the community as an elected, and you're proud to run on your record, then that's really what it's all about for somebody who is asking for another term. >> reporter: but herera has come under fire by police and other unions for her support of pension and other fiscal reforms. >> i supported it. it was the sixth vote. i took that stand. that's why they're angry at me. i'm sorry that they're angry at me, but i have to do what is right for whole city. >> reporter: the police union says herera has ignored the rise in crime in evergreen. >> i'm running for san jose city council. if you could vote for me november 6th, i greatly appreciate it. >> reporter: which is why the police union and the powerful labor movement have poured tens of thousands of dollars into jimmy wynn's campaign. >> there are a lot of things that i'm not happy about. so that maybe me want to get involved, instead of just talking about it. >> reporter: wynn is an attorney, and this is his first run at elected office. wynn also partly blames the rise in crime on herera's leadership. >> for example, last year someone stole a car and dumped it in front of my house. i called the police, and it took them over three hours to come and investigate. >> reporter: if jimmy wynn wins, labor interests will wrestle away from the mayor and his fiscal reform ideas. a victory means he will be able to keep pushing his reform agenda. i'm damian trujillo, nbc bay area news. >> thank you, damian. in the race for the white house, new numbers out today show that the economy continues to improve, but that gop rival mitt romney and president obama disagree about whether the glass is half full or half empty. nbc bay area's steve handelsman is standing by live in washington, d.c. as we edge closer and closer to election day, steve. >> thanks. ohio may still be the keys. no republican has ever won the white house without winning that state, and this year's nominee is campaigning as if that still is a rule. mitt romney took a break from his ohio marathon and went to iowa. >> we're going to create 12 million new jobs in just four years. we'll see rising take-home pay, and we'll get america's economy growing at 4% a year, more than double this year's rate. >> reporter: the former governor has improved his poll numbers because since the first debate, more voters just like him. >> mitt romney used to be upside down in terms of his likability. well, that's no longer the case. >> reporter: back in lebanon, ohio, a pretty town in the key swing state. >> that's true. >> reporter: these sisters sell furniture. cassie voted for barack obama in '08, but decided to switch after she went to see mitt romney. >> i believed his promises and that he would do his best. and i think it's time for a change. >> reporter: the president ended his campaign marathon in ohio last night, and today is arguing 2% growth in the third quarter, the new number out today, is better than expected. "stick with me and my plan" the president urged on mtv. >> for the last 31 months, have seen over five million jobs created. the unemployment rate has been steadily dropping. >> reporter: president obama still leads in ohio by just two points, but in five ohio polls. >> if you add the same result five times in ohio, which you do, you know he is going to carry ohio. >> reporter: but if romney takes ohio and florida, north carolina, virginia, he could win. but so could president obama, even if romney wins ohio and those other states. the tiebreaker would be colorado. whoever wins colorado in that one scenario wins the white house. and raj and jesse, in the latest about in news poll, colorado was tied. back to you. >> thank you very much, steve. let's bring in our chief meteorologist jeff ranieri. and it's supposed to be beautiful. we're here. the weekend is here. >> i know, i know. this is good timing for a lot of us here as that doppler radar scans around, finding dry conditions across the greater northern california region. and one of the things that really helped to get all this sunshine in here, not only inland, but at the coast is this wind out of the north, and also slightly offshore about 5 to 10 miles per hour. that's all we needed to give us some 70s here across the bay area. 74 in concord right now. 75 in livermore, and 76 in santa rosa. and if you like, this as raj was hinting at, we're going to go even warmer. by this weekend, temperatures expected in the 80s for livermore and also into san jose. let's take you outside of the live hd sky camera network. and what you'll find is fog-free conditions and a stellar day in downtown san francisco. we're seeing that repeated all across the california coastline at the current moment. now over the next 48 hours, the jet stream will remain about a couple hundred miles off to the north. it will keep some areas of rainfall for washington and oregon. but for us, as we have been hinting at, high pressure building in from the south. it will keep it more mild, at least for the next two to three days in the forecast. then we have some much larger changes coming in that seven-day. we'll go with the mix of 60s and 70s at the coastline. we'll find some widespread 80s inland. and saturday looks awesome. that's probably going to be the best day on your weekend. but then as you head throughout sunday, that's when we get a little fog-building back at the coastline, and the breeze will start to cool things down for some of you. weep top out at 73 in santa rosa. 82 in livermore. 78 in san jose. how about those giants? we had this forecast earlier. but a lot of you really want know what is going to be happening in detroit when it comes to the weather. we are looking at much colder conditions on saturday for game three. a slight chance of shower at 5:00 p.m. sunday and monday it's going to be cold and also dry and windy, 15 to 30 miles per hour wind gusts on sunday, and also monday, and maybe even a chance of some snow flurries by late in the game on game five for monday. chance of ra rainout 1%. chance of rain delay, 10% there on saturday. and again, it's going to be all about those windchills. if you're heading from the bay area out to detroit to catch that game, bring those layers. no layers needed across the bay area. saturday and sunday, low to mid-80s. and unfortunate hi, we still have a few showers in the mix for halloween evening. it's not heavy rainfall. we're going to hold off on that on thursday. so thursday looks like that accumulating rainfall. right now i think if you're going with the face paints, and you're getting everything ready, you'll be okay with those few raindrops. >> just to clarify, the 30s and 40s was the detroit weather. >> yes. >> and we're the sunshine weather. >> they need to wrap it up because i'm running out of orange clothes. >> that looks great, by the way. >> i'm rung out. thank you, jeff. turning pregnancy into a cure for autism? a new trial using umbilical cord blood to treat the condition that is affecting thousands of bay area families. that is affecting thousands of it helps matters tonight. there my be new hope in the search for the cure for autism. >> the disorder impacts thousands of local families. now a clinical trial here in northern california is harnessing the power of umbilical cord stem cells to try to make a difference. nbc bay area's marianne favro joins us with the details. marianne? >> reporter: the premise is that some children are not born with autism in their genetic makeup. they actually developed it after being exposed to infection or something harmful in the environment. so researchers hope the young stem cells banked when patients were newborns will be able to change the way their nervous system functions. cord blood registry in san bruno is the largest umbilical cord blood bank in the world. and now it's at the forefront of the first fda clinical trial of its kind, investigating whether the stem cells in cord blood may be able to cure autism. >> this initial pilot study will accept 30 children between the ages of 2 and 7 to have a confirmed diagnosis of autism that is not known to be caused by a genetic factor. >> reporter: those children will receive infusions of their own stem cells banked when they were newborns and stored with the registry. by ewing their own stem cells, their bodies can't reject them. dr. michael ches is running the fda-approved trial. the hope is the stem cells participants receive will be used to regulate their immune systems and stimulate neurological repair. >> the premise is that autism may be caused by a faulty immune system or potentially faulty nervous system, and umbilical cord stem cells may help either directly or indirectly repair some of the dysfunction that occurs in children with autism. >> reporter: cord blood infusions have already been helpful in helping cure marian of sickle cell anemia. and they helped this girl cerebral palsy be able to move. the results of the trial are expected within a year, and you can bet thousands of families will be watching closely because more children will be diagnosed with autism this year than with aids, diabetes, and cancer combined. marianne favro, nbc bay area news. >> thank you, marianne. we're back in a moment. coming up now, we have the results of the largest study ever on women and smoking there is some good news. quitting really does make a difference, even in mid life. the details are next on knight. and then at 6:00, a fortified 401(k). we examine new numbers that show your retirement fund is finally filling back up. that's going to do it for us. we'll see you at 6:00. >> good night. on our broadcast tonight, taking aim, forecasters are running out of words to describe just how dire hurricane sandy might be for the east coast. so tonight, millions are bracing for a left hook just days from now. into a huge population center. 11 days and counting, with an eye on the weather and the clock. both candidates try to turn out