coping very well. the father is being interviewed in his home by someone who works for the county. he spoke with us earlier today. and his father spoke with us as well about this tragedy. >> i know for a fact my father loves my son. and i know for a fact that it was an accident. >> reporter: michael is steven's son, soft-spoken and in shock he talked about the nightmare his family is living. >> i hope that we get him back. my family needs him to heal. this is not just the loss of my son, my family needs him to heal. we can't heal without my dad. he doesn't deserve to go to prison. >> he's sitting in the contra costa jail facing child endangerment charges and police are holding him responsible for the five pit bulls living at the home on trail creek court in concord. he spoke to christie smith this

morning about the fatal mauling of his 2 year old son, jacob. >> he never goes down there. usually his routine is -- in the morning, he goes to grandmas and -- >> reporter: but on thursday, the 2 year old went to the garage. three pit bull mixes were in there and two others were in the backyard. >> yesterday i was kind of emotional mostly from shock. my legs were wobbly. i could barely walk. today just to talk about it -- >> reporter: he was not at home at the time the boy's grandmother, his uncle and 4 year old brother were there. he says that one of the dogs that attacked and kill aid chihuahua in the past he says he didn't put it down because he doesn't like to see dogs

euthanized. >> myself, and that's something i'll have to live with for the rest of my life. >> don't you think there was too many animals? like animal neglect? we could have gotten rid of it but we didn't do it. we're all guilty. we can't hold him responsible for all the dogs. we all -- they were the family pets. >> reporter: now, shortly after the mauling, all five pit bulls were put down and he said he signed off quickly on that. hyashi will be arraigned next week and right now he's been held in jail and he's been held on $120,000 bond. reporting live in concord, cheryl heard, nbc bay area news. >> tragic story all around. another night in the city of oakland is raising concern. a violent night on the heels of police layoffs. you're looking at surveillance video of the restaurant takeover

robbery in north oakland last night. two men forced a half dozen customers at the bubble restaurant on piedmont avenue to hand over their wallets and purses. on the other side of town, a kaiser employee coming home from work was gunned down near his front door. with 80 fewer cops on the street, residents say they are terrified. >> there's not enough police to prevent these activities or to respond to them quickly when they happen so that they can actually capture the criminals. and now with the reduction of 80 police officers, they're not going to be able to investigate these crimes. >> oakland police say even with the cutbacks crime is down over last year, so far there are no suspects in last night's killing. oakland firefighters made an interesting and smelly discovery this morning when they were putting out a house fire in a triplex. testimony investigators say firefighters found a marijuana growing operation inside one of the units of the three-story building and police are

investigating to determine if the grow operation is for medical purposes. the fire was reported at 5:15 this morning in the 3200 block of telegraph avenue. it took about 45 minutes to get it under control. no one was in the building. >> we talked about oakland's police shortage and now, in vallejo, half as many cars will be on the street. they have only 95 officers left because of layoffs and the chief says that's not enough people to protect each other if there's a problem so he is directing that his 5uofficers have a partner a all times. 10 to 12 officers will be on patrol at any given time. and a major earthquake hit the southern philippines less than an hour ago. they say the magnitude was 7.4. so far, no reports of damages or injuries. a tsunami warning has not been

issues yet. and a minor earthquake struck the "bay area today." the 3.2 quake hit about 2:30 this amp. epicenter was three miles west of daily city at a depth of 4.2 miles. some people as far away as sacramento reported feeling the quake. no report of damages or injury. it looks like barry bonds perjury trial will not begin until next spring at the earliest. a federal judge attempted to set a trial date this morning and suggested september as the only time her courtroom would be available. the lawyers said that was too early. bonds is accused of lying to a grand jury about alleged steroid use in 2003. prosecutors charge that bonds tested positive for steroids three times between 2000 and 2001. that evidence cannot be used in court because his trainer refused to testify about the results. >> president obama says the economy is making progress but he added, more work needs to be done to stimulate the economy.

the president is urging the senate to pass legislation designed to boost lending to small businesses and increase the limits on small business loans. he says, that's the key to spurring more job hiring. >> with this small business bill we'll set up a new lending fund to help community banks offer small business men and women the loans they need to grow and hire. it will help states encourage more private-sector loans to small businesses in industries like manufacturing or construction, that have been especially hard hit by this recession. >> the president's remarks come as his administration prepares to release the mid year budget review which lays out the federal government's economic expectations for the rest of the year. all of a sudden the picture continues to are brighten for investors. another strong day to wrap up a strong week. scott budman is here with the news and some nice numbers, scott? they are. optimism ruling wall street once again and it has been a good

week. strong corporate earnings mixed in with the rise of general electric dividend. the dow up another 102 and nasdaq up 23. in the spirit of full disclosure, ge is the parent company of this tv station. among the stocks popping, ford with motown standout continues to improve on car sales and money made from the sales. ford pulled in near live $2 billion worth of profit in north america alone. the company's share price jumping by more than 5%. car sales are up, but so are home foreclosures. today, a bit of a bright spot. a group called "neighborhood assistance corporation" holding round-the-clock clinics to help homeowners lower their payments and stay in their homes. here's how. they are both from atlanta but william jack some and chaz met today in washington at the huge anti-foreclosure clinic run by neighborhood assistance corporation of america. people came from across the country. some camped out and lined up at dawn. william had the job but his wife

lost hers and they can't afford their $900 a month mortgage. >> as i man it makes you feel like less than a man. >> you want to make good on your commitments and 35i all of your bills. >> chaz is single and is, working part time since being laid off at best buy. his payments? $1100. the $50 billion obama program to help banks help borrowers has benefitted only 10% of homeowners. >> president obama is pleading, begging and bribing these lenders to do it. we say president obama, get off your knees and require them to do it. >> for william and chaz, it was a close call, not enough income. but in the end, both got their payments cut by $200. >> don't make me cry, man. please. i feel wonderful. >> $200 a month is substantial over a year. when you put that out over 30 years it's really substantial.

>> two homeowners still in financial difficulty but able to stay in their homes. >> we have some good news from california. still, the hot spot for home buying, zip realty says california has 91 out of the top 100 zip codes for home selling above their asking price. tom? here's some more good news for california. particularly the bay area. workers here in the bay area were paid more on average than anywhere else in the nation last year. the bur proof labor statistics says employees in the nine-county bay area earned roughly 20% more than average, particularly in the fields of construction, sales and administration. in 2008, bay area workers were the highest paid workers earning 17% more than the national average. workers in the brownsville, texas, metro area were paid the least earning 79 cents for every dollar on average. bracing for a tropical storm in the middle of an oil spill. that's next at 5:00, the

evacuation from the gulf and how bonnie will impact the cleanup. some of the top shows on television could soon be off the air. why a hollywood walkout now could be worse than the 2007 strike. and a vocal critic of don't ask don't tell is fired. and nothing happy about these meals. biggest offenders in children's restaurant meals. and we're continuing to follow the breaking news in concord where a pipe bomb was discovered in a park there. now police evacuate tds the new hall park and a bomb squad has detonated at least one pipe bomb. i'm rob mayeda here as the complex. the hottest place in gilroy. gentlemen, fire it up! gilroy, the festival is underway and we'll have a look at this and com.g upyocag upin what this droid does will change how you do movies.

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tropical storm bonnie is bearing down on the gulf right now and towards the oil spill. this could be the last underwater look we get as the robots are set to move out. the storm has already forced evacuations. here's the latest from new orleans. >> reporter: by morning bonnie was bringing heavy rain to south florida but it's what happens next that has so many concerned. at the site of the crippled oil well, evacuations are under way. among the vessels being moved are these robotic subs that have been monitoring the such wayne under the sea. so up for a few days there will be no eyes on the cap that's

been holding back the oil for more than a week now. >> we're convinced there's enough well integrity right now that we're confident that we have can leave the well capped over the passage of the storm and return as quickly as possible. >> reporter: after the storm passes the subs bb will be back on the scene and the static kill will resume as quickly as possible. those efforts to permanently seal the well could run a week or two behind schedule. back on the ground here in louisiana, the governor has already declared a disaster area, knowing that this is a storm that could bring ashore a lot more than just wind and waves. >> with this storm coming towards our coast, that has the chance of pushing more oil into our coast and our wetlands. >> today this crew was spotted six miles and in striking distance of grand isle, louisiana. >> the storm will move all around and we want to make sure we're in the right place as soon as possible. >> the coast guard already

planning for what could be more messy cleanup as bonnie moves towards the spill zone. nbc news, new orleans. as for the investigation into the explosion that caused that spill, a panel learned today the alarm system on that rig was partially shut down. a technician who was on board testified the alarm system had been shut off because the company didn't want a false alarm waking up people at night. storms in the midwest are causing trouble as a sinkhole swallowed up a suv after a powerful flooding in wisconsin. witnesses estimated it 20 feet deep and 15 feet wide. the store,s have caused serious flooding in milwaukee. the airport was shut down after runways were flooded. more rain is predicted as thousands of homes are without power. a gay national guard officer who has been one of most vocal critics of the military's don't ask don't tell 'policy has been

honorably discharged. the lieutenant anounlds last year that he's gay and since then he's been a vocal critic of the pentagon. he's been arrested several times most recently this week at a rally in las vegas. he was discharged from the new york army national guard and said the decision was infuriating and painful. the policy requires the discharge of military member who is acknowledge being gay. hollywood tonight is bracing for a strike that could feel worse as the 2007 writer's guild strike. it's not the writers who are threatening to walk the picket lines but the teamsters who provide transportation. a strike thoirgs vote is set for sunday. the union wants a 3% raise instead of the 2% the studios are offering. the trade paper "hollywood reert" said the strike would affect several films as for 20 tv shows.

the city of san francisco is being sued over its new law requiring that cell phone stores post each phone's level of radio energy. it is the first law of its kind in the nation and the industry trade group known at krmpctia, s consumers into thinking one phone is safer than the other. the objective is to block the law from taking effect next february. studies have not conclusively found that cell phone radiation is a health risk. a mystery out of san francisco urban farm. who would kill hundredless of thousands of honeybees. organizers at the farm say someone sprayed pesticide on their hives killing up to 200,000 honeybees earlier this week. they filed air police report. doubt anything can be done to find the culprit. they were teaching urban farming and bee keeping and provide honey for sale to support the farm. >> odd story, isn't it?

let move south to gilroy. >> i can smell it now. >> i think we all can. every year the gilroy garlic festival, a great occasion and ro rob mayeda is there. >> reporter: incredible food and you can probably smell it all the way to san jose. i thought i'd bring in the chairman of the recipe contest. we're talking about the international attention that the gilroy garlic festival gets with some of these contests in these competitions going on this weekend. tell us a little bit about what's going on saturday and sunday? >> saturday we'll kick it off early in the morning about 8:30. we have the 32nd annual garlic cookoff. we've got people in north carolina, oregon, washington. and sunday is a big event. we have a couple of bravo stars. we have brian scott, and we have

last year's las vegas and we have fabio doing the showdown at 12:00 noon on sunday. so we have some great events. we have a bigger theater. we have a great viewing screen. not a bad seat in the house. we're encouraging everybody to come down and watch this show and enjoy us and have a great time here at the gilroy garlic festival. >> outstanding and the food is amazing. thanks for joining us. the weather, by the way, also outstanding. here's the forecast as you can expect as we get into your weekend, we're seeing the low clouds again just hugging the coastline. and those will spill inland again tonight and then tomorrow, and as we go into sunday, inland spots including gilroy will warm up a little bit and we should see some upper 80s and low 90s as we get into the weekend. here at the gilroy garlic festival, the high temperatures, tomorrow, a little warmer and sunday a stronger sea breeze but fantastic weather. here in gilroy, and around the rest of the bay area, the weather will look just fine.

here's what you expect tomorrow how long. low clouds and at lunchtime we'll warm up quickly inland. we'll see mid 80s towards livermore, and gilroy, mid 80s. as we show you the forecast for 4:00, around mid afternoon, near 90 degrees temperatures, fairfield, 82. san jose, 80s. the seven-day forecast will warm things up as we start our weekend and then we'll cool down as we go into the start of the work week. boy, i'll tell you what, this weather is fantastic. look at the food you guys are missing. we'll have to bring some back. garlic sausage. garlic pasta. garlic bread, garlic shrimp and the garlic hat. >> what about the garlic ice cream? >> you're looking good, rob. >> can i get anything there without garlic in it, rob, that's what i want to know? >> not going to find it in gilroy. >> you're out of luck. >> guile somewhere else. no, i won't.

thanks rb rob. made for kids but these meals are really enough for a few adults. coming up, the biggest offenders in children's meals. and yes, it's a real brouhaha. the controversy o over a new be that is not about what's inside. o

right now, concord police continue to search the new hall community park where a pipe bomb has been discovered. the bomb squad has already detonated the device. the park is closed as police make certain there are not more bombs in the area. concord police say this is the same park where two pipe bombs were found on wednesday. we'll let you know what's happening coming up at 6:00 tonight. researchers at uc davis say meditating is not just a form of relaxing it can also help your attention span. they studied a group of 60 people who practiced buddhist meditation during a three-month retreat. at three separate times during the retreat people took a

computer test measuring their ability to sustain individual attention and each time they showed improvement which continued for five months after the retreat was over and especially among those who kept meditating every day. well, denny's slap shot sliders is more than a tongue twister. it's a fat trap. the burger made the list of the worst restaurant kid's meals. the study by the authors of "eat this not that" says they have this, 53 grams of fat. the chicken fingers with fries at outback steak howls hassle -- steakhouse has fat. the study says you can make a grilled cheese sandwich at home with real butter and it will still have fewer calories. by comparison, the 48 grams of fat in the olive garden fettuccine seems like a diet but

the writers say it's out of control. >> stick to garlic. billed as the strongest a i world. next, a look as brewing history.

a scott issue brewery has made the world's strongest beer but the packaging is getting the attention. brew dog, the end of history ale, comes in a bottle tucked into a squirrel or weezle. and we mean, a real squirrel or weezle. animal rights' groups are complaining but the company says the little critters were dead before they became bottle covers. each one was road kill. >> they don't kill the animals.

they are dead. we want this to be something special and completely different from the package. >> at 55% alcohol, it's 110 proof, higher than most vodkas. only 12 brotles are made and they are already sold out. nbc is coming up. what this droid does will change how you do movies.

with blockbuster on demand, this does hit films on a 4.3-inch screen so big, the way you see them will never be the same. introducing the new droid x. pre-loaded with blockbuster. the next generation of does.