rare summer thunderstorm turns deadly. lightning strikes several people in the weighter, on the beach, and on the boardwalk. the latest freak storm. wildfires raging across the golden state. hundreds of firefighters and the fire lines including dozens from the south bay is not leaving peep at risk in case major fire breaks out here. bay area lawmaker is speaking out tonight. why he thinks pg&e and the california public utilities commission are too close. nbc bay area news starts now. >> good evening. thank you for joining us. i'm peggy bunker. >> i'm terry mcsweeney. a young man is deed and 13 are injured after rare summer lightning strikes two southern california locations including

venice beach. witnesses say they have never seen or heard anything like it. >> the loudest clap of thunder i've ever heard in my life because it was so close. i thought it was like a bomb almost. >> reporter: but it was like the lightning that did the damage in southern california this afternoon. most of its a venice beach, killing a 20-year-old. among the dozen injured, a 15-year-old boy. witnesses say the sky drew dark, then came the lightning. the entire storm lasted 15 minutes. some victims were on the beach. others the water. still others on the famed venice beach boardwalk. nine were taken to the hospital. one listed in critical condition. >> all of a sudden you heard this crack, this giant bolt up in the sky. i had never seen it like that. i'm from the midwest. >> about the same time as venice beach was being hit a 57-year-old man was struck on catalina island. he's listed in stable condition. >> meteorologist rob tracking

this storm. it's so rare to so many people hurt by lightning strike here in california. >> around southern california and bay area we see less than five thunderstorm days per year but we had southern california. you saw that line of intense weather roll on through. right around mid afternoon, the thunderstorms from the deserts move right across venice beach. you see that there dropping half dozen lightning strikes on the beaches of southern california. what you might not be aware of is the gilroy garlic festival, we also had lightning and thunder. earlier this morning as the line of showers went through. both areas of active weather, monsoon moisture coming up out of the south over the last couple of days. things to keep in mind with lightning, again, it takes the shortest path from cloud to ground. it's about 50,000 degrees fahrenheit and has over a million volts of energy. usually strikes the tallest object nearby whether you're on a beach or a golf course. you want to get indoors. seek shelter inside for at least 30 minutes until after the last

sound of thunder. when thunder roars, go indoors. when you're outside in the mountains or deserts, it's something you have to watch out for. usually see less than ten thunderstorms per year. it's rare to see so many of those days strung together. partly cloudy skies for you tomorrow morning. we will see an on going chance of more thunder coming up. another hot day taking shape for tomorrow. valley, 80s and 90s. more moisture coming on in which could power up more in shorn california. we'll show you the impact ahead coming up in a few minutes. back to you. >> rob, thank you. new details tonight on the battle against a wildfire near sacramento. firefighters are starting to make good progress there. the sand fire is now 50% contained. that is up from 20% yesterday. more than 1400 firefighters including some from morgan hill remain on the scene. the fires burned thousands of acres and forced hundreds of evacuations. the number of structures threat rned have doubled since

yesterday. vac waited homeowners are waiting for answers. >> we're right in the path. my oldest son was very emotional last night. we were having dinner and he thought, boy, i never thought we wouldn't have a place to come home to. it was emotional. >> the cause of the fire is still under evacuation. 200 bay area firefighters but the absence is leaving possibly the south bay vulnerable. nbc is joining us live from cal fire headquarters in morgan hill with a closer look at that. >> peggy, cal fire says they do have a strategy for maintaining coverage while this team of 30 is out fighting the sand fire. but it does involve getting help from outside the area. >> right now 30 firefighters are cal fire teams of the bay area is on the front lines east of sacramento in el dorado county. doing their best from attacking

flames. >> they were actively protecting homes. they did say the fire was moving very quickly and they were just trying to be apressive and defend the structures. >> they're working with eight engines and a bulldozer. equipment traditionally designed to protect santa clara keens. sending two california fire strike teams to the sand fire has already had an impact on firefighters efforts in the south bay. yesterday when this 15-acre fire near quicksilver park in san jose threatened six homes cal fire was forced to reach out to other agencies for backup. >> we requested coverage units. >> even though 30 firefighters somewhere left the area for the sand fire the division chief for cal fire south bay operation says we are still protected. >> we still have adequate firefighting sources. if needed we can call for aid

from throughout the area. >> reporter: some question whether relying on mutual aid will be enough to control a growing fire when every second counts. cal fire says one of the best things you can do right now when crews are stretched thin is to protect your home by making sure you have defense i believe space around it. reporting live in morgan hill, marianne favro. >> thank you so much. yet another fire east of the bay area is burning unchecked tonight. look at this video here of helicopters fighting the el porto fire on the western edge of yosemite park. three camp grounds are closed. people nearby are under evacuation orders. hundreds of firefighters are on the scene and more are headed to this area. the fire is between 0 and 5% containment. it's burning south of last year's massive rim fire. new at 11:00. new calls for a criminal probe into construction problems on

the new bay bridge. state senator cites a senate investigative report due this week suggesting caltrans accepted substandard work at taxpayer expense. he's seeking a outside review of the defects involving welding and foundation issues. some of the issues have been publicized in prior reports. a state senate hearing is scheduled for next month. a questionable relationship, san bruno city leaders are alleging that pg&e and the utility commission are too close and they have the evidence to prove it. christie smith is live in san bruno. you talk to a bay area lawmaker who would also like to see some changes. >> reporter: that's right. we're talking about state senator jerry hill. four years after the san bruno explosion and so much is still unresolved now the city is saying that it can show the relationship between the cpuc and pg&e is inappropriate. >> thousands of e-mails obtained through a lawsuit settlement are

central to san bruno's argument over the relationship between the state public utilities commission and pacific gas and electric. the utility it oversees. >> what that showed me is that 3 1/2 years after the explosion and fire in san bruno, the relationship between pg&e and the puc which should be at arm's length is as close as possible and as close as it has always been. >> state senator jerry hill's district includes san bruno where in 2010 the gas pipeline explosion killed eight people and destroyed dozens of homes. according to the city, the correspondence includes pr critiques from the puc president regarding a federal indictment of the utility. it says, at least 40 violations. >> the utilities have been working the commissioners, they've been communicating closely, and that kocoziness is not what we expected. >> we reached out to cupc but they said they did comply with

other requests but didn't weigh in on accusations. the city says it has been involved in every step of the on-going penalty process. tomorrow it will learn the actions it will take against both agencies. >> now, pg&e today referred us to an earlier statement about this that reads in part, we're absolutely committed to conducting ourselveses in an ethical manner at all times. we will review all of the e-mails involved to ensure this high standard was upheld. i did hear from a spokesperson working with the city and he said there will be a series of actions unveiled tomorrow including a number of legal motions over those e-mails. reporting live in san bruno, christie smith, nbc bay area news. >> thanks very much. coming up next, governor brown taxes a trip down south to the border. and the dught hitting lake

tahoe. why people will have trouble enjoying the water this summer. united nations taking action to stop the growing violence in the middle east. what's next for the war torn region. you used to sleep like a champ.

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we continue to follow developing news out of gaza. emergency session tonight the united nations atopped a resolution urging both israel and hamas to agree to a an immediate truce howevers it's unlikely the resolution will have any affect on the fighting. hamas resumed launching rockets into israel and israeli forces continued their assaults on the gaza strip. we go to tel aviv with the latest. >> reporter: the whus is losing patience. president obama again calling the israeli prime minister, asking him, please to support an unconditional humanitarian cease-fire. but there's a new poll out that

indicates how israelis feel about this. 87% of israelis say they do not support a cease-fire. they want the operation in gaza to continue. >> israel claims it was hamas who shattered the quiet first and they retaliating, firing only one fired upon. appearing on "meet the press" benjamin netanyahu made their position clear. the israel pulls back and stops destroying hamas tunnels, even a brief cease-fire could give hamas time to regroup. >> we can't allow them to restock this arsenal or we will be stuck in another five or six months with the same problem. so we want the militarization of gaza. >> reporter: secretary of state john kerry unable to broker a peace deal, u.s. officials were hoping a set of rolling cease-fires would staunch the bleeding while diplomats kept talking but the two sides are entrenched. >> they're both deep in escalation and looking for a way

out and it gets messier and uglier and more violent as we proceed. >> reporter: throughout the day sirens sounded. each time that happens, launchers like the two you see behind me part of a high-tech system, they fire israeli missiles to intercept the rockets in midair. it's happened nearly 500 times over the past few weeks. to further bolster their position the israeli defense forces release this video today showing what it says provsz hamas is firing rockets from a palestinian-run school in gaza. but the u.n. agency that run other schools turn shelters says militants are firing from their schools it's only after they've evacuated. >> there's absolutely no evidence that's been produced in this round of fighting certainly that militants have gone into shelters which we are using to shelter displaced people. >> reporter: the damage is greater in gaza. but even on the israeli side of the border today, civilians caught in the cross fire. kate snow, nbc news, tell ali a

governor jerry brown is in mexico city tonight. tomorrow he will be looking at leaders about the immigration reform. the governor's original mission for the trip was working on business opportunities with mexico and climate change, but now he is adding immigration reform. he's also hosting a delegation of some of california's top business and political leaders. his economic trade mission may lead to changes in the way california and mexico do business. commerce between mexico and california is growing. last year it was more than $60 billion in goods and services coming back and forth across the border. palo alto police are looking for people involved in a shooting. the gang task force found the victims in front of a home near university avenue just before midnight. police say all of the victims were shot several times. the 31-year-old man died at the scene. two women from east palo alto were taken to the hospital. . they are in stable condition. a man accused of posing as a

police officer and taking advantage of immigrants is due back in court tomorrow. san francisco police say jeffrey dressed up like a cop and then lured central americans who spoke little english to their home. he made them perform sexual acts, threatening them with deportation if they reported anything. he played not guilty. tomorrow his preliminary hearing is set. his bail is set at $2 million. new at 11:00, the drought is now taking a toll on boating and rafting around lake tahoe. starting tomorrow the san harbor boat ramp at the northeast shore will be closed for the rest of the season. the water level is just too low to launch boats without the risk of damage. sight-seeing cruises may have to halt soon because of obstacles getting in and out of the water. owners of several river rafting companies say they will have to pull the plug on raft tours next month. >> that is where so many people around here at least a weekend or a week up there during the summer and san harbor pier, not

being available, that's something. >> that's tough. meteorologist knows this all too well. >> we're watching the drought conditions around the state. even though we're going to see sierra thunder showers over the next couple days, not nearly enough to bring up the water levels around lake tahoe. it was a lot like arizona weather. we still had numbers in the mid to upper 90s. morgan hill to livermore. san francisco not too bad. near 70. on the same day we had mid to upper 90s around parts of the bay area. we did have measurable rainfall. most of it coming down early this morning around pleasanton. just over a trace amount there. pebble beach picking up .04 of an inch of rain. interesting weather story. next couple of days. we could see that same type of numbers play out. a few passing showers from time to time. pretty mild night around the bay area. mou more clouds coming in. we will likely not drop off too much. mild night around the bay area. waking up to mostly low 60s. right now we're seeing a break

from the showers and cloud cover again as most of the moisture that brought us that rain now has moved off into organ. we will be watching the active weather across the sierra and california. by this time tomorrow the models start to bring in the moisture by the afternoon and push the high clouds closer to the bay area as we head into tomorrow night and early tuesday. this next surge of moisture coming on in. what's unusual about this weather in combination of the heat and chances to see thunderstorms, the weather pattern, when you look at the upper air pattern for the state, typically northwest winds which keep cool ocean temperatures. thunderstorms off to the east but that's not the case. we're seeing a southerly flow coming up at of southern california. we will see this pad tern through tuesday afternoon which will continue to bring the moisture up out of the south and the chance of seeing a few scattered showers at times. again, we will see it as we go

into tomorrow night and early tuesday. and by wednesday and thursday, you see the cooling. that will be the see braez starting to come back up. tomorrow, 92 in san jose. so fairly hot from san jose downtown to saratoga. should see numbers close to 70 in san francisco. as more clouds start to come in, temperatures will drop a little bit on tuesday. slight chance of showers. temperatures starting to level off. for the knot bay tomorrow, partly cloudy skies. increasing clouds. mid 80s around santa rosa. pleasanton and livermore. close to what we have today. upper 90s. in the forecast for tomorrow, as the clouds thicken up and we should see a few scattered showers. cooling there into tuesday. hanging on to the mid 90s in the tri-valley wednesday and it won't be until we approach next weekend, sea breeze will be strong enough to cool off the temperatures closer to the average of 8. saturday and sunday. back to you. >> rob, thank you. what a day for a 26th mile

run. no i know firsthand you it looks like a lot of fun. 26,000 runners turned out for the marathon. nbc bay area employees took part and they wore go it is pros as they ran. producer ran 13 miles. he was okay last time i checked. and philip who does audio camera and graphics. if he falls asleep this show is going downhill. stay with us. it could get crazy. >> right. >> they came out. they had a great time. other events, half marathon, full marathon. 2:32 was the winner. the women's winner was 2:48. congrats to all. >> hat's off. >> tony said he was pacing a eight-minute mile. how about that? >> the only person faster in his age group was henry wolfer.

>> first across the bridge. >> i was running in the age group of 90 and over. that's the reason why i was fast in my group. >> very strategic. >> always great to talk with you. we got a very busy sports block coming up next. yes, we have the latest on the san francisco 49ers training camp. hey, don't kill the messenger but more bad news for the 49ers running backs. plus, baseball hall of fame inductions and p strugglining giants. they try and avoid the sweep against their hated rival, the dodgers. highlights are next in sports. no rush, andy.

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welcome back to nbc bay area. everyone wants to know what's wrong with the giants? the g-pen were outscored 13-1 against the dodgers. could a new acquisition jake peavy help the team avoid the sweep? let's get out to at&t park. there's the newman in orange and black wearing number 43. top of the fifth. adrian gonzalez. past buster posey. gordon, speedy. gordon slides home safely. a lot of people question whether

posey should have thrown that ball to first base. game tied at 2-2. and yes, this team would go on to lose another one. this expression on their faces says it all. dodgers win, 4-3. as and rangers, top of the second. john jaso didn't get all of it but this ball is going to drop in no man's territory. oakland. next batter. steven. he's got my vote. double downs the right field line. that will bring in another run to make it 3-0. follows suit. crushes one to the corner in left field. add two more runs. as punish the rangers, 9-3. okay. here's the bad news out of the 49ers training camp today. as running back la michael james left practice with a dislocated elbow. this just days after the 49ers lost running back kendall hunter

to a torn acl. 4ers insider has more details. >> there's no question they will look to bring more running backs into camp approximately right now the workload of training camp you want to take it easy on some of these guys. especially the wear and tear of frank gore. as far as la michael james, the injury is initially thought to be about a month long. if you remember his last year at oregon he dislocated his right elbow in a game against cal. back playing in games 23 days later. this is the other elbow, the left elbow. the 49ers play the season opener september 7th at dallas. that's six weeks from today. 49ers expect that la michael james will be back there returning punts and kickoffs for the 49ers in the regular season. >> get well soon, la michael james. baseball, a pair of former athletics inducted into the hall of fame today. former as manager tony la russa and frank thomas.

as a manager, la russa won three world series and six pen nans. here's what the former as skipper had to say. >> you go to oakland and yet same combination in chicago and st. louis. you had wonderful ownership. all repped here today. you had a great front office all represented here today. and then we had hall of famers. two of them are back here. ricky, and i believe the way to accept this tremendous honor is as a representative of all those mentors, coaches, and members of the chicago white sox and oakland as and st. louis cardinals. friendly between the san jose earthquakes and madrid in candlestick park. pk wins it for. them. 4-3 is your final. looks like he was going left. psyche. he goes right for the victory.

don't forget the giants kick off a new series at the pirates tomorrow night. catch the action at 7:00 right here on nbc bay area. by the way, terry, peggy, i'm going to be gone for the next two weeks. >> ugh. >> yes. i decided to try out for the running back for the san francisco 49 sgleers. >> go goet them. we have faith in you. >> i think i need to lose a few pounds. still to come, plans for a special tax district money to help build a private clubhouse. the clubhouse is often off limitses to everyone who is is not a dues paid member. can taxpayers stop it? tonight we investigate the plan and what it means for anyone living in a special tax district here in california. plus, two americans catch the deadly ebola virus. what they're going to stop the outbreak. [ heart beating ]

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using public money for a private clubhouse does that add up? that is the question sparking a lot of debate and bay area community. >> here's why. special tax districts all over the state operate with little oversight until now. investigative reporter breaks down this controversial project. >> reporter: take a look around. next to the recently renovated exclusive swimming pool, the sleepy hollow homes association's clubhouse built in the 1950s is showing its age. >> it's in dire need of replacement. this facility needs to be replaced. something needs to be done because it is fall ag part. >> reporter: while almost all of these people agree this clubhouse needs replacing they disagree about how to pay for it. >> i don't think that that's proper use of taxpayer funds. >> these tax dollars are going to build an emergency facility. >> reporter: tax dollars from

the sleepy hollow fire protection district. 2500 or so residents in the district pay 17% of their base property tax to cover fire and emergency services. the fire district's three-member board is now considering using $2 million of the tax reserves to help build a new, already planned, $2.5 million clubhouse to replace the old one. while everybody has to pay the fire tax, not everyone is a member of the homes association, and that means they don't have full access to the clubhouse or the pool. >> private citizens, we've raised about $500,000. >> reporter: john grubb serves as chairman of the sleepy hollow charitable foundation to raise money and oversee the construction of the new facility. >> match we'd the $2 million from the fire protection district. >> how critical is the $2 million to your project? >> to this project, as it currently stands, it's very critical. >> reporter: so critical in fact the charitable foundation's remember site tracking donations

has already assumed it's getting the $2 million funding even though it hasn't been approved yet. that's the rub for residents like john parenta who lives across the street. he does not pay to be a member of the homes association or the pool but his tax dollars would go to rebuild the new facility if they approve the deal. >> it's taxpayer funds and it should be used for taxpayer purposes, not for building somebody's dream clubhouse. >> i think it's a misuse of the taxpayer dollar. >> neighbor has lived in sleepy hollow all his life. he is a dues paying member of the homes association and the pool. >> there are many more ways to utilize that money than putting it into a structure that's not going to be used for the fire district. >> fire district officials call this project, quote, an emergency shelter. they point to these planned paging showing possible energy uses including a permanent fire district office there.

>> what your tax dollars are going for, which you have a complete use of as member of the public is public safety components of this building. >> reporter: he serves as treasure and spokesman for sleepy hollow's three-member district board. all three members are also a member of the homes association. >> this facility would be available to any public safety purposes and anybody who wants to come to it for free. >> there are people who are not members who pay taxes to your tax district, right? >> yes. >> why is it appropriate to use their tax dollarses to rebuild this clubhouse? >> we're not building a clubhouse. >> look at this. the official plans on marin county's website call it a clubhouse and a community center, not an emergency center. the plan show an elaborate layout including a library, a coffee bar, a wrap around porch, even a baachi ball court, off limits to anyone who is not a dues paying member. >> so again, is this an appropriate use of tax dollars?

>> it is an appropriate public/private partnership to improve the safety for all the residents, all the members of the sleepy hollow fire district. >> it's very difficult to distinguish cleanly between private purposes and public purposes. >> reporter: he taxes tax law at uc berkeley. he estimates there are as many as 5,000 special tax districts like this in california and there is very little oversight. >> these districts don't answer to the governor or to anybody else in the state directly. >> it's using taxpayer funds for private organization. >> some residents maintain even if the new building serves emergency functions once in a while that's not enough to merit their tax dollars footing 80% of the construction bill. >> many other ways we can use that $2 million to better serve the residents, all the residents of sleepy hollow. >> that was steven stock reporting. a public hearing on the proposal is scheduled in august.

experts say the voters have a few courses and a special tax district. they can organize a recall election or sue in court. if you have a tip for investigative unit give us a call at 888-996-tips or send us an e-mail to theunit@nbcbayarea.com. two people are in the hospital tonight after an apartment fire. apartment complex mcbride avenue. a man and woman were seriously burned but they're expected to survive. three units were badly damaged but not destroyed. red cross stepped in to help people. it's not clear what caused that fire. truck overturned to two peninsula cities tomorrow for a second round of spraying to combat the spreading of west nile virus. despite that, county officials report that mosquitos have teed positive for the virus. here's where the spraying will take place. roughly bordered by peninsula and second avenue in san what a

they you and north idaho street and hillsboro tomorrow night. the fogging is scheduled to take place between 9:00 p.m. monday and 5:00 p.m. tuesday. nearly 700 people have died and now two americans have contracted the virus. nbc's janet reports, both have been waging the battle to save lives in west africa. >> reporter: tonight we learned a second u.s. citizen tested positive for the ebola virus. she's been working with the samaritan's purse, the same charity a doctor was serving when he became infected with ebola this week. here is a doctor treating an ebola patient. it's worst outbreak in the history of the ebola virus. the death toll is nearing 7 pun. there the s. is no treatment or

vaccine. fever and headaches and diarrhea and vomiting and weakness and stomach bane. >> ebola is probably the most contagious and deadly virus in the world. it's spread through contaminated body fluids, sweat, blood, saliva. >> reporter: it's already in the ginny, sierra leon and liberia. experts worry the virus could become wide spread in highly populated nigeria. >> if this really does take hold in one of those two countries, then all bets are off. i think it could have a huge disruptive effect on economics, on trade, on travel, in many dimensions. >> in nigeria international airports are screening arriving passengers for ebola after an infected traveler from liberia died. now two americans are being treated for the virus. tonight dr. brantley is in

quarantine and stable. two americans working to save lives, now fighting for their own. >> a day at the beach turned tragic in an instant for one father and daughter today in florida. the man sdid, his 9-year-old daughter sus youly injured when this happened. a small plane made an emergency landing in sarasota. the pilot radioed a nearby airport saying he had engine trouble before going on quickly. the man and girl were simply walking near the surf. >> everybody was on route to respond and the plane went down at that same time. so there was a matter of minutes. >> just tragic there. the girl is in critical condition tonight. there were two people on board the plane. neither of them were hurt. coming up next, a new call to strike down marijuana laws. one of the world's most influential voices. why some critics are blasting the message. sarah palin takes a step in launching what may end up being

her own media empire. find out how easy it is to get your sarah palin fix any time.

an editorial by "the new york times" has stressed the legalization of marijuana back into the national spotlight. the paper compared to the situation to the day of prohibiti prohibition, write that other wides law abiding citizens are becoming criminals. reaction from critics of legalization was swift and heated. >> i don't see how there would be anything that is so beneficial to society by lifting a ban like that. >> you're going to have a marketing campaign targeting

kids. >> the best evidence is that you lose -- if you use marijuana as a teenager regularly, eight iq points and i don't know about the rest of the table but i don't have eight to lose. >> well, the baper did say that pot should still be off limits to people under 21. 36 states have loosened marijuana laws and polls show more than 50% of americans now think it should be legalized. even the president is probably said he thinks pot is no more dangerous than alcohol. if you can't seem to get enough of sarah palin, all you have to do now is gone online. that's because today she launched the new sarah palin channel. it is a subscription-based online video service. palin is the executive editor overseeing the content on the channel. that includes palin commentaries and intimate look at her family life. free trials are being offered. then it kicks up to $9.95 a month or $99.95 a year.

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we're following breaking news in san geez. firefighters battling a two alarm fire. this broke out on virginia street and fifth. interstate 280 has been closed. firefighters battle the flames. so far no injuries have been

reported. we do have a live crew heading to the scene. we will bring your the latest as soon as we get it. people in about one-third of the country are in the path of severe weather tonight. >> it has been a weekend filled with hail, lightning, flooding across much of the midwest and the east. and as nbc reports, it's not over yet. >> reporter: large hail and tense lightning, high winds and dangerous thunderstorms push through several states including illinois and kentucky, triggering a dozen tornado warnings and watches. a tornado touched down in central c connecticut. trees and power lines were down and several homes damaged. heavy rains caused flash flooding in massachusetts. drivers pushing through several inches of rain on roadways. >> these severe storms will bring large hail, damaging winds. a number of tornadoes are a possibility. of course, as always the potentially deadly lightning with the storms. >> reporter: meteorologists at

the national weather service headquarters in jackson, kentucky, remain on high alert. these meteorologists monitor severe storm systems, potential for flooding, damages winds and any dangerous weather in the region. they train for days like today working with emergency management teams and sending out weather warnings and advisories to residents in the danger zone. >> we use radar as our primary tool but when we see something on the radar and we want more information we have a network of storm spotters and chasers out there that we can get to report as well. >> reporter: this round of dangerous weather produced a strange of severe storms that made its way through conn canada and the great lakes and the south east. people in more than 18 states are bracing for the threat of dangerous storms expected to continue throughout the evening. john yang, nbc news, chicago. >> ominous clouds there. >> strange weather keeps coming this way. rob is here now with a look at that. >> even though the state really sees less than ten thunderstorm they days per year we've seen a

lot strung together and usually lightning will follow the shortest path from cloud to ground. if you want to be outdoors and you're seeing this activity take place, being flat to the ground is not where you want to be. lightning can travel through water or across the ground. the safest place to be is to get indoors and stay there until 30 minutes after last sound of thunder as the thunderstorm weakens and moves on. i mention this because we will another day or two where we could see lightning in the forecast. today we did have lightning earlier around gilroy. a very interesting statistic now. adding up the july rainfall, san francisco at .12 of rainfall is seeing the fifth start of a rainfall year. that said, on the glass half full, that's good news perhaps as we go through the end of july. we could add on a little bit more to that with more showers coming in at times perhaps late tomorrow and tuesday. it looks like we're not going to see much in the morning. 60s to get your day started.

80s and 90s by noon tomorrow. things are going to heat up quickly. late tomorrow night, we could see another batch of showers coming in. most of the action right now is in southern california and that is what's going to try to spill towards the bay area as we go through the day tomorrow. partly cloudy clouds to start. increasing chance of seeing showers later on. see the clouds starting to spill in as we go into monday emping and early tuesday. by tuesday evening the chances of showers moves off to the east. temperatures are cooling off for the second half of the week. tomorrow, 92 near san jose. temperatures close to 70 in san francisco. into the north bay, highs in the mid 80s. pleasanton and livermore, upper 90s. with the clouds coming in on tuesday, brief drop in the temperatures down in the low 90 forz tuesday. the second half of the week if you want to find real cooling you may have to wait until friday. that's in the sea breeze will start to pick up once again. back to you. >> thanks a lot. coming up, look at this dog

here. just adorable. loves to surf but also helps a disabled ride the wave with her. we're going to show you how this dog has become a fund-raising phenomenon helping hundreds of others in need.

got to love this story. on a beach near san diego you can find a dog, very cute one, ramd ricochet. a golden retriever who loves to surf. >> this is more than just a story about a cute dog doing tricks. nbc has the story. >> reporter: the word's out, kids know it and parents know exactly what ricochet has caught kids like her 8-year-old son hunter. born with spina bifida and while still on land, more in the water. >> just knowing that because he's in the wheelchair doesn't mean he has to stay in the wheelchair. he can get out. he can get in the ocean. he can surf. >> reporter: there are other

dogs who surf and a lot of dogs who develop some level of empathy of the needs of their human pals but ricochet especially. the owner, the day ricochet first jumped on a board and steadied the ride for a paraplegic teenager. 4.4 million views later, ricky was a star. >> i thought, gosh, we're getting all this attention and we certainly don't need it for ourselves. so let's use it as a platform to help other people. and that's how it started and it's never stopped. >> reporter: a website later and ricky and judy were a fund-raising colossas. raised money for scores of charities benefiting both humans and animals. ricochet's friends are all kids or dogs. her unique calm and empathy have helped soldiers like army medic randy emerge from the depths of

ptsd. leaving him in booze and degs spare. >> i was at my wit's end because i thought i tried everything. >> reporter: everything but this. four-legged celebrity. >> it is ricochet. >> you're kid meg. >> who can plow the roads for a soldier or plow the surf with 2-year-old caleb aboard, also a spina bifida patient, or take hunter for one more ride, just the two of them this time. the longest they ever have together. >> hunter would absolutely love if ricochet was his dog. >> reporter: would they do it again? >> yeah. >> reporter: why wouldn't they? >> a lot of people would like it if hick shea was their dog. >> i love that name. >> yeah. we'll be right back. was the >> i love that name. >> yeah. we'll be right back. rwas th >> i love that name. >> yeah. we'll be right back. iwas th >> i love that name. >> yeah. we'll be right back. cwas th >> i love that name. >> yeah. we'll be right back. owas th >> i love that name. >> yeah. we'll be right back. chwas t >> i love that name. >> yeah. we'll be right back. ewas th >> i love that name.

>> yeah. we'll be right back. t was t >> i love that name. >> yeah. we'll be right back.

we are following breaking news in san jose. interstate 280 and san jose has been closed as firefighter battle flames and we're learn that people living within a ten-block radius of the fire at virginia and sixth are being evacuated. ten-block radius from that intersection. >> pretty major there if you follow through with that. it's a two-alerm fire. no injuries reported. we have a crew heading to the scene. we'll bring you the latest about the situation on "today in the bay" tomorrow morning at 4:30. once again, 280 is closed while they investigate that. >> there's got to be something going on right there, two-alarm fire and doing a ten-block radius vevacuation. temperatures in the mid 60s around san jose tomorrow. hot temperatures inland before the next round of monsoon moisture starts to come in during the day. winds right now relatively light. northwest wind in san jose. it would be getting blown to the

south and east of downtown san jose. monsoon moisture will sweep in late tomorrow on into tuesday. we're going to leave the chance of seeing a few showers. partly cloudy start to your monday morning. highs, 80s and 90s. a chance of a few shower in the forecast as we watch temperatures staying hot for the first half of the week. back to you. >> all right, rob, thank you so much. thank you for joining us tonight. >> have yourself a great night and a great week.

tonight, we investigate. >> they say your investigation didn't go far enough. >> as far as i'm concerned the investigation i asked for was done. >> was justice served in the justice studies department? we investigate some questionable university spending and decisions and why following our reports the chancellor is just now taking action. how can a driver still have a license? >> i would have to look into the specifics. >> some city cab drivers racking up traffic violations but still driving you around. we go undercover to expose bad drivers and why the agency in charge hasn't taken action. >> it's the largest scam of this