the hill fell off. the apartment buildings there have been red tagged since 2009 when residents had to be evacuated. out along the coast the national weather service is predicting waves up to 20 feet at area beaches. we were just at the peer and noticed pacifica police come by at about 4:00 this morning. usually they open the gates there to allow fishermen to go on to the pier, but this morning they said the waves are too high. so we're going to keep them locked for now. and at 6:00 they'll go back out, they'll re-evaluate and decide whether or not they will open them. we'll keep you posted. live in pacifica, i'm tara moriarty, ktvu channel 2 news. we will continue to follow the very latest storm all morning. you can also get up to the minute weather updates on our channel 2 website. just look under the weather tab at ktvu.com. all right. time now 5:01. one of the bay area's top narcotics officers is in jail this morning facing felony drug charges. the commander of the contra costa county narcotics

enforcement task force accused of selling methamphetamine, marijuana and steroids that had been seized on the streets and later stored in police evidence lockers. now legal experts say the arrest could have a big impact on drug cases that date back several years. >> this has potentially far reaching ramifications and maybe for years and years in cases that are literally five, six, seven years old. >> he has been the lead investigator in several bay area criminal cases including one just last month where several pipe bombs were found in storage locker. it's a crackdown on crack pipes. and in just a couple hours from now san francisco's city attorney will give us the details. city attorney will announce a lawsuit against several tobacco shops in the excelsior district. accusing them of selling pipes used to smoke crack cocaine. this is san francisco's latest effort to target neighborhood

smoke shops suspected of promoting illegal drug use. three people shot in east oakland last night are recovering now from their wounds. it happened just before 9:00 last night on hunter street. one of the victims was a woman. she reportedly was shot in the back. police are searching now for four or five suspects who escaped in what may have been a buick regal. tonight the pleasanton school district is holding a meeting to address concerns about a middle school that received a failing grade on a federally mandated benchmark. just 44% of the latinos scored higher. tonight's meeting at 7:00 . president obama is coming to the area. president obama is trying to rally support for his recently released budget. among the executives due to meet with the president,

facebook's ceo and apple's steve jobs. the president will spend the night in san francisco before heading out tomorrow morning to oregon for a tour of an intell plant there. we know we have big problems in the commute don't we, sal? i just changed something up here because i just heard of an accident blocking all lanes. guys in the control room -- thank you very much, ken, lawrence and crew. northbound 280 at 101 there's an accident now reported to be blocking all the lanes. i just heard that on chp. the fire department still arriving on the scene. engine 32 coming in off of monterey. they're not there yet. but this is at the 280 interchange. i just heard all lanes are blocked. on 280 coming up. in fact they just called another engine company from near city college station to come up there and help with this major accident. so we'll keep an eye on it for you. let's go out and take a look at

westbound bay bridge. that traffic is okay coming in to san francisco. the morning commute is going to be okay on 280 in san jose. that traffic is fine. now at 5:05, let's go to steve. thank you very much, sal. good morning. another active day. the awesome tweets yesterday. everybody reporting hail and snow. keep them coming. sp weather. great reports from san francisco yesterday. i'm going to do my best here to do some serious multitasking. bear with me here. some green turning to white in the livermore hills. there could be some snow here. couple maybe 3,000 feet. there's plenty going on. look at that. decent line there. highway 4 pittsburgh make sure sal hears that too. pittsburgh. concord, back over towards oakland. highway 24. that's moderate to heavy rain right there. and then that snow up into lake county -- i've had -- i like to say we've, had numerous reports

of snow. things will be extremely active. there's just a lot going on today. going to be a very busy day. let me see if i can do this now. yes, i made it. [ laughter ] low snow levels 3,000 feet next two days. in fact i think it will get down to 2500 feet as we head into tonight and tomorrow. there's plenty going on. i mean the snow is piling up. northern mountains and right there. this is what's swinging in. today might be more of a rain day than a showery day. yesterday was showery. if we're talking on the phone and i said it's nice and sunny and you go it's nuts it's raining -- that's showers. but if we're both on the phone saying it's raining, that's what i mean. that's what we're going to get as this system comes in. off and on rain cold snow levels as you saw. possibilities of more hail. we're already in the 40s. some locations will not get out of the 40s today for highs. we have a system -- there is one little positive here if

you're looking as we head toward the weekend the systems are now starting to dig more towards central and southern california. today 40s and 50s but today's our turn. we're going to get hit good today and i think tomorrow. after that i think we get a break. it won't be very warm but quieter than we've had. next week looks like another round of active weather. all right. thank you, steve. 5:07 is the time. bloody thursday. that's what protesters in the middle east are calling today. the reason behind the ominous name. also the drive to the mountains could be another treacherous one. we'll take you live to the sierra. the snow is still piling up. good morning. right now traffic on the east shore freeway looks pretty good. but the rain is moving through. already we have a couple of serious crashes maybe caused by the weather.

good morning to you. welcome back. time now 5:10. riot police swinging clubs and firing rubber bullets attacked protesters while many were still asleep in a protest camp. reportedly three people were killed, hundreds more were hurt. the protesters called today bloody thursday. the government there is now put the capitol city on lockdown. they're telling everybody stay off the streets. well, the iraqi chemical engineer who was the source of the u.s. information that saddam hussein reportedly had weapons of mass destruction, now he says he made it all up. >> i had to do something for my

country, so i did this and i am satisfied because there is no dictator in iraq anymore. >> that man became known as curve ball. former secretary of state collin powell used the statements to justify going to war with iraq during his speech at the united nations. on capitol hill, congress is going through president obama's spending plan line by line looking for cuts. house republicans are looking to cut $61 billion for the remaining seven months of the federal fiscal year that ends october 1st. so far the only thing democrats and republicans have been able to agree on is canceling $450 million for a back up engine for a fighter jet. massachusetts senator scott brown is speaking out about the years of physical and sexual abuse he suffered as a child. in a television interview the republican senator who took over the for late ted kennedy talks about the abuse and

lasting consequences he endured. brown has also written a book about the trauma associated with being a victim. that will be released on tuesday. time now 5:12. the california supreme court now is entering the battle over proposition 8. the same sex marriage ban in california. as soon as september the court will start hearing arguments to decide if the sponsors of prop 8 have legal standing to defend that band. protect marriage says it stepped in after state officials refused. >> we're glad that the court is dealing with us. we support the ninth circuit coming to the california supreme court. it's good to resolve this once and for all. >> we're talking a couple years probably until we get a final resolution on this question. and if you're gay and you want to be married, that is really frustrated. >> now final outcome could take a couple of years because this issue is expected to end up in the u.s. supreme court. in hawaii a standing ovation from the audience as

state lawmakers passed a civil unions bill. this will give same sex couples in hawaii the same rights as married heterosexual couples. that law is expected to be signed in within ten days. unions will begin january 1st of next year. an ancient relic from a catholic saint will be on display today. it's a bone believed to be that of st. mary recorded in the bible as the first witness to the resurrection of jesus christ 2,000 years ago. appropriately enough that bone will be on display at st. mary parish in berkeley. the relic made stops at parishes in oakland and antioch earlier this year. examining different ideas to prevent drug overdoses and deaths at the cal palace. three months since raves were banned following the deaths of two people last may. now officials are meeting with lawmakers as well as police about the best way to move

forward. the latest idea by state senator yee would give the mayors of san francisco two appointments each to the cal palace board. this morning cal trans and ski resorts are preparing for the next round of snow. forecasters are already predicting another 18 inches by tomorrow night. we're live from colfax. that area on the way to tahoe along 80 that could be a very busy place. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. busy because a lot of people are pulling out to get their chains on. come prepared. here in colfax about 2,000 feet you can see on the ground half an inch of snow. low snow. one report coming in of 1800- foot elevation seeing snow. so it's definitely cold air moved into the area bringing snow down to the foothills of the sierra. so for you that means driving. you're going to encounter chain controls earlier than usual. they were in colfax. cal trans moved it up to gold run area this morning. it's been fluctuating as with

the weather. it was coming down very hard here earlier and now you can see around just a light snow flurry at this hour. another powder day in the sierra. i did a little skiing yesterday and the snow is incredible up there. with another foot coming in on top of it today, it's a powder alert. back to you guys. >> that's good. i was just going to ask you where did you ski? i know just about a month ago the last long weekend martin luther king, jr. weekend i heard from people it was spring skiing and slushy. is it nice now? >> reporter: i love spring skiing in the sierra, just not in january. we had a month of spring skiing now we're back in winter and it is full winter. sugar bowl yesterday and again two feet of snow up there. another foot on top of it today it's going to be incredible skiing. little heavy yesterday but this cold air coming in evident by the low snow the powder is going to be great. >> we know you love snow. that's evident when we talk to you. i was looking for signs of your snow office. the cave you build and cook out of.

do you have that up there with you this time? >> reporter: that's up a blue canyon. it's not portable. it's a fixed port there. it's at 5,000 feet. we wanted to stop and show you the low snow. i have a dumpster back here to show you today. >> that will work. >> where are you? what's the elevation there where you are? >> reporter: we're at 2,000 feet right in colfax. right at the colfax exit. low snow. i wouldn't be surprised if the showers come back into the area that perhaps maybe in areas as low as auburn could see a light snow flurry. probably wouldn't stick but it's certainly cold enough. >> thank you for that update. it's definitely going to be good news for the resorts. they are anxious for this snow. all right. hopefully we'll check back in with him in a little bit. looks good. we're going to be updating weather and roads all morning long up in the sierra and here in the bay area. our coverage also continues online. before you head anywhere you can check storm tracker 2 any time. you can get the latest ski conditions. just click on the storm watch tab at our website at ktvu.com.

i'm feeling the need to pack up the skis. >> i know. and you can ski good too. time now 5:17. but we need sal to get us to where we need to go down here. a lot happening and throughout the bay area. that's right. the rain is making it tough. we have a crash in san francisco northbound 280 at 101. lanes blocked but injuries are not life threatening. people are being worked on in the paramedic vehicles in the lanes just about to take some of these people to the hospital. they all did get out of their cars without having to be extra kateed. however northbound 280 approaching 101 there's a slow down. police are there. fire department. the whole thing. a lot of flashing lights. expect delay. we're going to let you know when all the lanes open. also traffic is moving along pretty well on westbound bay bridge coming in to san francisco. traffic is looking pretty good here. and the morning drive on northbound 280 in san jose looks all right getting up to

highway 17. 5:18. here's steve. sal, thank you. let's get right to it. we have rain-snow mix and snow as you just heard down to 2,000 feet around here 3,000 feet but i think it will go around 2500 feet. this could be a day for severe weather. and the reason why i bring that up is what's swinging in right there. it's just exploding. now the temperatures are cold. you really need more heat. there's a lot of dynamics in place with that right there which swings in. possibility. the storm prediction center even said a low possibility for tornadoes. they never mention that for us. never ever, hardly ever. now out in the valley i don't think that will happen for us here but maybe out in the valley if they can get a little sun that will be the key if we can get some breaks there but this is a very strong system that's coming in. there already lines of thunderstorms forming again. there will be reports of hail. also a really cold rainfall. yesterday we had some mid to upper 50s. today we'll be lucky to get some low 50s. low snow levels around here 3,000 feet or lower. i may drop that to 2500 feet here in a minute because it's

already down to 2,000 feet up in the sierra. also winter weather advisories out for clear lake, lake county northern mountains of lake county up to bernie basin. the cold air is in place. the system is swinging right in on us. cold today. tomorrow we'll get some rain, but things start to slide south over the next 48 hours. today's our day though. 40s, 40s low to mid. that's it. highs only in the upper 40s for the north bay right there. i mean that's -- i've been doing this a long time. when you see something like that and it's popping up and expanding right off your front door that's a sign it's pretty intense. we will also start to see some of this snow around here. again, mainly early morning and late nights. winter storm warning out until 10:00 p.m. friday. until 10:00 p.m. friday. they're not messing around. [ laughter ] snow level around 2,000 feet. 40s for highs.

north bay, parts of east bay low 50s for many. it's going to be a very wild ride here thursday and friday. i think things calm down though saturday night. cold and windy. okay sunday. next week though is looking like another active week. well, early this morning the world's largest food company reports its full year profit tripled. nestle earned $35.8 billion. some of that comes from selling off its eye care business. that money was used to pay down debt, buy back shares and build new factories around the world. but the switzerland based company also reports better than expected growth of 6%. right now futures dip a bit pointing to a slightly lower opening. we are looking for investors and traders looking for good economic news to sort of bank on. yesterday some gains.

dow jones up 61.5 points. we will hear from some of the retailers and the big retail number. the justice department is looking into google's plans to move into online travel. google has made a $700 million offer for ita software which is the leading airline fare tracking company. but critics say that could decrease competition which would result in higher fares for consumers. time now 5:21. united airlines will bring back direct flights between san francisco and new orleans. the fistfight is this morning. taking off from lewis armstrong airport in new orleans, it's due to land at sfo about 10:00 a.m. this morning. this will be the first direct flights between the two cities since they were canceled in 2005 after hurricane katrina. by the way, sfo will host a celebration in honor of this new flight later this afternoon. well, water you would not want to be swimming in. amazing video of a swarm of

sharks. why hundreds of them were spotted swimming side by side. >> wow. and california's the nation's only state even close to building a high speed railway now that florida canceled its project. is this good news or bad news for california? good morning. it's pretty windy on many bay area bridges. we'll tell you more about the morning commute and have a look at the weather straight ahead.

good morning. we have rain. we have some snow counsel around 2500 feet and highs today only in the 40s and 50s. a very strong little system is going to pin wheel in right there. that's coming in later for some moderate to heavy rain and very cold temps. all right. steve, thank you. time now 5:25. almost 10,000 infants and toddlers are hurt every year in crib-related accidents. the medical journal of pediatrics says most of the cases involve toddlers between the ages of 1 and 2 who fall out of their cribs. researchers say the number of crib injuries dropped a bit between 1990 and 2008. a ban on drop side cribs which took effect in december 2010 is expected to further lower that incident rate. a judge in los angeles has granted movie legend mickey roonny a temporary restraining order from his stepson. this stems from allegations of elder abuse. you're looking at video from

the 1950s with judy garland right there. prosecutors accuse his stepson of with holding food and medicine from the 90-year-old acting star. the judge has ordered him to stay away from mickey until a hearing next week. thanks to the governor of florida, california's high speed rail project could get a financial boost. yesterday governor rick scott turned down $2.4 billion of federal funding for a high speed train in his state. he says he found the early projections for the cost of the project hard to believe. >> the truth is that this project would be far too costly to taxpayers. and i believe the risk far outweighs the benefits. >> now his decision means that federal money is now up for grabs. governor jerry brown says the money is more than welcome here in california which will lead the nation in demonstrating the need for a high speed rail. but critics here also doubt the project saying it won't meet rider expectations and will be costly to operate. just when you thought it

was safe to swim in the ocean again, once again hundreds of sharks invading the waters near polka are ton, florida. you've got to see this amazing video. this mass migration happens every year. hundreds of sharks swim up and down the florida coastline only about 100 yards from the shore. most are black tip and spinner sharks. they're not considered dangerous to swimmers and surfers. however the county down there has closed two very popular beaches just to be safe. our time is now 5:27. we'll keep following this wet and cold storm moving through the bay area right now. what you should expect as you head out this morning. also the scam a bay area airport worker is accused of. investigators say she cheated customers out of thousands of dollars. good morning. southbound 101 traffic is busy and it's raining there. we'll tell you more about the morning commute straight ahead.

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good morning to you. welcome back . this is the ktvu channel 2 morning news. it's thursday february 17th. i'm dave clark. i'm pam cook. it's been a long week for driving especially with the weather. what's it like today, steven? a fun weather week. lots of reports yesterday of hail. today i think we could get more. and also snow levels are coming down. we're starting to see them get down to 2500 feet. upper 40s for highs.

low 50s. and a very vigorous system come in today for a cold rain. here's sal. steve, there's a tree down that has come down on the lanes westbound highway 4 at 80. now a couple of cars have run into that tree. it's an injury accident. westbound highway 4 at 80 that ramp is blocked with that tree. again now that crews are getting out there. take highway 4 to highway 80 you're going to need extra time. you might want to think about going another way. also this morning we're looking at the commute on highway 4 here in bay point. now nearby on port chicago highway near highway 4 there is word of a crash. in fact, this accident port chicago highway at willow pass road pickup truck and another car got into it. very tough driving conditions. we also have tough driving conditions in contra costa county. ktvu's claudine wong is near interstate 680 right now with this live report. claudine. >> reporter: hi, sal. another wet morning out here.

show you 680 right now. you can see traffic moving smoothly but it is wet. the roads are wet out there. we actually just had a tow truck parked on the side of the road next to us and it zoomed off conceivably going to someone who is in need of help. i want to show you video within the last hour in fremont because it is -- well, we apparently don't have that video for you yet. but we were just in fremont where there was a solo spin out. a guy had spun out on the side of the roadway. chp told us there that he did that because the roads were wet. he just basically lost control and slid out. so, again, take a live look at the conditions right now. there are problems throughout the bay area because of these wet roads. certainly something we're not getting used to but something to keep in mind if you're heading out this morning. sal just told you about the accident on highway 4. we're headed there now. we hope to bring you pictures as soon as possible. keep you yip updated here on the morning news. we're going to go to tara

moriarty who is watching the surf in pacifica. >> reporter: that's right, claudine. pacifica police are at the pier and re-evaluating the situation because at 4:00 in the morning they were supposed to open the gates so the fishermen could go out and do their fishing but they decided against it because the waves were high. so they kept those gates locked. now the national weather service has issued a high surf advisory until 3:00 this afternoon. they are expecting swells up to 20 feet in some area beaches because of this latest storm. some flooding is anticipated along the coast. and right now it is high tide. might be seeing the worst of it. >> we're not opening yet. we usually open at 4:00. we'll evaluate it because of the waves hitting the bottom of the pier. if it keeps up we'll keep it closed. >> reporter: as a precautionary measure? >> yes. we don't want anybody going out and getting swept over the side. >> reporter: now a little later this morning a couple blocks away city engineers will be out to inspect that eroding cliff where two apartment buildings have been red tagged since

2009. officials will be looking to see if the latest series of storms have further destabilized the hillside. yesterday they took a look but it's unclear whether the rains have caused any further slippage. we'll keep you posted. live in pacifica, tara moriarty, ktvu channel 2 news. we will continue to follow the latest storm all morning long. you can also get up to the minute weather updates on our channel 2 website. just look under the weather tab at ktvu.com. time now 5:34. half a million dollars. that's how much a former american airlines ticket agent is accused of stealing from hundreds of customers. investigators say she has allegedly been doing this for the past three years. they say she stole customers' credit card information while working at the san jose airport. she then reportedly used that information to buy gift cards two or three times a day. johnson's been charged with 66 counts of grand theft. if she's convicted, she could face almost 50 years in prison. a search is underway right

now for a man who robbed a popular chain store in a high end san francisco neighborhood. police say the suspect walked into the william sonoma store on chestnut street tuesday night. they say he then pointed a gun at a clerk and demanded cash. that clerk complied but it's not clear how much money that robber got away with. no one was hurt during that robbery. and right now there's no description of the suspect. a $10,000 reward is being offered this morning in connection with a kidnapping and brutal beating of a 25-year- old woman. police are looking for jerry williams of oakland who also goes by the name of gary williams. there's a picture. as we've been reporting, another oakland man, larry wilson, was arrested in connection with this kidnapping. investigators say the two men grabbed a woman along a north oakland street on february 5th. she escaped the next day when he captors fell asleep. today vallejo police are expected to release the identity of a man whose body

was found in the strait. according to the coast guard the body was pulled about 2:30 yesterday afternoon. investigators say it's not clear yet how the man died. our time now 5:36. a 14-year-old boy accused of planning to kill his teacher is in juvenile hall this morning. he was arrested tuesday. police say when they searched his belongings, they found a notebook that reportedly contained notes on how he planned to attack his teacher. that suspect is a freshman at the high school. police say he was angry because he believed the teacher embarrassed him in class. a second suspect now in san francisco's so-called funeral parlor scam is due in court today. investigators say a now defunct funeral home bilked several families out of prepaid funeral expenses. the very same day his former boss was in court he resigned.

charged with grand theft and other felonies. we now know who was at fault in the fatal head on crash that killed a chp officer. the chp says it was officer thomas adams who crossed into oncoming traffic on highway 101 tuesday afternoon. investigators say he was hitting a curve in the wet weather when his car veered into the path of a truck. adams had been on the force for just two years working first in oakland. under the terms of a new settlement, oakland will now make city services available to chinese and spanish speakers. the settlement requires all city documents and telephone messages be translated. it will also require the city to hire an adequate number of spanish and chinese speakers when public positions become available. well, bay area lawmaker wants to change the way crab fishermen start their season. and a lot of them support the idea. santa rosa state senator evans wants to limit the number of crab pots that can be placed.

right now california only issues 600 permits for crab fishing. but does not limit how many pods each fisherman can have. california is the only state that doesn't place a limit, so crab fishermen from other states are coming here and pushing out the locals. time now 5:38. two women convicted of posing as san bruno explosion victims won't be doing anymore jail time. yesterday a judge placed them on three years probation and gave them credit for the jail time they've already served. they were the first two defendants convicted of scams connected to last september's pipeline disaster. investigators say they claimed they lost their homes in order to get free hotel rooms, gift cards and other benefits. a man from tub ron who survived one of the unabomber's mail attacks has died. he was almost killed by the package bomb mailed to his home. he was a geneticist during

research on down syndrome. that explosion left him seriously injured but he did go back to his work. he died at the age of 77 after a long fight against cancer. a busy road between pittsburgh and antioch will be closed for two months as part of that highway 4 widening project. sentry boulevard will be closed starting mid to late march all part of the expansion of highway 4 from four to eight lanes. the widening project is supposed to be complete by the end of 2014. hey, sal, how are we doing on the roads right now? pam wants to know. we are getting pretty busy out there. we have one crash in contra costa county on highway 4 at 80 where a tree has come down and it caused an injury accident there. so watch for slow traffic on highway 4 coming up to the area. westbound highway 4. now, remember traffic on 80 may be effected because people may be looking at all the emergency vehicles. also the morning commute looks okay if you are driving on highway 4 coming up to the

willow pass grade. the traffic looks as you -- the traffic looks okay as you come up to concord. and this morning's commute is moving along fine at the bay bridge toll plaza. there's a small delay but that's about all. 5:40. let's go to steve. all right. sal, thank you. just on the tweets steven in petaluma 45 and raining. that's cold. man, that's a cold morning. it's going to be one of those days. now there's a lot of -- we're waiting for the main system to come in and it's right offshore. i'll show it to you in a second. also very low snow levels. temperature wills stay in the 40s for many today and it's just going to be one of those days where anything goes. the reason being -- right there. i'll get out of the way so you can see this. watch how this develops. that's it. that's a problem child. this one will move in and give us some really heavy rain and keep low snow levels going and maybe some more thunderstorms with hail. all the reports yesterday coming in would not surprise me again today.

although when you get something like that it's more cold rain in nature. but this is a very dynamic system. snow levels around 2500 to 3,000 feet. that's here. it's 2,000 feet up in the sierra. that will be for the next couple days. temperatures in the 40s right now. 43 santa rosa. 44 redwood city. livermore was down to 38 and then rain came in and their temperature went up. looks like there's snow mt. hamilton, east foothills san jose there's been some green turning to white. there it is. right there. that's what has to come in today. that's going to give us -- you name it, it's a cold rain and possibility of thunderstorms and i have some severe weather possible. i would think later this afternoon. and also out towards the valley. this is a -- just swinging in. that's going to keep the snow going. winter storm warnings in the sierra until 10:00 p.m. friday. snow totals one to four feet and snow level there around 1,000 to 2,000 feet already. cold rain for us today.

thunderstorms possible likely. low snow level maybe even some funnel clouds today. this has all the ingredients except heat. 40s and low 50s on the highs today. more rain takes us into friday. i think after saturday morning we're good to go. it's not going to be very warm but it's going to be cold especially sunday morning and then monday there's not an agreement on next week but they do keep us in a very cold pattern. all right. well, the biggest solar flare in four years. and scientists say it's heading for earth. the impact the radiation could have. also what former defense secretary donald rumsfeld has to say about the oakland raiders. and, boy, this is raising eyebrows. the commute could be evil. northbound 101 approaching the 80 split. we'll tell you more.

good morning. a lot of rain out there. some snow down around 3,000 feet. and it's going to be a crazy day today. we have temperatures upper 40s low 50s and some moderate to heavy rain will come in and possibility of more thunderstorms. all right. steve, thank you. besides our continuing coverage of this big storm, here's a quick look at some of the other top stories we're following for you right now at 5:45. one of the bay area's top narcotics officers is in jail himself this morning. he's accused of selling drugs that had been seized on the streets and later stored in police evidence lockers. california supreme court is now right in the middle of the battle of proposition 8, california's same sex marriage ban, as early as september the court will hear arguments to determine if the sponsors of proposition 8 have legal standing to defend that band. and president obama comes here to the bay area this evening. he'll be meeting with high-tech

business leaders. the president will have dinner with top executives of facebook, apple and google among others. there are no public appearances scheduled. police say a gunman who robbed a sears store may have hid in the department store and waited until closing time to strike. it happened about 9:30 tuesday night at the sears at north gate. after the store closed police say the suspect entered an office, pointed a gun at the manager and demanded cash. he fired a shot in the manager's direction but missed. he got away with an undisclosed amount of cash. the suspect in the murders of two women near yosemite has been found dead. sheriff deputies say the 71- year-old man killed himself inside his home. now he was suspected of shooting and killing his wife in a restaurant on bass lake yesterday. then he killed his wife's attorney in the restaurant's parking lot. police are not releasing any details on what led up to that shooting.

time now 5:47. at least six people are known to be dead, several more are missing after a tour boat filled with foreign tourists sank at vietnam. this happened just hours ago. the official vietnamese news agency says there were several americans on that boat. we don't know yet if they are among the dead. a warning is now in effect for the biggest solar flare in four years. now a solar flare is a huge explosion in the sun's atmosphere. it sends x-ray and ultraviolet radiation in our direction. scientists say this could cause radio blackouts among other things. the warning issued by the national oceanic and atmospheric administration is in effect until sunday. it was one year ago today that a small plane crashed in an east palo alto neighborhood killing three tesla workers on board. one house badly damaged when that plane went down. that house still has not been repaired. neighbors say it is a grim reminder of that tragic day.

>> i saw the belly and the rest of the neighborhood was all foggy. that's the only image i have of that day. >> that twin engine plane crashed after hitting a power pole shortly after taking off. the widow of one of the victims' is now suing the deceased pilot's family claiming that accident could have been prevented. nfl star michael vick has postponed an interview with oprah. the philadelphia eagles quarterback canceled an appearance on her talk show that was supposed to air next thursday. now he planned to talk about his time in prison for dog fighting charges but his spokesman said he reconsidered. oprah's production company says vick backed out for personal reasons. the oakland raiders are getting some harsh criticism from an unlikely source. the former defense secretary for the bush administration calls the silver and black evil. that comment from donald rumsfeld came during his book tour when the subject turned to the super bowl. rumsfeld said he supports the

pittsburgh steelers because they are the long time rivals of the raiders. then he said "nobody could support the raiders, they are evil." yikes. raiders have a lot of fans worldwide. they're not going to be supporting rumsfeld. all right. time now 5:49. let's check in with sal because we need to get you to where you need to go. pay attention. i know you want to talk about donald -- i see it on your face, sal. it's all part of the image. >> i know. >> good morning, everyone. let's go out and take a commute. this commute could be evil if you don't pay attention. northbound 280 getting up to highway 17 asks going to be a little bit -- well, it's actually doing okay. again, all joking aside you need to leave the house early and that way you can plan for people who might not be driving well or sometimes what happens is people hydroplane and they lose control of their vehicle and then you know you need more reaction time. so just get on the road early if you can. windy as well. gusty winds on the bridges near

the oakland coliseum home of the raiders. no major problems this morning at the bay bridge toll plaza. it is going to be a bit windy on that bridge though. so just be careful. now at 5:50 let's go to steve. sal, thank you. plenty going on. let's get right to it. look what's developing right off the coast. that is going to be big time. that is enhancing, developing and going to pack a good punch in the form of cold rain and also a possibility of some very low snow levels and maybe some more thunderstorms. now east foothills i think mt. hamilton's getting some snow. east san jose, south of livermore, maybe mission peak in fremont possibility. look at the line of showers. heavy duty stuff starting to pop up. richmond and right along 80, vallejo, benicia and towards corp deal ya and fairfield. and that's snow. there are advisories for snow level lake county 2,000 feet. that's going to be a cold

pattern. there's a lot going on. 2500 to 3,000 feet snow level the next couple days. once we get rid of the clouds. may not be able to see it today but once we clear it out by the weekend then we'll be able to see it. it should be very pretty. 40s may not be pretty weather- wise today. there's a possibility of severe weather today. we are missing the one key ingredient and that's heat. it's cold out there. 40s. even with the cloud cover and the rain. but watch that system. that's it right there. that is very intense. and that has to move through. so if you want to beat it, go now. or wait it out. that could produce some very heavy rain. a cold rain possibility of thunderstorms today as that system drops in and showers. yesterday was showers today will be more rain-like. and very low snow levels that will continue into tomorrow. we see improvement by the weekend. today winter storm warning in the sierra until 10:00 p.m. friday. until 10:00 p.m.

friday. one to four feet. around 3,000 feet here but i think it will go down. mainly a cold rain and very blustery. get some of these cells to move through it could be very windy for a stretch there. 0s and low 50s for highs today. active pattern going through friday into early saturday. after that looks much better. won't be warm but it will calm down a bit. cold sunday morning. but at least mostly sunny. oh, boy. thank you, steve. this morning the national retail federation announced it expects a 4% increase in sales this year. the organization is forecasting retail sales to approach $2.5 trillion this year. that does not include sales at restaurants, gas stations or car dealerships. and if the prediction is correct, it would be the biggest jump since 2006. apple took the lead in pc sales during the final quarter of last year. the research company display shows apple shipped 10 million notebook and apple computers

around the world during that time. that's more than 17% of the world market share. the i pad makes upmost of that but apple notebooks also beat the industry average. hewlett pack hard comes in second with acer, dell and toshiba rounding out the top five. san francisco's best known brewery is celebrating an anniversary by introducing a new beer. celebrating 140 years in business anchor is. now it's unveiling breakling brown named after the company's first brewmaster. the dark ale will be available in what the company calls better pubs around san francisco. time now 5:53. a dramatic rescue in southern california. how an escape from raging waters was anything but certain for three men camped along the river. actors even if they never get too close to the hollywood stars.

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the first in a series of winter storms hit southern california yesterday leaving three homeless men stranded in the middle of the los angeles river. firefighters had to rescue the three men after rising flood water trapped them in the river near long beach. firefighters say people don't realize how fast that river

water can rise and it wasn't long before the men were in danger. >> when we first got here you could see a little bit of the island. it was just up to their ankles. after that it was already up to their knees. we made the rescue it was between their knees and their waist. >> after the rescue all three men were examined. no injuries are reported. another storm is expected to hit the los angeles area tomorrow morning bringing more heavy rain and wind. time now 5:57. get that talk about movies now. looks like ucsf's mission bay campus will be the next filming location for the action movie contagium. look at the video of the crews filming near city hall over the weekend. yesterday they were at candle stick park. signs on the campus have been reportedly been changed for the filming purposes. it's about the spread of an infectious disease starring matt damon, kate wince let and jude law. and a lot of bay area people in

it as extras. cool. it's almost 6:00. let's check in with sal for a look at the roads. how's it going? it's okay but we have slow traffic because of the wet weather. generally if you leave the house early it should be okay. let's go out and take a look at some of these pictures. 280 northbound little bit of slow traffic here and wet weather continues to move through. also the morning commute on the grade that traffic is moving all right heading down to the area. there are no major problems although there are some slippery roads. of course, at the toll plaza traffic is okay. westbound highway 4 at 80 there is a tree down. it's beginning to back up traffic on nearby surface roads as well. now back to the desk. thank you, sal. why one of the bay area's top narcotics officers finds himself in jail. what he's accused of doing and how his arrest could effect several bay area drug cases. plus another stormy bay area commute this morning. what you could be facing as you head out the door. good morning.

cloudy, rain, cold, maybe even thunderstorms. we'll have details coming up right after this.

good morning. wet weather is making for a very tough commute. and this drive is effected by hail and also snow in some