>> alan: good evening. today thousands of college students took the dprad wake walk toward a new chapter in their lives. for one uc berkeley student that walk end up a new chapter for him. he is paralyzed from the waste down, and lisa amin gulezian witnessed him get up and walk with the hope of an ex-oskeleton. must have been exciting. >> lisa: it was. the exoskeleton has a battery pack and leg straps and was developed here on the campus and helped a 22-year-old walk at his

graduation. insure. >> congratulations, class of 2011. >> the excitement was everywhere. >> the class of 2011. >> graduation day siie many different things, like adulthood and the future, for austin whitney, it means so much more. >> this cagous and inspiring young man was determined to graduate from college and walk at his commencement. >> reporter: on this day austin will walk again. he has been wheelchair bound since a car crash in 2007. uc berkeley's human robotic and engineering team built an exoskeleton for austin to use today, and austin rose to the occasion at fellow students watched. with the exoskeleton securely bound to his body, austin walked the seven challenging steps across the stage.

>> collapse. [cheers and applause] >> it was a rush of excitement. of enthusiasm. a little bit of nervousness. the greatest gift anyone has given me. >> reporter: the gift was the brainchild of a professor, even though he and his team of grad students have built other more sophisticated exoskeletons, this one is different. it's cheaper and lighter in weight. >> this technology can be accessible to a large number of people and that's our mission. >> reporter: to these parents, their mission today was simpler. >> to know my son was going to process with them on his own two feet was more joy than i had when he came out. >> reporter: unfortunately, austin's exoskeleton is still being developed so it cannot be bought yet. once it goes to market it will

cost as much as a moat you're rised wheelchair, less than 20,000 tuesday. lisa amin gulezian, abc-7 news. >> alan: amazing. thank you. a state senator is urging prison officials halt the release of thousands of ex-convicts on unsupervised parole. under a law approved be the legislature in 2009, louer level offender do not have to property to parole agents and can only be returned to prison for committing new crimes. the move was to save money but they're criticizing the computer program used to decide if it's safe for paroleees to go unsupervised. corrections officials said the prom hat -- program had better result that traditional procedures. a man died when his car plunged off a cliff in citizen

ton county. the pt cruiser drove off of highway 10 in the morning. the driver died moments after rescuers reached him. >> the chp had the helicopter come in, repel down, bring the victim out. >> alan: the chp kept highway one closed for several hours while the car was pulled back up to the road. officers are investigating the cause of the accident. preparations are underway for tomorrow's 100th running of the bay-to-breakers through san francisco. stacks of metal barricades are ready to line howard street near the starting line. race organizers have instituted a zero tolerance policy for drinking and misbehavior, and also say nonregistered participants will be kicked off the race course can. this comes after the annual event turned into an alcohol fueled free for all along the seven mile route. not be a very comfortable seven

miles for runners, because, believe it or not, storm is moving into the bay area tonight, and leigh glaser says it could be a cold and wet bay-to-breakers. >> leigh: you're exactly right. here's a look at our satellite radar come -- composite. you can see the front off the coast. live doppler 7hd picking up showers on the north coast, and they're starting to pop up here just off the san francisco coast. here's a look at the forecast for the bay-to-breakers tomorrow. the brunt of the storm system moves in overnight so that's most of the heavy e.r.a. and tomorrow morning between 7:00 and noon, lingering showers will be with us and cooler temperatures, in the mid-to-upper 40s to even low 50s. we'll take a detailed look at the rest of the forecast coming up. acknowledge -- an an. >> alan: it's an historic day on

the mississippi river. they opened flood gates for the first time in 40 years, hoping to avoid disasters in new orleans and baton rouge. >> reporter: when the word finally came it was what no one wanted to hear but what everyone was expecting. >> at 1500 this afternoon, we will open up the morganza floodway. we'll start with one bay. and that will bring about 10,000 cubic feet per second down this floodway. >> reporter: in order to save cities downstream, for only the second time in 38 years, engineers have begun opening some of the 125 gates of the morganza louisiana spillway, allowing the overflowing mississippi river to flood thousands of acres of harm lands, homes and structures, and displacing as maybe -- many as 2500 people. >> they told us to move as the we were moving, period. >> not coming back. >> not coming back. not to leave a toothpick behind.

>> knowing that all of this that you worked for is going to be gone, that's all you can think about report roirt was an agonizing decision for the army corps of engineer. sacrifice these homes and farms to save cities down teem. the mississippi could overwhelm levees in baton rouge and new orleans, flooding thousands of homes and businesses, dealing a severe blow to the region's ailing economy. further north in mississippi, the flood waters have already swamped the train station. railroad ties are being used to hold back the river in vain. the mississippi won't crest there until next week, and the flood waters won't completely subside until well into june. abc news. >> alan: mike huckabee takes the presidential guessing game to a new level. the announcement, set for tonight, even his advisers don't know whether or not he'll run for president. >> the investigation into a virginia boating accident that killed a bay area native.

some survivors never in my lifetime did i think i could walk 60 miles in 3 days. 60 miles compared to what a cancer patient goes through is a walk in the park. from the moment i registered, people started immediately supporting me. i walk with my sister. our relationship has gone to a whole new level because of training together. you meet the most wonderful, inspiring people. when you accomplish those 60 miles, it's truly life-changing. (man) register today for the... because everyone deserves a lifetime.

>> alan: within the house mike huckabee is expected to announce whether or not he is running for president. yesterday huckabee e-mailed his advisers, promising things will get even crazier after he speaks tonight. republicans ron paul and newt gingrich have joined the 2012 race. other big names are still on the sidelines. >> reporter: will he? >> the fact is, i'm very much considering doing it again. >> reporter: or won't he? >> trying to give an honest answer, i don't know. >> reporter: mike huckabee is all over fox news. five appearance in two days, ending tonight with his own show, where he is expected to announce whether he is in it to win it in 2012. >> someone who sells well on television. whether he can make that show run in 2012 is still to be seen. >> reporter: even huckabee insiders say they don't know what he'll do the former

arkansas governor will be the latest entry in a field that finally has some big -- well, medium name contenderred. ron paul declared on friday, he is in. >> i'm officially announcing i'm a candidate for president. >> reporter: so is newt gingrich, conserve's conservative who last held office when seinfeld was a tv show and michael jackson was on tour. >> i would like to be the most successful paycheck president. >> reporter: the donald is 2012 curious, talking presidential. >> i've been thinking about this since china and opec. >> reporter: still not declaring. neither is mitt romney, who is running against mitt romney. >> a lot of pun digits are sag i should just stand up and say this whole thing was a mistake. >> reporter: the universal health care plan he signed into massachusetts in 2006 won hem an endorsement that could sink him in thedon primary. >> i agree with mitt romney. >> reporter: the more republicans get to nor their

candidates the more unhappy they are. a new "associated press" poll found 45% of republicans are disavid -- dissatisfied with the come candidates. >> laura bush called the wife of indiana governor mitch daniels urging her to get her husband to run. abc news, washington. >> alan: just ahead police recover a stolen vintage vowel here in the bay area, but they need your help finding some parts that are still missing. get ready for a chilly spring shower. leigh glaser coming up with the forecast. >> all new. the biggest controversy in "oprah show" history. now, five years after "a million little pieces," they meet again. oprah, james frey.

>> alan: a bay area native died in a late night boating accident in virginia. officials have released the 9-1-1 reporting of a survivor who managed to swim to shore. >> i went out on a sailboat, went down the river, and the boat sank. >> alan: the accident happened thursday night on the jamesry. river, ten people afillitied with the nasa research center were on a sailboat when it cap sized. lorenzo tyler was killed. he is a native or the valley. others swam two to three miles to shore. >> clearly a very harrowing experience for them, being trapped in the middle of the night in the middle of the water, and basically swimming

for their lives. >> alan: investigators say it's unclear how the boat capsized. >> a coast contra costa county s being accused of stealing a vintage vawbl. the california highway patrol says it was stolen from an automobile car carrier in pittsburg last december. yesterday the auto was recovered in a sting operation, and gary ray smith was arrested. it was stripped of its head lamps, horn, side lamps, windshield trim, and a unique red hood. anybody with information about the missing parts should contact the chp. many of you helped feed the hungry people in the bay area today by places boxes of cans of food near your mail box. postal carriers drove tons of food back to their offices.

this is the 19th year of stamp out hunger. it combines the efforts of the postal service and the postal workers union. it's helping the half million people helped by local food banks each month. >> the amgen cycling tower -- tour is going to have an update. >> leigh: the first stage is tomorrow from south lake tahoe, up to north lake tahoe, and we're expecting snow up there. unbelievable. not unusual for us to get rain in may, but this is going to be a cold one that moves in tonight and tomorrow. the high definition sutro cam showing you -- looking west towards ocean beach there to start, and now we're heading up towards marin headlands. you can see a little sun break here and there. that's all we're going to see as the storm system will quickly start to move inland overnight

tonight. current temperatures, 57 in napa. san francisco, 56. 56 in fremont. 56 in livermore, and 59 in san jose of the highlights for the evening, get ready. the showers will be moving in overnight. a chance of isolated thunderstorms, too, and we'll put that in the forecast tomorrow as well. although most of the shower activity will occur tomorrow morning, and sunday night and more rain next week. here's the system. you can see the clouds from earlier in the morning. this is a little bit of the break near right now. you can see how quickly these clouds are pushing towards the bay area. the live doppler 7 hd picks up returns along the north coast, and where the first band of shower activity centered 50 miles to the west of the region, and you can see san francisco right now, still starting to see some moisture filter in, and all of this will quickly move towards our vicinity tonight.

here's the satellite composite. a lot of cold air behind the cold front. it's been wrapped around by this area of low pressure, and this is going to swing in here tonight, and definitely tomorrow. so you can expect cooler temperatures, and also if we see some sun breaks, instability with this cold core could trigger isolated thunderstorms. beginning at 7:00 tonight the rain is gathering off the coast, and you can see the animation. by 11:00 tonight the first big wave moves in, and by 6:00, 7:00, 8:00 tomorrow morning, we're going to continue with breaks and scattered showers in the afternoon, some of the colder air starts to wrap in here, and we could possibly see some isolated thunderstorms, but then later on in the evening, we'll see the clergy. on monday, by 2:00. the second wave of the storms move in. so it isn't over with yet. here's a look at the sierra forecast for the amgen tour stage one. going to hit the bikes at 10:30

tomorrow morning, that is if they don't cancel. and you can see a winter weather advisory in effect there through 11:00 tomorrow morning, two to four inches of snow above 7,000 feet. tricky travel is possible across the area. lows in the 40s, and the rain moving in. highs tomorrow as the colder air mass moves in. only in the upper 50s to near 60 degrees. 58 for cupertino. 59 for half moon bay. 58, redwood city. isolated thunderstorms a possibility tomorrow. 57, downtown san francisco, north bay, 58 for santa rosa. napa, 58. well below what we should be this time of year. oakland, 58, chance of showers lingering for danville, concord, pittsburg, the accuweather seven-day forecast. showers monday night and tuesday, and then we start to

warm up, dry out a back,ing into the 70s. >> alan: let's talk shu. a little baseball, and sharks. >> mike: the a's beat the rain, and dejesus beats

>> mike: when you get your chance in the big leagues you better be ready. tie son ross was ready. he moved out of the bull pen to replace dallas brayden and has been lights out. bottom two, pennington to floyd,

into the hole. beckham knocks it down but can't find it. in the fifth, a's up 2-0. dejesus scores a pair. it's his 1,000th career hit. ross continues to deal. took a shutout into see sixth. dunn goes down swinging, the a's snap a two-game skid with a 6-2 victory. >> to the ice where the western conference finals start in vancouver. the sharks are the underdogs against the canucks and that's fine with them. the san jose head coach todd mclelland things his tame team will play looser. >> the number one and their name

comes up beside it in just about every category. first in points, power play, penalty kill, faceoffs. >> every round you go further and further, it gets harder and harder. every game is tougher and tougher. mentally, physical lyric it's going to get harder. so, we don't expect any ease from that at all. >> mike: game one tomorrow night, infineon raceway is buzzing with the west coast moto jam. sunday's superbike division and here's a sampling of today's action. [engine revving] >> i love coming here every year. the fans are fantastic. you draw from so many areas and it's such a beautiful area and the fans are great. it's like no other place we go on the series. >> it's a wild raissments -- race. leading off the front and never being challenged. >> one of hi favorite racetracks

to come to. it's my home track. i'm from con compled it's hard to sigh what the advantage of being a girl. sponsors like it. it's unique and different. and on the track, my size is a huge advantage. i have been racing a couple years, and the superbike champion so it's awesome getting to live with someone who is successful what i'm successful at. and can understand what i'm going through. >> someone likes racing and likes motorcycle so drive up from the city and check it out. so far, really like the bungie jump, he liked the hot dogs. >> this place is awesome. always got a good crowd here so that means a lot to the riders with a good crowd like that. >> it was really good. the champagne was, too. we spilled the sham parent usual live they give you whatever is lying around, the cheapest stuff they can find and that stuff was really good. >> mike: big race is set for tomorrow. a day of serena withdrew from

the french open, venus withdraws. the first time since 2003 there hasn't been a williams sister in a major. >> alan: just ahead, honoring a forgotten bike-racing legend by teaching bay area kids to get healthy on

>> alan: coming up in a half hour at 6:00, president obama gets serious about gas prices. what he plans to do to bring them down. join us at 6:00. finally, richmond officials held an event to encourage kids to get on two wheels. the bike fiesta and community fair was held at lincoln elementary school, to spread awareness about bureaucratting and -- biking biking and healthy living. they honored major taylor, a bicyclist in the late 1800's who overcame discrimination to be a