good morning. 4:30 on this rainy, windy thursday. thank you for joining us i'm eric thomas. i'm katie marzullo in for kristen sze. 15 minutes ago it was really coming down. a break now in the city. all bay area counties except

sonoma and napa under a flood advisory until 5:45. ponding on the highways, streets and areas with poor drainage. we are looking at the rain now heaviest into the east bay through concord, san ramon, delta. further south hayward. you can see oakland with a good cell towards berkeley, alameda, san leandro, there's a break on the peninsula pushing south redwood city and woodside. a break this afternoon. more rain on the way tomorrow. there's already been a few spin outs and accidents. nothing causing big delays. one of those mornings where you want to give yourself extra time. wind advisory for the bay bridge look out for ponding to the tolls, no delays yet. flooding reported in oakland, northbound 880 on the connector ramp to 980 also

san francisco northbound 280 at mariposa. flooding reported on 101 at lucky in both directions. live shot of the san mateo bridge. wet, difficult to drive that's why you will want extra time. our job is to monitor the weather and traffic this morning, we are on top of it. national weather service a tornado with wind speeds of one muhammad miles an hour touched down yesterday afternoon near stockton. a viewer sent this. the twister destroyed a shed tipped off a 53 foot trailer and buried a pick-up truck six miles south. narrowly missing a home. >> it lifted the shop up like it was one piece. >> it was like a bomb went off. >> the homeowner, four kids his wife and parents were all home when the tornado struck around 1:00 yesterday

afternoon. fortunately, none were hurt. big, big news for commuters. today crews break ground on the bart extension to santa clara county. terry mcsweeney is live on -- in san jose this has been a long time coming. >> reporter: longtime coming. a lot of people have been wondering when are we going to see a bart train in san jose. they are here, not on a track the back of a truck but it is here. the big groundbreaking later today for the biggest public works project ever in silicon valley. look at what some state end result is going to be when bart is done deal in 2015 this is the second segment of a project, 3.2 billion dollar project running from fremont to east san jose, 16 miles worth of track. there's a price to pay. there's going to be bart, until there is, drivers have to pay that price, major

streets will be torn up for the tracks. mission boulevard, dixon landing road, cato road. cato road will be closed for nine months so it can be dropped 16 feet into the ground. when it is said and done bart is going to be mostly running above ground, 35 feet above ground north of berryessa road. underground north of montague. some believe bart is going to tunnel under downtown san jose get over to the caltrain depot in santa clara, down the road. today senator feinstein is going to be here, transportation secretary mineta will be here, several local reps will be here. they have a place set-up so it can rain all it wants there's going to be a groundbreaking today. terry mcsweeney, abc7 news. the latest plan to build a bullet train in california is

expected to be approved by members of the high speed rail authority when they meet a few hours from now. the rail authority says it needs to move as quickly as possible to begin laying tracks to meet terms of a federal grant for the initial phase. lawmakers still discussing timing. some say it is impractical to hold hearings and rush through a budget for the largest project by the end of spring. fairfield police investigating a double shoot tag left one dead and another -- shooting that left one dead and another critically injured. police are looking for two people who were seen running from the scene. no word on the motive. sierra lamar's family has created an official website dedicated to finding the missing morgan hill teenager. the page will post new information and search details. also a place where friends, family and community members to leave messages.

we have a link on abc7news.com. look under see it on tv. lead investigators began pouring over sonar images yesterday taken from two reservoirs where the young girl may have been taken. more than 100 searched rural areas of southern santa clara county. lamar went missing nearly a month ago on her way to school. in a few hours the florida neighborhood watch volunteer who shot and killed an unarmed black teenager is set to appear in court on a second degree murder charge. george zimmerman turned himself in last night in connection with the february shooting of the 17-year-old trayvon martin. zimmerman claims it was self-defense. his attorney says he will plead not guilty. the attorney plans to invoke florida's stand your ground law which gives wide leeway to use deadly force. live report coming up in 15 minutes. state lawmakers intend to make university police

departments more accountable in the wake of a report blasting acts of officers against student protesters. the report says uc davis police used excessive force when they pepper sprayed students last fall. the reportmg5tf criticizes uc administrators for creating an environment that allowed it to happen. the task force is recommending a top to bottom review of school police departments, the two officers who sprayed the protesters and the chief are on paid leave while the incident is being investigated. 4:37 now. time for a check of weather which is all that is going on this morning. >> we have that small stream and flood advisory. lisa, the rain started for me moraga and got heavier as i got towards the city. >> yes. we are looking at a break far north sonoma and napa, the other seven counties, urban and small stream flood

advisory. ponding on the highways, minor flooding and areas with poor drainage, you know where that is if you live in the north bay by lucky drive. heaviest rain concord, antioch, rio fairfield south moving into berkeley, san ramon, livermore valley, break from marin and san francisco, take a look at this, 580 down through 680, hayward, fremont into the east bay, castro valley, milpitas and 101, redwood city, san jose, wet weather. this is a quick moving cold front. it does have a lot of wind. not only are the temperatures mild but we've got breezy southwest winds up to 36 miles an hour. traveling over the bay bridge, golden gate bridge, be very careful this will quickly move through by the 7:00 hour and then we will have showers throughout the afternoon. peeks of sun and anticipating our next cold front overnight

tonight. quite a few problems this morning. definitely slow down and add some extra time to your commute. there's a tree down in the santa cruz mountains bear creek road near highway 17. here's a live shot northbound 280 headlights, highway 17 out of santa cruz mountains. rain doesn't look as heavy here but it has been a rough ride across the bay bridge and parts of san francisco. here's a live shot of the san mateo bridge there isn't a wind advisory. you will find one for the bay bridge and golden gate bridge and the richmond-san rafael bridge. pockets of flooding in certain areas in oakland north 880 to 980, san francisco, north 28 omar poe , marin south 101 -- lucky where we had flooding. eastbound 80 as you head towards cleveland and southbound 242 past highway 4.

ross mirkarimi goes on the offensive again in his bid to be reinstated. why his lawyer claims the city attorney should be removed from the case. from not in our neighborhood to please stay. marin county supervisors make a plea to moviemaker george lucas. hit-and-run drunk driver apologizes for the accident that crippled a 10- we believe keeping kids healthy can start with healthy hands.

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lucas and his plans for a digital moviemaking complex. he what announced he was pulling the plug on -- [ unintelligible ] suspended san francisco sheriff mirkarimi on the offensive again. his attorney has filed a motion to disqualify the office -- the motion argues that herrera drafted charges and vices ethics commission therefore cannot act as an independent prosecutor before the commission. mirkarimi's hearing before ethics commission is set for a -- the driver convicted of hitting and critically injured a 9-year-old boy is headed to

prison. 22-year-old andrew vargas hit ryan white. vargas left the scene, hitting other cars. a judge sentenced him to a year in jail and probation. before sentencing vargas apologized and listened as the prosecutor read a letter from ryan's family. >> i cannot find the words to express how remorseful i feel towards the white family. >> you are incarcerated because of your actions. but ryan is also incarcerated because of your actions. >> ryan will undergo his fourth surgery because of the accident, tomorrow. north korea says it is ready to conduct a controversial missile lunch. the one thing standing knits way. >> george zimmerman is expected in court today. i'm tahman bradley with the case and reaction from around the country, coming up.

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you get incredibly clean, sparkling dishes without having to rinse them first. now see for yourself why millions have switched to finish. join the finish revolution. and for two years in a row, finish quantum was rated #1 by a leading consumer publication. urban and small stream flood advisory in effect for the next hour. heaviest rain from redwood road east of piedmont heading towards diablo, san leandro, castro valley, south bay everybody is wet except north bay where the front has cleared. 4:47. florida neighborhood watch captain george zimmerman is due in court in a few hours to face charges connected with the killing of unarmed 17-year-old trayvon martin. tahman bradley joins us live with more on this developing story. >> reporter: good morning. the special prosecutor decided

on the toughest charges possible in this case, second degree murder. all around the country people are reacting to word that zimmerman has finally been charged. george zimmerman arrived at seminole county jail last night charged with murdering trayvon martin. today he will be arraigned. >> we filed an information charging george zimmerman with murder in the second degree. >> reporter: if convicted he could face life in prison. the announcement was made after 45 days of heated tensions in sanford, florida and across the country over the shooting death of the unarmed black 17-year-old. >> it is the search for justice for trayvon, that has brought us to this moment. >> reporter: trayvon martin's parents expressed relief. >> we just want add arrest. and we got it. >> reporter: across the country, reaction was swift. >> it was long overdue. i was glad they finally decided to do something. >> reporter: zimmerman, claims

self-defense that he shot martin after the teenager attacked him with all the national attention, zimmerman's new attorney says his client is worried about getting a fair trial. >> there's obviously been a lot of information flowing. i think a lot of it has been premature, maybe inappropriate. >> reporter: police did not arrest zimmerman many believe because of florida's stand your ground law which gives wide leeway to use deadly force. >> it will be scrutinized, evaluated and debated, throughout -- >> reporter: in court today, zimmerman's lawyer will push for his client to be released on bond. the justice department is still investigating whether to charge zimmerman with a hate crime. tahman bradley, abc7 news. developing news, the first window for a controversial rocket launch by north korea has passed. north korea said would it

launch an observation satellite between today and monday between 7 a.m. and noon many, their time. north korea told journalists that fueling was underway yesterday. the u.s. and other international leaders consider the launch an attempt to test long range ballistic missile technology. secretary of state clinton says a launch would be a violation of united nations resolution. this evening the sharks open in st. louis, the 7th seeded sharks won four straight games in the season. the second seeded blues beat san jose in all four meetings this year. the first two games of the best of seven series are in st. louis with the sharks hosting games three and four next monday and thursday. puck drops 4:30 today. good luck sharks. a stormy thursday, meteorologist lisa argen joining us. good luck getting to work.

it has cleared the north bay, sonoma, napa, marin in good shape even san francisco it has lightened up winds gusty we still have the flood advisory for a little ponding on the highways through 5:45 this morning. you can see that we have very breezy winds and the heart of the cold front right now through the east bay and into the south bay. as you look towards berkeley and orinda, 580, 24 moraga, redwood road sycamore valley san ramon towards castro, dublin, hayward you are getting pretty good rain now. into the south bay we are looking at milpitas, san jose, sierra road back on the peninsula it has pulled out of redwood city, a little rain around wood side, sunnyvale wet into the santa cruz mountains, los gatos, summit road, ben lomond. north bay you can see more showers around inverness.

here's the front it quickly is racing east this is unlike the one we had tuesday that took its time. we are going to be out of the woods in the next half hour to 45 minutes. the heaviest rain will be lightning up. 54 oakland, 46 napa, 56 in san jose. look at these winds from 35 mile an hour gusts airport 36 mile an hour, coast 31 mile an hour gusts san jose 24. the rain today, more rain tomorrow, that's going to bring us up to an inch to two inches in the north bay mountains as well as santa cruz mountains. 3/4 of an inch to an inch in half in the east bay half inch to an inch in the south bay half inch to 3/4 along the peninsula that's today's rain and tomorrow's rain. since early april we've been well below normal. santa cruz should be up to 68% or so. san francisco should be in the

60% average area. you can see we still need it down towards mountain view and san jose. this little inch, two inches we are receiving will give us a little boost. still, well below normal. cold front, very strong gusty winds and moderate to heavy rain with it. we do get a break. here's the rest of the afternoon, cold front quickly moves through, 11:00 this morning, partly cloudy skies, showers around but 10 it is not until 3 a.m. this time tomorrow, we do it again with a colder system, better chance of afternoon thunderstorms by 2:00 this continues to sink south and east chillier tomorrow. today planning your day, heaviest rain, gustiest winds this morning through the next hour to hour and a half then scattered showers temperatures upper 50s to low 60s. a few more raindrops headed your way this evening. the bulk of the heavier rain this time tomorrow, sunny and

drier through the weekend. is it a mess out there frances? >> it is. you can look at live doppler and predict where the accidents will be heavier rain in the east bay that's where we have an overturn crash in oakland westbound 580 at broadway blocking a couple lanes. traffic is light but the conditions are tough. be extra careful that's why we are seeing a lot of crashes in the east bay and spinnouts this is southbound 680 towards highway 24. if you are heading to the bay bridge, ponding wind advisory for the bay bridge, richmond san rafael and golden gate bridge this morning. so, also a problem in the south bay we'll check out these maps, bear creek road at highway 17, 40 foot tree down blocking both lanes you might want to head over to the college as an alternate.

south bay not bad at this point. as we head to the east bay, several accidents around the area. look for flooding in the usual spots as well north 880 to 980, 280 mariposa, san francisco, 101 at lucky. 4:55. strong earthquake hit off the coast of mexico after midnight waking residents living near the gulf of california. the 6.9 quake came hours after a separate 6.5 temblor that swayed tall buildings and forced evacuations. neither quake did major damage. coalition of students and citizens in berkeley is calling attention to a city ordinance that is rarely enforced. landlords are supposed to post warning signs to residents if they live in seismically vulnerable soft story buildings that includes where ground floors have garages or retail spaces with limit structural support that does

worrisome when there's an earthquake. >> that last rumble that happened scared me. you could feel -- plaster in the walls. >> the coalition did find two buildings that posted the required warnings and another that was an example of what owners are supposed to be doing, upgrading the building. you can fan a guide and tracker on abc7news.com, click on see it on tv. 4:56. new warning this morning about the impact of sleep deprivation on your health. researchers isolated 21 volunteers in a windowless room for six weeks shattered their sleep by staggering hours they went to bed and limiting sleep to five hours a night. when it was over, metabolism slowed and insulin levels spiked that lead to significant weight gain.

researchers believe the same can happen over time to people who are constantly sleep deprived. >> another reason to get more sleep. >> indeed. >> for all of us. do you know the way to san jose. transportation leads are hours away from saying yes. -- we are following cleanup from the damage caused by a rare tornado in the central valley. this latest storm has a lot of people keeping an eye on the sky. sorrow turns to joy. why they are calling their baby a miracle. ñsñsñsñsñsóxçççns only $79.99 for a lucid by lg ?

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