statements and they rushed for his defense. >> he is young and unfortunate it came off the way it came off. i know he didn't mean it in his heart. >> whether he meant hit or not, it came from curious from a team from san francisco. at his news conference, head coach jim harbaugh apologized for the organization when he told reporters that it didn't reflect the way players feel. >> there wasn't malice in his heart. he is not that kind of person. he is not a ugly person. he is not a discriminating person. >> it's not the players and coaches that culliver must convince, it's the fans. >> i didn't want to offend anyone. that was an ugly comment. that is not what i feel in my heart. i hope i can learn and grow from this experience and situation. >> reporter: they had a meeting

with the coach but neither would say what was said. the only true glimpse when get into his heart will come when the kickoff happens on sunday. the gay community is paying close attention to his remarks. the executive director of san francisco lbgt center says it shines the spotlight on an ongoing problem. >> absolutely. i think there is a culture of homophobia, in all aspects of major sports. there is an opportunities to change that culture. >> rebecca says more teams need to make strong statements and provide education to the players and support to players who are gay. coming up in just a if you minutes, katie marzullo reports from new orleans on the massive fan fest where youngsters can learn what it is like to be in the superbowl.

tune into "abc 7 news" right after the game. we'll be live on the air with an up-to-the-minute look how niners fans are reacting. outspoken archbishop is causing quite a stir with comments he made about gay marriage. during an interview with the catholic newspaper in new england england this week. he referred to a gay marriage as impossibility. same sex to marry is like legalizing male breastfeeding. fighting to protect traditional marriage is god's gift for this generation. >> a if fire in sunnyvale killed one woman. he are sat picture of the fire taken by one of the neighbors in their mobile home park. the fire started just before 11:30 last night. it appears to have started in the woman's bedroom in the back. home. a neighbor smelled smoke and

knocked the door but nobody came to the door. he called 911. when police got there, they realized someone needed help inside. >> first patrol units on the scene went to the front door. they saw a person walk ought inside of the building in a haze of smoke. called out to him, couldn't find his way out and grabbed him and rescued him. >> police say the thick black smoke was about shoulder high and the man was disoriented. she okay and coroner has not released details on the woman that died. firefighters don't know what started the fire. >> a palo alto homeowner faces a big repair job after a car slammed into their house this morning. it's what happened on park boulevard around 8:20 this morning. the car stopped several feet inside the house. the driver was hurt. luckily nobody inside the house was injured. >> part of a major road remains closed in sanity rose while crews are dealing with a possible hazardous materials

spill. several containers fell from a truck around 8:00 this morning. vapors rose from the spilled materials. it might be acid used to keep swimming pools clean. >> tens of thousands of apple fans are attending one of the biggest tech conventions right now. mac world in san francisco. adding to this morning's excitement, ashton kutcher. live from the center. >> you know it's being called the ultimate i-fan event. it really is. this is the 29th year for mac world in san francisco. this year there is lots of star power behind the show. 25,000 people are expected to attend the three-day event. that is all about apple. today people were lined up for one of the biggest draws of the show, a talk with ashton kutcher who plays steve jobs in an upcoming movie.

our cameras were not allowed inside that talk where he was talking about portraying his hero. they are speaking about the future of technology and gadgets. many say hollywood merging with the tech sector was bound to happen. >> they are prime examples how celebrities affect consumer electronic design. both of them are very savvy about how to use their celebrity to bring certain products to market. >> i think it's apple's time. i think apple has played such a huge part in pop culture over the past 10-20 years. i think it's overdo. >> apple has not played a part in mac world for couple years but that is okay for the fans. they come out to hang out with their friends and speak apple with each other. ashton kutcher admitted he never

owned an apple computer before he owned an ipod. now, he is playing steve jobs on the big screen. thank you. >> still ahead, a testy exchange in the senate. secretary of defense nominee chuck hagel so the hot seated during a confirmation hearing. >> a tragic ending to a dramatic snowmobile accident. the athlete involved in an a horrible crash. >> i'm katie marzullo in new orleans. there is so much fun stuff to do inside here, mostly for kids but we found some 49er fans who are

>> cheryl: a snowmobiler has died after crash in aspen. he was performing a flip last week when he clipped the top of the jump and went over the handlebars. snowmobile rolled over him. he was able to walk away. he went to the hospital for a concussion but sadly, family spokeswoman confirms that he passed away this morning. >> kristen: happening now in texas, police are hunting for two suspects wanted for opening fire on a prosecutor outside a courthouse this morning. he was killed who was a assistant district attorney in a

case against an aryan brotherhood gang. investigators are now combing through the prosecutor's caseload. an update to breaking news story out of phoenix we first told you yesterday. a body matching the accused gunman in a deadly office shooting has been found in a parking lot in nearby mesa. authorities appear that 70-year-old arthur harman killed 789s. he killed the ceo of a company he had a dispute with. >> happening now in washington, d.c., defense secretary nominee chuck hagel is facing tough questions on israel, iran and the 2007 troop surge during confirmation, he. >> correct or incorrect when you said that the surge would be the most dangerous foreign policy blunder in this country since vietnam. is that correct or incorrect, yes or no? >> my reference to.... >> are you going to answer the question? >> i'm not going to give you a

yes or no answer. >> you let the record show that he refuses to answer yet. >> if confirmed he wogs succeed leon panetta. >> kristen: 49er fans are soaking up the experience leading up to the big game. they are bank go in the glow event for fans. katie marzullo takes us behind the scenes. >> we are leaving on thursday, hopefully leaving on monday and get some superbowl tickets. >> mike will return to south san francisco without setting foot inside the ser superdome but he is adding a splash of red. >> consider how much more work it took for 49er fans to get here. >> it was hard to get a flight. we got tickets.

our tickets were $950. >> the family is here from chico. marie has been a ticket holder since '78 and nothing was going to stop her. her husband can't believe they made it. >> clearly mom is team captain. >> mom was a niner fan since i was born. it's been like this. >> 12-year-old is taking full advantage of the experience. nice catch. kids can also run, throw and kick. meanwhile, grownups can soak up the glow of superbowl rings and the trophy and also shop for souvenirs. >> colin kaepernick. >> he is a southern transplant. he says people better start prosecuting because it's a name that is not going away. >> kaepernick is the key. he makes the offense goes. he open it up. he can lead and has mobility. he has what it takes for the

49ers to be great. for many years to come. >> reporter: n.f.l. experience is open from 10:00 to 10:00 today. $25 for adults and $20 for kids. today, beyonce is coming to town and heading the half time show. this is the first time she has talked to the media since the inauguration. >> stay with us for your best superbowl coverage live from new orleans. katie marzullo, larry beil, mike shumann probably wearing his superbowl ring and wayne freedman are tweeting behind the scenes action. >> cheryl: looks like great weather today. >> temperatures there cool today compared to yesterday. we have 74 in the morning. it was like 34 this morning. even they had a touch of winter. the forecast if you are headed

that way, i think you will like the weather here. i do have a cooling trend in the forecast and chance of much needed rain. >> thank you. dangerous weather, a massive pile-up in michigan kills several people including children with icy weather to blame.

at least four people died in a mile and a half long chain reaction crash in detroit this morning. dead include three children. about 20 others were hurt. more than 30 vehicles smashed into each other on icy interstate i-75. it involved several trucks. firefighters are checking to see if any hazardous material was involved. >> more than a hundred thousand people in connecticut and new york are without power. it was caused by storms hitting the east coast. a flood forced several water rescued in washington, d.c. this morning. officials are advising advising

drivers to stay clear of standing water. >> the storm unleashed heavy winds and tornado on a town in georgia. residents are trying desperately to pick unthe pieces today. it wiped out parts of a big manufacturing plant, destroyed homes and caused trees to topple over. at least two people have been killed by this thousand mile long storm system. >> kristen: bad weather elsewhere, but over here, we are looking at nice warm day. >> and without the poor air quality. we still got that going for us. take a look outside, good morning, 11:20 looking down on san jose right now. you can see all the sunshine. what a gorgeous time to be outside. i hope you enjoyed your lunch hour and let's move on and show you what is going on from emeryville back to san francisco. it gets hazier than it was yesterday but looking ahead we do have a change in the air mass this weekend. i don't think the pollution is going to build up enough to create a spare the air. let's take a look at satellite and radar. live doppler 7-hd, waiting for

the neck storm. we're going to have wait for a couple more days. offshore wind, land breeze because that is where it originates and all the cloud cover. check out the snow up in the mountains. visible satellite, and ripple effect as the winds below away from the land and over the ocean. we desperately need more rain. third driest january on record and almost a half inch here. we had a third in oakland, two-thirds of an inch in san jose. it gives you an idea when san jose has more rain than in addition else. let's talk about what is going to happen ahead. warmth peaked. pretty nice to be outside and chance of rain for next wednesday. temperatures are running in the low to upper 50s. at the beaches it's 63 right now in half moon bay. santa cruz, 51, everybody else around the monterey bay, mid to

upper 50s. compared to average, we'll run from 4 degrees warmer in redwood city to double-digits in livermore. 68, 11 degrees warmer than average. fremont, oakland, napa, santa rosa at 69. heading down to the monterey bay slightly warmer, upper 60s to low 70s. let's take a look at tonight. this morning, a little frost around napa. a little fog up north, but i don't think we'll have fog tonight. mid 40s around the bayshore and out to the coast. san francisco a little warmer, 48 degrees. two areas of high pressure dominateding our weather. i seek a buck until the jetstream. that is going to be flatten this ridge of high pressure, change our wind and bring us cooler conditions but still dry through the weekend. if you are lucky enough to be headed to new orleans, coldest into the 50s. look at the humidity come back as the morning lows closer to

where they should be, upper 40s, mid-50s not bad for superbowl sunday. back here at home, let's search out cooler weather, low to mid-60s for saturday, sunday, monday and tuesday. then a cooler air mass comes in and promises at least a chance of rain, something we haven't had in a while on wednesday, highs in the upper 50s to near 60 degrees. pretty nice weather coming up. we need some rain and we need some snow. >> cheryl: thank you. >> kristen: tonight on jimmy kimmel live, jennifer lawrence, she is joined by katie couric. last night, he joked about a new poll on god's role in the superbowl. >> this study conducted by the public religious institute that 27% of americans believe that god has a hand in determining which team wins. if you are praying for a new kidney this week, sorry. >> jim any kimmel is week nights

at 11:35 here on abc7 following abc7 news at 11:00. "nightline" comes on right after jimmy. >> still ahead, 49ers aren't the only ones taking on the baltimore ravens. >> how animals at san francisco zoo are getting into the superbowl act. >> hi, there, today katie women who are dying to be beautiful and paid dealer for it. they had cosmetic procedures and infections and complications led to devastating consequences. you'll meet one woman who had all her limbs amputated after a procedure went terribly wrong. and children of another who died after liposuction. that

coming up on katie, beauty trends that can be lethal. and beyonce getting ready for the half time show and talking for the first time since her lip-syncing controversy on inauguration day and more on the anti-gay comment made by 49er quarterback chris culliver and to change the culture in locker rooms all across america. that will be at 4:00 and 5:00. >> 49er fever keeps spreading and it's showing up at the san francisco zoo. zoo keepers showed off their artistic skills creating a baltimore ravens logo from different fruits and vegetables. >> kristen: is that what it is? the logo didn't last long, the black rhino made quick work of

it. alex the rhino keeper started raising money for the zoo. good symbolism there. thanks for joining us. >> "who wants to be a millionaire" is coming up next. >> have a great day.

[dramatic music] ♪ [cheers and applause] ♪ >> hello, everybody, and welcome to millionaire. we kick things off today with a contestant who has $53,600 in her bank and is going to face a question for $250,000.

from new york, new york, please welcome elena bloom. see you. elena, nice to see you. [cheers and applause] wow. what's been going through your mind now? >> um, i am... excited. [laughter] i'm excited. i just-- i just had a car issue, so that would be paying that, and i have to get a new phone, and i'll probably buy a lot of books. >> yeah, i know you love books. you're a literary agency reader. you have 5,000 books of your own. but you call yourself "the children's book whisperer." is that right? >> i love matching up kids with books that they come back to me, and they're like, "oh, my gosh, that was the best thing i've ever read, and i hate reading. i want another book!" and it's just incredibly re rewarding. i love doing that. >> yeah, if you can instill a love of reading in a kid, that's a great thing. and certainly all that reading that you've done all these years is paying off because you're a fantastic player. as i said, $53,600 in the bank.