>> an off ramp on interstate 80 remains closed after an overnight police per suit leads to a fatal crash. >> amy hollyfield. >> reporter: kristen, look, the car is behind me. it's still here. it's on its side here on the central off ramp off of westbound interstate 80. the driver of this car died. he was westbound. he was passing a construction site and chp officers who were at the site saw him passing and noticed that his front tire was so flat he was driving on the rim. they were going to pursue him, see if he needed help, see if he was drunk, trying to figure out what the story was. but they say they don't even know if they had time to get their lights and sirens on. this all happened so fast. >> they put out a little information over the radio. all of a sudden it was like, oh, hit the center divide, oh, went off the shoulder. >> reporter: this westbound central off ramp closed. and i just checked in with the chp to see if they had an idea

of how long it would be closed. all they'll say right now is it's going to be a while. they haven't released any details yet on the driver. their investigation is still under way. live in richmond, amy hollyfield, abc 7 news. >> amy, thank you. a check on the morning commute. >> it's definitely affecting you if you are going to be traveling through richmond. we are getting folks reporting bumper to bumper traffic. it looks like berkeley is also starting to slowdown significantly. we've got plenty of red as you come out of east richmond and towards el ser rcerrito. traffic building up. give yourself an early start. right now we know the off ramp central avenue to westbound 80 going to be shut down until further notice. as we talk about drive time traffic, 101 slowing down into san francisco. across the golden gate, quite a few extra headlights in the southbound direction. across the bay bridge, it's actually going to be about 15 minutes now. looks like more traffic is

heading away from the maze across the san matteo bridge. that is a 15 minute commute. as we take a live look outside, here's a picture of the bay bridge tolls where you can see the cash paying lanes, they are currently loading up. it's going to be a cooler start to the day. as we talk about some weather, well, boy, oh, boy. it's been just going down and down and down. those sweaters are going to have to get thicker and thicker as we head into thursday. good news, looks like temperatures are going to start to increase. as we talk about some cloud cover as well, you can see live doppler 7 hd radar satellite bringing in those clouds from this low that is coming out of the pacific northwest. a live look from our exploratorium camera towards the transamerica building. see the cloud cover as it comes over the financial district in san francisco. that's going to dissipate later on. we do have a chilly start. some isolated showers over mt. hamilton. but snow will whiten the sierra. that is going to be at the 6,000 foot level starting at 9:00 a.m. this morning. more on that to come in swrus a little bit. kristen and eric, over to you.

to the b.a.r.t. strike threat. the scenario bay area commuters fear could happen as early as midnight tomorrow. abc 7 news reporter matt keller is live in the fremontb.a.r.t. station. >> a lot of nervous rider. cooling off period is less than 48 hours away as many people are thinking how are they going to get to work if there is a strike. last night about 200 union members and their supporters marched from oakland city hall to the cal trans building where negotiations are taking place. both sides ended talks last night around 10:00. the unions did not issue a 72 hour strike notice monday night. but that's more of a courtesy for b.a.r.t. riders than a requirement. workers could still strike friday as b.a.r.t. riders prepare for the worst. does it make you nervous thinking there could be a strike? >> oh, yeah. most definitely. i wouldn't be able to get to work. >> reporter: what would you do? >> probably take the bus. or see if i can get a ride from a friend. i really don't know. >> reporter: the question is,

can management and the unions reach an agreement before thursday's midnight deadline when the 60 day cooling off period comes to an end. technically the two sides can negotiate beyond the deadline, but union leaders say it's unlikely. the b.a.r.t. board of directors is is scheduled to hold a special closed session meeting tonight to discuss labor negotiations. the unions and b.a.r.t. management are set to hit the negotiating table again this morning at 9:30. reporting live in fremont, matt keller, abc 7 news. >> a lot of nervous b.a.r.t. riders this morning. the clock is ticking to tend. if there's a strike check out aa abc7news.com. find realtime traffic maps and our exclusive waze traffic app. remember to follow us on twitter @abc7newsbayarea. new details on the government shutdown. in the last hour we learned president obama plans to meet with house democrats today. it comes as the president and

house speaker john boehner continue to refuse to make any rat cal changes in their positions. boehner told reporters yesterday he's not drawing lines in the sand but hours later president obama said he absolutely would negotiate with republicans if congress first sent him short-term budget and debt limit measures. here san francisco's cliff house restaurant is closed r a second time since the shutdown began. the restaurant above ocean beach. it first closed last week. according to the san francisco chronicle, the owners reopened it again on monday. the national park service found out and ordered it closed again until the shutdown is over. first lady michelle obama has canceled a day of fundraising because of the shutdown. >> she was supposed to arrive in los angeles on friday and spend the weekend in the bay area. one event planned was a sunday brunch hosted by house minority leader nancy pelosi. the democratic party says it's not right to hold fundraisers while thousands of federal workers are furloughed.

new this morning, a just released poll shows americans are blaming republicans for the government shutdown. the new a.p. poll finds 62% of americans believe republicans hold almost all the responsibility for the shutdown. about half say democrats hold some responsibility. 6:06. developing news. we could learn today if the body found at san francisco general hospital is that of a patient, a woman who vanished 2 1/2 weeks ago. a reliable source tells abc 7 news the body is that of 57-year-old lynne spalding, a patient who was last seen september 21st. an employee found the body in an exterior fourth floor stairwell yesterday morning. investigators are looking at surveillance video and talking to staff. spalding disappeared two days after being admitted for an infection. the hospital says it plans to release an update on the investigation sometime today. abc 7 news reporter katie marzullo will have the latest in the next half hour. investors are waiting to see whether tech giant hewlett-packard will announce

further belt tightening today. ceo meg whitman will give wall street an update on the company looking increasingly grim. whitman already said the company won't grow next year. it's in the middle of cutting 29,000 jobs. analysts believe more may be needed. the one time silicon valley leader was removed last month from the dow jones industrial average. hp haishares have fallen 17% ine last three months losing half the value since 2010. oakland a's return home to play a fifth and deciding game tomorrow evening in their divisional playoff series against the detroit tigers. the a's lost game four in detroit yesterday. now they took an early 3-0 lead with help from jed lowrie's homer. the tigers came roaring back to win, 8-4, and tie the best of five series at two games apiece. tomorrow's game at the coliseum begins at 5:00 and the winner will advance to the lead championship series against the boston red sox. abc 7 news viewers continue to send us their fan photos. you can see this fan posing with

the a's mascot stomper. if you want to see -- rather we want to see your fan photos. they may end up right here on abc 7 news. e-mail your photos to us. you can also share them with us on facebook or twitter @abc7newsbayarea. >> lots of a's. check in with leyla gulen. hopefully things are safer out there this morning. >> we do have a couple problems. certainly that sig alert in effect in richmond that's causing quite a bit of slowing. the central avenue off ramp from westbound 80 is going to be shutdown until further notice. just behind it we do have a report of tire treads blocking lanes. that is going to be stop and go certainly through san pablo. that is where you've got that heavy jam. if you do decide to take to the freeways, you want to give yourself some extra time. as far as mass transit goes, you are in the clear. looks like muni, cal train,

everything running on time. b.a.r.t. as well. of course we do have that impending possible b.a.r.t. strike on friday. hopefully you have your contingent plans in place just in case they do strike. telecommuting, car pooling, should all be an option. as far as options are concerned, which sweater shall we wear today? it is going to be a cooler one. we do have some clouds that are going to be making it into the bay area. some moisture now being spotted over sacramento. look at our live doppler 7 hd radar satellite where we do have the cloud cover that will come and visit the bay area. it will start to dissipate, though, in the afternoon hours. the sun will burn it off a bit. a look from our kgo roof camp towards the embarcadero and bay bridge. looks like things are looking clear as you look towards the east bay. currently temperatures, though, are going to be on the cooler side. about five to ten degrees cooler than yesterday. 53 degrees in san francisco. oakland just one degree warmer than about an hour ago. san carlos, san jose, all going to be in the lower 50s.

los gatos, mid-40s. cool temperatures in the north bay as well, mid to upper 40s are going to be the norm. day planner for the next 12 hours. for breakfast it's going to be 50 degrees inland. 64 degrees around the bay. 52 along the coast. around lunchtime, though, it's going to jump up about 10 to 16 degrees. then it will start to get breezy as the sunsets and we head into the evening hours. kristen, eric. 6:10. >> ahead, the dietary supplement linked to a cluster of hepatitis. a beef concern leading one country to suspend u.s. imports of meat. starbucks reveals a sweet treat part doughnut, part muffin. did the coffee giant steal the

, we got a subaru. it's where she said her first word. (little girl) no! saw her first day of school. (little girl) bye bye! made a best friend forever. the back seat of my subaru is where she grew up. what? (announcer) the two-thousand-fourteen subaru forester. (girl) what? (announcer) built to be there for your family. love. it's what makes a subaru, a subaru.

those who've been denied ewelcome to covered california. now, you can no longer be denied coverage because of a pre-existing condition. enroll today at coveredca.com. good wednesday morning. 6:13.

a live look on i-80 traffic moving through berkeley. it's moderate. but just at the freeway there is a sig alert in richmond, in the richmond el cerrito area. we'll get leyla gulen in here to talk more about that coming up. the father of the 9-year-old minnesota boy who hopped a flight to las vegas without a ticket is speaking out about his son's behavioral issues. the boy's dad who did not want to be identified says he thought his son was going to a friend's house when he left their north minneapolis home last wednesday. he says he had no idea his son would ride light rail to the airport and somehow get past security and board a plane for las vegas. he admits his son has issues. >> i don't have the answer. okay? i have a 9-year-old, to me, he's got a behavior problem. i don't know what to do. i love my son. i'm not giving up on my son. he just -- >> dad says he's reached out to agencies for help and has been told the child has done nothing significant enough to warrant special assistance. the boy will be sent back to mt.

minnesota where an investigation is under way. south korea is suspending u.s. beef imports after a controversial additive was found in some meats. its suspending beef imports from a colorado company because it was found with an additive used to add muscle weight to cattle. the additive the banned in asia and europe. south korea is asking u.s. officials to address the issue. so far this year south korea has imported 75,000 tons of u.s. beef. the salmonella outbreak linked to foster farms chicken is very complex and involves serious strains of the bacteria according to federal health officials. the centers for disease control and prevention now says the contamination involves seven strains of salmonella including some resistant to antibiotics. it's sickened 278 people in 18 states, most in california. 42% of the cases required hospitalization. until inspectors find the exact

source of the contamination, the chicken is still being sold in stores. foster farms says the chicken is safe when you fully cook it. you can find out more information on our website, abc7news.com. a health warning this morning about one of the hottest selling weight loss products on the market. health officials are urging consumers to stop using oxy elite pro. this dietary supplement has been linked to several cases of liver damage. health officials are investigating dozens of cases of hepatitis, liver transplants and one death. mostly in hawaii where the product is sold in stores. it's also sold online. so the warning is goipg out to consumers everywhere. the cdc could not be reached for comment because of the government shutdown. new this morning, the clothing retailer that recently fired its founder and long time tv pitch man is now being approached about a possible merger. joseph a. bank is offering $2.3 billion to buy men's warehouse. joseph a. bank says men's warehouse is now reviewing this proposal. men's warehouse is not

commenting. analysts tell "the wall street journal" a deal between joseph a. bank and men's warehouse could help the two companies cut costs. men's warehouse fired co-founder and long time spokesman george zimmer back in june. men's warehouse has offices in fremont. >> a food fight is now under way in the uk after allegations that starbucks stole a sweet treat. we told you about this pastry yesterday. it's called a duffin. a doughnut muffin hybrid stuffed with rasp berry jam and melted butter. starbucks uk just started selling the pastries. now a small london cafe chain claims it's been serving the sweet treats for the past two years. since starbucks has trademarked a duffin name the cafe is worried it might have to stop selling the pastries. twitt ete eter -- #duffingate h

trending. looks tasty. what better way to get to work than with a duffin in your hand. oh, my goodness. that looks delicious. what is not quite as tasty is some parts of the bay area in terms of traffic. we do have plenty of it. especially in richmond. it's all due to the sig alert, westbound side of 80. the central avenue off ramp currently shut down. no word yet as to when that is going to be reopened. but a serious accident involving a fatality there as you approach the hoffman split. heavy backups. eastbound traffic moving well out of el cerrito into east richmond. toward the maze we have a report of an accident at the toll plaza westbound side. see it's just slow and go as you make that push towards treasure island. let's take a live look outside. this is going to be the bay bridge tolls where we do have the lights turned on. we don't see where the accident is. could very well have been pushed over to the shoulder out of our view. see traffic now really stacking up away from the maze. it's going to be slow and go as you head into san francisco.

now as we talk about some slow and go, looks like the area of low pressure was slow to come into the bay area and now is picking up some pace as it makes its way into the eastern portion of the state. it's leaving us with some clouds in some of the areas. radar satellite returns from our live doppler 7 hd also showing some moisture in sacramento. as we take a look from our explo exploe exploratorium camera, the transamerica building, cloud cover. it is going to burn off in the afternoon hours once the sun comes out. it should be all sunny skies. here's a look at what this low is doing. it's coming in over the pacific northwest. this dry mass of air that's coming in is going to start making its way into the eastern portion of the state where it's bringing snow to the sierra. you're going to see about one to four inches of snow, in fact, at elevations above 6,000 feet. wind gusts up to 20 miles per

hour. that's also going to leave us with some slippery roads. especially if you're going to be traveling along highway 50, be very careful out there. but it starts at 9:00 a.m. this morning. that winter weather advisory. until 8:00 p.m. this evening. for most of the bay area, though, it's going to be on the cooler side. albeit partly cloudy, mostly sunny skies. we do have 70 degrees in palo alto for our high today. along the coast in the upper 60s. in santa cruz to the lower 60s at half-moon bay. our highest temperature 74 in antioch. lows for tonight a brisk, chilly evening with some gusts expected as well. 54 degrees in oakland. also a little bit of cloud cover there at santa cruz. morgan hill, 49 degrees. 55 degrees in san francisco. here's a look at my accuweather seven-day forecast. that rain we were expecting tonight is going to be visiting mt. hamilton, just a slight chance of drizzle there.

it clears up by thursday. another trough of low pressure coming in on friday bringing temperatures down ever so slightly, only to ramp back up for the weekend. eric, kristen? >> thank you so much, leyla. 6:21. happening today, president obama is getting ready to reveal his nomination to head the federal reserve and it's someone familiar with the bay area. coming up at 6:30, janet yellen's resume and the reason this nomination could make history. coming up first, samsung takes the wraps off its brand-new galaxy smartphone. what makes this gadget different from every other phone currently on the market? here's tonight's primetime lineup on abc 7. at 8:00, "the middle." followed by "back in the game" at 8:30. "modern family" at 9:00. "super fun night" at 9:30. "nashville" at 10:00. join us for abc 7 news at 11:00. you don't have to miss a moment. our watch abc feature lets you watch abc 7 on your computer, tablet or smartphone. more information at

abreva can heal a cold sore in as few as 2 1/2 days when used at the first sign. without it, the virus spreads from cell to cell. unlike other treatments, abreva penetrates deep to block the virus, to protect healthy cells so cold sores heal fast. as fast as 2 1/2 days when used at the first sign. ♪ learn more at abreva.com. don't tough it out. knock it out! fast. [ female announcer ] only with abreva.

6:24. view from the east bay. walnut creek areaarea. southbound 680, the taillights at least. the volume has picked up. leyla gulen checking this and that sig alert coming up. samsung is taking the wraps

off its first ever phone with a curved display. take a look. the company unveiled the new phone last night. it's called the galaxy round. the phone features a 5.7 inch display. samsung says the curved shape makes it easier to use with just one hand. the phone will debut in south korea tomorrow. no word yet on when the galaxy round will be available here in the u.s. okay. the nfl is narrowing the list of cities to host the 2018 super bowl. drum roll, please. indianapolis, minneapolis and new orleans are still in the running for super bowl lii. new orleans, by the way, has already hosted ten previous super bowls. tampa, dallas and miami have been eliminated now as contenders. a final decision is expected next may. san francisco, as we all know, will host super bowl l in 2015 in santa clara. the bay area super bowl. >> indeed. do you have a couple million dollars, like, laying around, maybe stuffed into the couch? you're looking for stocking stuffers?

check out this year's neiman marcus christmas book which was unveiled in dallas. you can spend the night in a glass house, drive away with this aston martin or go hunting with a trained falcon. the 87th edition focuses on fantasy gifts. because everybody wants a giant box of falcons to go hunting with, right? >> no. those diamonds we saw in the beginning, yeah. those sound good. those look good. >> you want the falcons. you know you do. >> okay. 6:26 our time. abc 7 morning news continues at 6:30 with the day's top stories. >> including the overnight berkeley fire leaving several people home lless. what neighbors and investigators are telling us this morning. the central off ramp in richmond is closed because of an accident. up next, we'll tell you what happened and we'll have the very latest. a live look from the sutro tower cam towards the bay bridge. five to ten degrees cooler today. a chance of rain, nil for most of the bay area. i'll have

at 6:29, that breaking news comes from richmond where investigators have been at a major freeway that's closed right now. >> that's after a high speed pursuit overnight claimed the life of a suspected drunk

driver. abc 7 news reporter amy hollyfield is live near interstate 80 where the closure is. amy? >> reporter: eric, the car is still here. they haven't even towed it out of here yet. you can see investigators are still studying it. they don't look anywhere near ready to get it out of here. this central off ramp here, westbound interstate 80 in richmond, is still shut down. the car flipped off of the freeway, rolled down that embankment you see there, landed on uits side. the driver died. firefighters had to cut the top of that mini van off to get him out. he was westbound on interstate 80 about 1:40 in the morning. he passed the construction site right there on the freeway. and his car caught the eye of chp officers on the site. in fact, it wasn't really their eye but their ears. they say the front tire of his car was so flat, they actually heard him before they saw him. >> we had two vehicles working the closure. two officers. they heard the vehicle come by.

the vehicle was actually driving on its right rim. that's what brought their attention to it originally. >> reporter: investigators don't even know if the officers had time to turn on their lights and sirens before the mini van hit the center divide and crossed all lanes of traffic on interstate 80, flew off the freeway, rolled down that embankment and the driver died. officers have not released his name or his age at this point. their investigation is still under way. this off ramp is still shut down. when we asked them how long it will be this way, right now they're just saying it's going to be a while. live in richmond, amy hollyfield, abc 7 news. >> amy, thanks a lot. what's closed and what is not closed? >> we're continuing to gather more information from the chp. what we do know is that the central off ramp from westbound 80 is shut down. that's going to be closed until further notice. we will continue to speak with them and to get further detames. but as we take you into san jose, this is also causing quite a crimp in your commute.

three car crash northbound along 101 as you approach ellen rock avenue. past ellen rock it's clear as you head to the airport. westbound side of 580 at basco road. accident involving a big rig. everything on the shoulder. a look at weather. let's talk about cooler temperatures. chance of rain, i would say nil. as we take a look right now from our mt. tam cam, you can see just that blue skylighting up ever so slightly from that impending sunrise. it's going to be a gorgeous day. mostly sunshine for us. you can expect to see a couple of scattered clouds across the bay area. certainly cooler, day planner for the next 12 hours. this morning 52 degrees inland. 54 around the bay. 52 degrees along the coast. temperature climbing up just a little bit. 72 degrees will be your high inland by 4:00 p.m. then gusty conditions with some clouds in the evening hours. we'll have your full accuweather seven-day forecast coming up. kristen, eric, over to you. we have developing news from

berkeley. an early morning fire broke out in an apartment building on carrison street near san pablo avenue. the battalion chief says the fire started shortly after midnight in the upper unit of the four-plex. residents say a neighbor woke everyone up by knocking on doors saying his apartment was on fire. they think it was started by a dura flame log that rolled out of his fireplace into the living room. everyone got out safely. three people are out of their homes this morning, though. we could find out today if the body found in a stairwell at san francisco general hospital is that of a patient who went missing last month. katie marzullo live in the newsroom. >> we talked with san francisco general this morning. the spokeswoman tells us the hospital will make an official announcement sometime today. but a reliable source has already told abc 7 news the body is that of 57-year-old lynne spalding. here you see a picture taken inside sf general. a police officer and crime scene tape blocking the stairwell where a hospital worker found the body yesterday. actually, in an exterior

stairwell on the fourth floor. now, lynne had checked into the hospital with just an infection last month. she was put on medication that made her disoriented. two days later, she disappeared from her room. that was more than two weeks ago. family and friends created a facebook page. they've been searching, of course, tirelessly for her. but now it's possible she never left the hospital. >> if this body is lynne spalding's, as i've said repeatedly today, i think there are a lot of questions that san francisco general will have to answer as to why that person was not found for 19 days. >> 19 days. san francisco police and sheriff's deputies are investigating this, talking with hospital staff and going over surveillance video. the hospital has not said much since the discovery of the body, other than finding out what happened is top priority. a lot of questions still this morning. eric and kristen, back to you. >> thank you, katie. president obama will nominate janet jeyellen for

chairman of the federal reserve today. she's the current vice chairman of the fed. she's a professor amerita at the university of california berkeley. she served as ceo of the bank of san francisco from 2004 to 2010. the announcement will be made at noon. if confirmed the 57-year-old will become the first woman to chair the federal reserve. a petaluma neighborhood is quieter this morning after being swarmed by local and federal agents in search of bombs at a man's home. agents and police spent most of the day at a home on quarry road yesterday after police discovered two live bombs and two partially constructed devices. that search was finally called off around 10:00 last night. police first discovered the explosives while responding to a call about a despondent man with a gun on monday. they arrested 30-year-old ismail moylan. he's being held on $1 million bail. investigators say there's no current threat to the neighborhood. in a few hours, the san francisco man is due in federal court charged with master minding a notorious online black market for illegal drugs.

ross ulbricht's attorney is expected to ask for his release on bail. he's not expected to enter a plea on charges that he anonymously ran the $1 billion narcotics website called silk road. ulbricht is also charged with using the website to try to hire someone to kill a former employee. the 29-year-old is also facing drug and money laundering charges in new york. ulbricht was arrested on october 1st in a san francisco branch library while authorities say he was chatting online with a cooperating witness. also happening today, the 19-year-old charged with killing a 21-year-old livermore woman in a drunk driving accident last month heads to court in butte county today. riley hoover is accused of hitting christina cheserman while she rose her bike on september 22nd. chesterman was a nursing student. hoover's blood alcohol level may have been as high as .30.

chesterman was taken off life support. her organs saved the lives of two babies in the bay area as well as a family friend who received one of her kidneys. >> 6:37. less than two days until the b.a.r.t. cooling off period expires. coming up, where both sides stand this morning. new this morning, another bay area scholar is taking home a new honor this morning. after winning a nobel prize and the local university topping the scales for most winners so far this year. a live look outside towards the bay. the bay bridge. you can see that the skies are -- some clouds on the east side of the bay. also open spots there.

the time is now 6:40. we're waking up to nippy temperatures out there. first as we talk about some traffic we do have a couple of problems. take a look. mostly green on this map, but we do have a couple of crash. one is a sig alert that amy hollyfield has been on the scene reporting all morning long. a sig alert affecting the central avenue off ramp, westbound side of 80. heavy backup. coming away from highway 4, bumper to bumper. once you pass the hoffman split slow and go into berkeley. a look at the southbound side of

880 as stevenson boulevard. an accident causing a bit of slowing out of fremont. also not a problem is your weather forecast. because we were first thinking there was going to be a little bit of rain. it's really going to only affect mt. hamilton. a live doppler 7 hd showing some cloud cover. definitely nippy temperatures will greet us this morning. you might want to keep the socks on, stay under the covers. as we take a look, 45 degrees in los gatos. especially in the north bay as well, you're going to be seeing temperatures in the upper 40s to lower 50s. 47 degrees in san ramon. 5 51 in livermore. kgo roof camera towards the bay bridge. the sun is starting to rise, illuminate some of those scattered clouds. partly cloudy today but mostly sunshine. definitely cooler. as we take a look at this three-day forecast, tomorrow, temperatures will warm up just a little bit. into friday and saturday it's going to be a beautiful weekend. kristen, eric? >> thank you. new this morning, governor

brown will soon have to decide if the state will help shoulder the cost of running federal programs used by millions of californians if the government shutdown lingers on and on. the los angeles times reports state officials say there's no guarantee that critical social services in california such as food stamps, subsidized school meals and nutrition assistance for pregnant women and infants could run without interruption in november. the brown administration has not yet said if it plans to plug the gaps for social programs at the end of the month. new this morning, the service outage affecting apple iphone and ipad users. tradings under way on wall street. >> a live look at the big board right now. the dow is just about flat. you can see still under 15,000 mark. ahead we'll go live to bloomberg's jane king at the new york stock exchange. coming up first, b.a.r.t. workers hold an evening rally as negotiations to avert a strike come down to the wire

prove it. enough is enough. d-con baits are specially formulated to kill in one feeding. guaranteed. d-con. get out.

people go to a mattress store, and essentially they just get sold something. we provide the exact individualization that your body needs. before you invest in a mattress, discover the bed clinically proven to improve sleep quality. once you experience it, there's no going back. oh, yeah! at our columbus day event, save $500 to $700 on the final closeout of our performance series mattress sets. but hurry - ends soon! only at a sleep number store, where queen mattresses start at just $699.99. sleep number. comfort individualized.

6:45. here's what bay area commuters want to know this morning. will b.a.r.t. employees go on strike in less than 48 hours? >> abc 7 matt keller joins us live from the fremont. >> reporter: the clock is

ticking but at least both sides are talking. good news for the riders concerned about another potential b.a.r.t. strike. both sides left negotiations about 10:00 last night. they both had a sense of urgency. riders want to know if they can reach an agreement before thursday's midnight deadline when the 60 day cooling off period comes to an end. the two sides can negotiate beyond the tdeadline but union leaders say it's unlikely. b.a.r.t. riders are hoping the deal gets done so they don't have to make alternate plans to get to work. >> it'll be a big inconvenience. i'll have to drive. i don't like driving. especially to the city this time of day. too far. >> reporter: last night about 200 union members and supporters marched from oakland city hall to the cal trans building where negotiations are taking place. the unions did not issue a 72 hour strike notice monday night but that's more of a courtesy for b.a.r.t. riders than a rirlt. workers could still strike friday even though union leaders say the goal is to avoid a strike. the unions and b.a.r.t. management are scheduled to meet again this morning for

negotiations starting at 9:30. matt keller, abc 7 news. zbl if there is a strike, head to abc7news.com. we pulled together lots of resources to help you get around including the way agencies plan on handling the extra passengers. you'll also find realtime traffic maps and our exclusive waze traffic app. remember to follow us on twitter @abc7newsbayarea for breaking news updates. record setting endurance swimmer diana nyad is more than 24 hours into her 48 hour swimming marathon. let's take a look. in the pink cap is diana, swimming away in manhattan right now. the 64-year-old is swimming in a 40-yard pool set up specially in harold square. her goal is to raise money for people still struggling after superstorm sandy. last month nyad became the first person to swim from cuba to florida without a shark cage. apple is expected to make some ipad announcements in two weeks. the cupertino based company is expected to unveil new versions of its ipad and ipad mini.

the tech blog all things d says big changes are in the works. the new monini will reportedly feature the retta display like the one on the current full sized ipad. they say the fifth generation ipad is also expected to feature a thinner, lighter design, a better camera and a more powerful chip making it faster than the current version. >> i hope you're staying put and not traveling over thanksgiving. because if you're going to travel, you got to get ready for sticker shock on airplane tickets. >> i get that anyway. the positive response from wall street to the president's choice for the next head of the fed is out there as well. here's bloomberg's jane king live at the new york stock exchange with more. >> hi, eric and kristen. good morning. well, we had, i should say had, a higher open here this morning. investors do apparently like the president's choice of janet yellen as the next fed chairman. she is seen as a dove. that means she is viewed as a supporter of continuing the fed stimulus to help the economy. create more jobs.

as a top deputy to ben bernanke she did support the central bank's ground breaking bond buying program. she was a driving force behind any strategy adopted last year to commit the fed to goals on inflation and unemployment. here's how we look this morning. the dow still barely positive. but we have seen the nasdaq and s&p turn negative. the bloomberg silicon valley index positive as well by a little bit. apple shares, we're watching them today after all the headlines about the october 22nd event. sources say apple will be holding it to unveil a new standard ipad and ipad mini with a high tells us watch for a new mac operating system for pc. apple insider says apple had an outage with some problems with theal calendar and other featu. if you haven't booked that thanksgiving trip yet, hop to it. travel osty says thanksgiving air fares up 7%.

on average 415 bucks for a domestic round trip flight. that's not including tax. live at the new york stock exchange, i'm jane king, bloomberg news. >> jane, thank you very much. 6:50 is our time. a lot to talk about this morning in terms of our changing weather conditions. of course, we've got some traffic problems as well. leyla gulen doing double duty this morning. >> we do have a couple of problems on our roadways. certainly plenty of congestion. we to have a sig alert as well. as we take you right over to san jose at ellen rock we have this three car crash still blocking lanes. northbound side of 101. heavy backup it's causing before the 286/80 sliplit. once you leave that area it's wide open. the san matteo bridge at the toll plaza westbound side a hazard out there causing significant delays. as you make that approach to the tolls, it is looking quite busy. outside we go. here's a picture of 101 as you

come away from 880. here's the san matteo bridge. actually, as you make that push in the westbound direction towards the high-rise, traffic building. now about 15 to 16 minutes to get you into foster city. as we talk about some weather here, we do have cooler temperatures most certainly. take a look at that. this is a look from our mt. tam cam towards san francisco. the east bay. as the sun greets the sky. it is a gorgeous horizon that's just aglow with the morning sunrise. beautiful. see the clouds as well. those are going to burn off later this morning. in fact, you can see it on our live doppler 7 hd radar satellite. also noticing moisture falling right out of sacramento. making its push in a southeasterly direction, over stockton right now. we thought we were going to be getting some rain. not so. actually over mt. hamilton is where it's going to experience just a taste of that moisture. as we talk about that low that's been marching to the south of us from the pacific northwest, it's bringing that mass of cooler air.

that's why we have that drop in temperatures for the bay area. it was supposed to bring some moisture, but really it's going to be bringing some snow. this is going to affect the higher elevations of the sierra. 6,000 feet and above. one to four inches of snow is expected. wind gusts up to 20 miles per hour. that also means some slippery roads. if you do want to get out into the snow, you want to be careful. drive with caution. highway 50 testify ndefinitely by the heaviest snow and south of there as well. highs for today pretty moderate. upper 60s to the lower and mid-70s. for pretty much most of the bay air wra. lows for tonight, partly cloudy skies will revisit us. definitely chillier conditions. 47 degrees in santa cruz as we continue up the coast and into the north bay. mid-40s is going to be our low for tonight. 54 degrees in antioch. a look at my accuweather seven-day forecast. good news, though, we do have some warmer temperatures that are going to be coming to us

over the weekend. 80 degrees on monday with lots of sunshine. eric, kristen? >> wow. leyla, thank you. 6:52. ahead, seven things to know before you

6:54. live look at traffic coming across the golden gate bridge. things are moving smoothly there as leyla has been telling us. we have problems elsewhere. you'll find out about that. >> as we get ready to hand things off to "good morning america" seven things to know before you go. number one, breaking news in richmond where a chp pursuit ended with a fatal crash of a suspected dui driver. the central avenue off ramp to westbound 80 is closed right now. investigators say the chase lasted less than a minute before the mini van hit the center divide and crashed. number two, a look at the bay bridge toll plaza where we've got heavy conditions coming away from the maze. as we take you back into richmond over to our maps we go.

i want to show you all of that slowing. you can see solid red coming away from highway 4. bumper to bumper traffic as you make that approach to the hoffman split due to that sig alert. number three, a spokesperson for san francisco general hospital says the medical center will have an update on a body found in a stairwell sometime today. a source tells abc 7 news it's missing patient lynne spalding who vanished more than two weeks ago. a hospital worker found a body yesterday in a rarely used stairwell. number four, developing news in berkeley where an early morning fire broke out in an apartment building on carrison street. residents say a neighbor woke everyone up after his apartment caught fire. three people out of their homes this morning. number five, 41 hours. that's how much time is left in the 60 day cooling off period for b.a.r.t. and its unions. if no deal is reached by tomorrow night at midnight, workers could go on strike friday morning. number six, stanford university professor michael levitt is waking up a nobel prize winner. levitt on the left there is one

of three researchers sharing the prize in chemistry for their work on computer programs that have revolutionized research in areas from drugs to silver energy. this is the second nobel prize for a stanford researcher this week. uc berkeley has one. number seven, a look from sutro tower. that is our view. you can see those puffy clouds. colder temperatures as we take a look right now at our day planner for the next 12 hours. breakfast is going to be rather chilly. it will start to warm up by lunchtime. by dinner time, we will see temperatures back in the upper 60s. >> leyla, thank you very much. thank you for joining us. abc 7 news continues now online, on twitter, facebook and all your mobile devices. >> we'll be back here in about 25 minutes with news, weather and traffic during "good morning america." have a great day. i'll see you back here tomorrow. >> we'll leave you with a picture of that cloud deck leyla was telling us about. have a fabulous day, everybody. bye-bye.

good morning, america. scandal and outrage. benefits for the families of military war dead stopped in the shutdown. the money used by families to meet their fallen heroes and arrange for their funerals blocked. now the shutdown could be poised to hit millions of vets. outbreak. breaking, new details on the salmonella sickness from chicken already stretching over 18 states. cdc medical experts furloughed by the government shutdown, now being brought in to handle it. what you need to know right now. the father of the 9-year-old boy who hopped a flight alone to vegas, comes forth to explain how he slipped away. the boy casing security in advance. and we see the truck he crashed into this police car. oh, yeah. the "baywatch" secret revealed.