good evening i'm ken wayne. >> and i'm julie haener. the chp told us minutes ago that a car going the wrong way caused the crash. all traffic is stopped until

police can clear the scene. eastbound traffic is moving but it's moving slowly. the crash happened a few minutes ago and involved two vehicles. we'll bring you more information before the forecast is over. congress is giving california an early christmas gift tonight. president obama reached a compromise with republicans but many democrats objected to tax breaks with the wealthiest americans. >> have held america hostage, the president agreed to pay the ransom. >> here the highlights of the

deal. the legislation extends tax cuts for two years among all income levels. the bill will cost $858 billion which is added to the federal deficit. president obama said the cuts were necessary to help the economy, without the deal, tacks would have gone up for most americans on january 1st. we are back on storm watch tonight as the bay area braces for what could be one of of the wettest weekends in year. people all around the bay area are getting prepared. they want to be ready for the rain that's coming. we start our coverage right now with chief meteorologist -- we're going to go to amber first, amber. >> reporter: hi julie.

it's been raining here on and off for the past few hour, we're at one of four locations here at san mateo county where you can pick up free sandbags. take a look down here, there's a pile of handmade ones. but if those are gone. you can walk over here, grab yourself some bags and fill your own. >> we have plastic sheeting. >> reporter: the manager at the -- is showing us they're supplies. it's quite tonight.

>> reporter: tomorrow, they'll wait nil tomorrow. >> if anything happens you try to be warm and cozy. >> reporter: in san mateo county, county workers will be keeping a close eye on low lying areas. such as this neighborhood near redwood still known as fair oaks. they will also monitor coastal areas. >> the winds are very strong. we can get a lot of tree debris in the roads and we need to make sure we're keeping those roads clear. >> county officials are urging people to take no more than 10 premade sandbags per household. reporting live here in redwood city. amber lee, ktvu news. already that rain is starting to fall. it's supposed to be a rainy weekend. a series of storms taking direct aim at northern california, and like amber said people around the bay area are getting ready. let's go straight now to bill martin in the weather center. >> we have rain out there right

now. storm tracker 2 showing rain in the area. you can see rain is falling in north bay area neighborhoods. this is light,this is just the beginning of what is to come. here you see the satellite load up with rain at the coast. what we have in the pacific is over 2,000 miles of moisture, cool air and warm air headed our way. this is how it breaks down for your weekend. rainy and windy on saturday, sunday more showers. and it goes well beyond that. when i come back, i have the long range model, i'll show you what you can expect in the next hour. and just look for the web link section, later in this newscast, we will take you to the foothills where the flood gates are open. all day today, clouds

gathered at the newark scene where a student was stabbed. >> reporter: even with the rain a few gathered here to maintain a vigil. hundreds came here tonight to pay their respect, this memorial on cedar boulevard for justice aubula is a reminder of how his death has touched the community. >> reporter: there was singing and crying at the bus stop where the 17-year-old was killed. >> i would like to say thank you on behalf of the family for

all the support that we have here tonight. >> reporter: the victim's girlfriend was here still remembering his last words. >> all he said is they stabbed many me, they stabbed me. i said where exactly are you, and he wasn't talking to me anymore, i was trying to yell. i said where are you, where are you and he wasn't talking. >> reporter: a few months ago, afulla was at a party, and he came to the aid of a cheer leader who was being beaten. yesterday, a large crowd was gathered. >> somebody had to see something, it's our belief that somebody knows more than they are willing to reveal to us at this point. >> reporter: family and friends

say afulla was not a gang member but a gentle giant. >> my son he was a good son. he was a very gentle, loving person. >> he was loving, very loving. >> reporter: funeral arrangements are pending. if anyone wants to call with information, they can do so anonymously. live in newark, lloyd lacuesta. vallejo police are defending their actions tonight following an officer involved shooting. police have released surveillance video. police also released this picture of 34 guy jerode taken from the video.

the afternoon he was shot, jerode was in this video and carrying a gun. students say he may have being carrying the gun in case someone tried to take the equipment they were using. at sentencing, jensen faces the possibility of life in prison. police say they have more evidence against yusef.

>> daryl: bey iv. andy told the killers that he would be rewarded financially if they killed bailey. the department of motor vehicle said today the employee who sent a letter to a transgender woman has quit. california's utility commission has ored pg & e to reduce gas flowing through it's two large áers east bay pipelines. the news comes as new doubt surfaced about the accuracy of pipeline inspections. ktvu's mike mibach is live in oakland with details. >> reporter: beneath the ground that i'm standing on near 880 and 29th street is one of two massive pipelines where the

pressure is going to be reduced. a december dinner at the oakland home of the wolf family. >> you picked the toughest one. >> reporter: as chef and head of the household, michael wolf. >> i think it's an awakening call for people. for p g & e, let's check out everything now. >> reporter: today the utilities commission asked pg & e to reduce pressure in pipelines similar to the ones that failed in san bruno. two pipelines are affected, and the integrity of those lines will be affected. one runs from milpedas to freemont, the other from freemont to oakland. pg & e chairman peter darby. >> i will agonology this has been a very difficult year. >> reporter: according to this

letter addressed to pg & e, the puc addressed the letter into the san bruno explosion raising doubt. >> trust in pg & e is at an all time low. >> ask me how we're going to conduct the business and then watch. i think what you will find is there's a consistent between the two. >> reporter: oakland's michael wolf says because pg & e says residential -- won't be affected. >> i'm fine with it. you do what you have to do. >> reporter: pg minnesota e's vice president released a statement saying safety is our number one priority. we will begin taking steps to reduce pressure immediately once inspected and given the green light by the puc.

the pressure can again be increased. mike mibach, ktvu. and live storm tracker 2 picking up rain in the area. i'll back and show you the latest computer model. and how far this rain is going to make it. a city of 100,000 with fewer than 100 cops. we'll look at the lay out that residents say

dozens of workers rally today outside the hilton hotel. union members say they are facing health care, pension and job cuts while company executives are getting big bonuses. the hotel says it's struggling in this economy and that the communion walked away from a contract offer. the city of antioch has issued pink slips to half a dozen police officers. police say budget problems leave them little hopes unless they agree to concessions. >> reporter: a 20-year-old man was shot several times today in a robbery attempt. just the latest violence to tax

a small department getting smaller. this is a recruiting video from the police department just three years ago. it portrays a hard charging department bridging down bad guys, pursuing crime as it pursues excellence. but how times change. as antioch is now shedding officers it says it can't afford. >> i think that we do need to keep the police on staff because if the crime rate is going up, i want to be protected, i want my daughter to be protect. >> residents are learning that unless benefit concessions are made this city will drop to 98 cops. six lay offs may not sound as much, but an optimum drop would be 87. >> there's nobody here to talk about this. >> our inquiries seem tonight seemed -- the department is only open to the public four

days a week, four hours a day. the $17 million police building a monument to better timeses. >> we're not turning our city over to any criminals. >> reporter: the mayor is a former cop, and calls the cuts painful but necessary. >> i've been on the other side of the table, you think the city is fudging the numbers, there's no fudging the number. we're hurting. >> reporter: hurting so much that even with the crime rate rising, the department may ignore property crimes entirely to focus on violent crimes. >> i was held up right over there a couple of years ago. >> reporter: residents say they are definite ly noticing a change. >> growing up i never had to worry about a security door. now it seems that everybody is

talking about putting in a security door. >> reporter: the victim in the shooting at this park is expected to make it. reporting live in antioch, debra villalon. ktvu news. a judge has scheduled a hearing next week that could free a man that was says was wrongly convicted of murder. the caldwell is seen here as a young man. another man has since confessed to the killing. a judge could order a new trial or release caldwell. >> it seems to me that the responsible thing to do would be to gracefully acknowledge the mistake, apologize to mr. caldwell and release him. two years ago, maurice jell

confessed and wrote a statement that said caldwell was not involved. authorities found the victim 22-year-old larry robertson of marin city. deputies arrested cumar mills tug the mills near the scene of the attack. police say the crash happened when a car traveling at a high rate of speed rear ended another car which slammed into the shuttle and a fourth vehicle. at least three people were taken to the hospital with nonlife threatening injuries. graffiti taggers are a growing problem in san jose, while the city has a program in place to tackle the tagging, a state agency finds itself way behind of the clean up process. maureen naylor has the story. >> reporter: the san jose dentist is not just in the look

out for cavities, he's also spotted new graffiti that went up outside of his building. >> when we started this program, we were receiving 30 calls on average, now we're receiving 60 to 70. >> reporter: crews went around with their paint sprayer covering graffiti. in 2009 they covered 19,000 sites. this number rose to 29,000 this year. >> i think it has to do with a lot of people being out of work, they have more time in their hand. >> reporter: data shows the number already jumped up to 108,000. >> i see it, but within a day or so seems like they come by and paint right over it.

i think the city's trying to keep a good handle on it. san jose's anti graffiti unit doesn't expect their response time to be impacted by budget cuts next year. caltrans is responsible for overpasses, late tonight a spokesperson says they are six to eight months behind schedule and blame the delay to weather and wet weather. maureen naylor, ktvu news. and live storm tracker 2 showing rain in the area. we talked about it last night. showers in san jose, livermore and out toward concord as well. as we go through the next 24 hour, we start off with a wet morning commute, it's raining tomorrow on both commutes, morning and afternoon. of course the long rain forecast is wet. overnight lows tonight, 30s, some mid-40s. showers in your forecast.

when i come back, i have the computer model all loaded up and it's going to go right through saturday and monday. i'll show you specifically where the rain will be the heaviest and when it'll be there. i'll see you back here in a few minutes. residents in north oakland are putting a holiday spin on keeping the community safe. the 56 street neighborhood association handed out whistles and sang christmas carols. residents toll us there's been an increase of walkers and bicyclists being mugged. bart past midnight. new tonight why a movement to change bart hour's for the first time in more than 20 years

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protesters angry with banks and what they call unfair fore closures demonstrated outside los angeles, san francisco and san jose. dozens of demonstrators outside of bank of america invoked biblical scenes. members of the most holy trinity catholic church sang and held a nativity set outside. >> we have fought long and hard for a place to raise our family. we have a home and you are taking it away from us. >> reporter: last week the bank announced it's suspending forcollie foreclosures for the holidays. state lawyers want an appellate judge to quickly rule whether the sale of 11 state

buildings can proceed, paper filed in a court wednesday, if the deal isn't finalized soon it could fall through. the arnold schwarzenegger administration is counting on raising money by selling the buildings and renting them back. and the index has gained four preponderate 5% this month, the nasdaq rose 20. bart officials are looking into whether service should be extended later into saturday night. passengers have complained about saturday's midnight ending time for years. today, bart's director bob franklin said he wants his managers to prepare a report on the pros and cons of later hours. once that report is completed, the public would be invited to weigh in. silent hybrid vehicles may soon be a thing of the past. the house of representatives approved a -- mind pedestrians say the quietness of those

vehicles is a safety risk. the u.s. senate approved it's version of the bill last week and it now goes to president obama for his signature. a fresno man is suing -- narcigian says he owns some ansel adams the áf photography slides. is it a family restaurant or adult entertainment venue. we'll tell you about the police report that could change the way hooters does

a live look at storm tracker 2 monitoring rain in the bay area. right now there's a yellow cell right off the coast. this is just a series of storms we expect starting tomorrow. the flood gates at two california dams are open tonight. releasing millions of the gallons of water in anticipation of this rain. it's not unusual but it is this early in the season. ken pritchett reports. >> reporter: when a sign that marks the american river is partially under water you know the river is high. >> it is definitely running way above what it normally does.

>> reporter: bill bootenes walks his dogs along the river, but where he walks is now unwater. the large release of water is intended to reduce that very risk. >> the thing is, we want to make sure that we have room for the storms that are forecast to come into the area. >> reporter: lewis moore with the federal bureau of reclamation says fulsome lake is -- this large of release in december is unusual. >> it's been a few years. this is the second year where conditions have been improved where three, four years prior we were in drought situation. >> reporter: releasing water now leaves room for the

eventual run off. but the snow pack is not the immediate concern, it is the several inches of rain expected by this time next week. the reservoirs were so last week that releases of this type were not necessary ahead of a december storm. it's a sign the reservoirs are in better shape. the suspect in a deadly shoot out at a shopping mall has been arrested. detectives have been following him. on tuesday, a mother was killed by a stray bullet as she was protecting her 2-year-old son during that shoot out. a man died in the hospital from his wounds. five other people were shot and they are expecting to survive. new information is coming to light tonight about the extensive fire at the westfield galleria mall in roseville near sacramento it happened in october. a barricaded man believed to

have a bomb was believed to have started that fire. there is no indication the fire department complied. after nine days in jail, wikileaks founder was released on bail today. assange walked out of jail to the cheers of his supporters. >> i hope to continue my work and continue to profess my innocence in this matter. as part of his bail, assange has to remain in britain and will be staying at a friend's estate. at a time when many cities

are struggling and in some instances trying to avoid bankruptcy, one bay area city says it's in good shape financially. but the price of solvency can be a steep one. ktvu's john sasaki reports. berkeley is known as a liberal pasting. >> we don't have any retail box stores, as a consequence we have a more stable income. even though it's off, and it's off everywhere, in all departments it's not as dramatic as other places. >> reporter: another factor is higher taxes faced by homeowners which people don't seem to mind. >> when i pay my taxes i get

the itemized list of everything taxes are going to. it spells out all the services we get here. this is the north berkeley senior center which makes a huge difference in the lives of millions of the people. >> i would be more isolated. maybe depressed. >> reporter: berkeley has three senior centers. three of them, including this one will be closed new years eve. one will be closed the entire week after christmas all because of budgetary cuts. like other city offices it shuts down fridays leading to frustration. >> this is difficult to do your job. >> nobody is doing your job when you need to be elsewhere. it makes it hard. >> city officials probably tout berkeley's success. >> it's really an amazing story

when you look at san francisco and oakland and god help us poor vallejo. and -- and you look at vallejo and we're on the block. we're continuing to follow breaking news on the dunbarton bridge. we'll have the latest on a head on collision right after the break. larry king signed off tonight, and why it's not exactly for good. it's nice to get away on friday. but these storms are going to play havoc with the lightning fast. lightning strong.

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moments ago the highway patrol reopened the westbound lanes of the dunbarton bridge. a car was driving the wrong way around 8:50 tonight when it slammed head on into another vehicle. it will be a bit longer for the traffic to unwind. after 25 years of hosting a talk show on cnn, larry king signed off for the final time tonight. the 77-year-old king got a little emotional and almost seemed at a loss for words. >> i don't know what to say expect to you, my audience, thank you. and instead of goodbye, how about so long. >> larry king said he's not going away entirely. he'll host four specials a year for cnn and king said he plans

to do some radio. the city of honolulu says today it has hired a man who was in charge of a san francisco zoo when a tiger escaped and attacked a teenager. two others were injured by the tiger when escaped from its enclosure on christmas day 2007. california companies could begin to make money by polluting less. the state air resources paord approved a plan that lets companies buy permits allowing them to emit a certain amount of greenhouse gases. once purchased by the state, those permits can be bought and sold on the open market. so if a company pollutes more than it's allowed to it could sell it's credits. and manufacturers have

agreed to put warning labels on flea and tick collars of cancer causing chemicals. caltranss is working as quickly as it can on the new tower for the bay bridge. crews are lifting four massive columns on to the suspension column. strong winds will likely make that work much more difficult and slow it down. caltrans had hoped the get the job completed. a veteran u.s. troubleshooter arrived today. the new mexico governor insisted he is on a private visit but he hopes to persuade north korea from taking any more aggressive action against south south korea. tensions have increased since

last month. 1.5 million shiites have made a pilgramage. 80 militants were arrested for plots attacks on the pilgramage tomorrow. in the past several years, american troops have helped with security, this year the iraqi troops were responsible for securing the area. it's known for it's

you heard of hooters but is it a restaurant chain or adult entertainment? that question is being raised by the national organization for women. as jana katsuyama reports, now filed complaints today accusing hooters of violating the law. hooters has always been up front about its sexy imagine with female servers in skimpy uniforms. >> they have great service. the girls are great. some people say hooters is violating state laws because the chain is marketed as an oriented business while selling to minors. >> this is a shirt saying hooter girl in the making. that's what's really sad and that's what's against the law in california. >> reporter: attorney mona lisa

wallis is with now, the national federation for women. today the group filed a complaint against hooters. >> we would like to file a complaint against hooters incorporated. >> reporter: wallis says hooters has called itself an adult entertainment. >> they're workers are sexual entertainers. >> reporter: according to city law, adult venues cannot serve to minors. and if hooters is registered as a restaurant, it must comply with equal opportunity. >> why pick on hooters? it's a great play to have a beer and watch a game. >> reporter: others say hooters should change it's marketing tactics. >> for my girls, i don't want

to bring them in there. i don't want to to look up to that and think that's what they're supposed to look like. >> reporter: we tried to contact hooters, but they told us to contact the corporate office, where there was no answer. demonstrators staged a die in representing troops and civilians who have died. organizers say the demonstrators were sited for refusing to leave. the white house today released a review of president obama's afghanistan strategies concluding that american troops can start coming home in july. a morbid piece of american history was auctioned off today in los angeles. the wooden coffin of lee harvey oswald was sold for more than

$17,000. oswald was arrested for allegedly assassinating john f. kennedy. oswald was buried in a simple pine coffin. his a retired man from south carolina has decided to help california get rid of its massive debt. dennis ferguson sent california a check for $10,000. the 10,000 is repayment with interest. the money will go to public schools. san francisco's attempt to host the sailing cup has not been accepted yet by the golden gate karat club which will decide on the location. now new port rhode island is intensifying it's efforts to play the host. italy has also put in a bid.

a decision is due by december 31st. and the moisture streaming in off the pacific. we've been talking about it all week. it is beginning to arrive. we've got showers across the area. you see it in motion. no strong dynamics yet, but the showers will increase tomorrow and will receive heavier rain just in time for a wet commute. it's going to stick around for a while. tomorrow and tonight, we have showers, heaviest showers will be in the latest afternoon. that impacts the friday get away. it's a vacation get away. many folks are off coming up in the holiday. so it's going to be a big deal with all the water coming down in the very wet forecast takes us right through the weekend. here's what's showing up now. that's moisture ahead of the system that is stacked up ahead of the pacific. that's past the date line. a couple of 2,000 to 3,000

miles from here. tomorrow morning, light showers on the morning commute. then as we get to lunchtime it's raining. in the afternoon commute, it's raining too. so it's going to be a wet afternoon commute. that's sort of the headline here. especially being friday and the get away. computer model ready to go. 1:00 on friday. here we are at 6:00. that's our afternoon commute you see it's wet. the aerial distributions, it's a lot of water. a lot of moisture moving on shore. here we are friday night just after the 10:00 news it's raining. and that winter storm warning needed. still scattered showers, a little bit of a break. this is the big hit here. i think saturday night into sunday morning. wind, rain, some heavy wind at times, heavy rain. and then sunday morning it breaks off a little bit. look it just keeps coming. there we are sunday afternoon.

you bet that winter storm warning will be warranted in the mountains. it's above 1,700 feet. and beyond that they could see a weak from now they could see eight, 10 feet of new snow. forecast highs tomorrow just in the 50s. the five day forecast is a wet one. it bears watching because timing beats out is difficult to say the least. because they are not well organized systems. it is just like a fire hose shooting our way. we're going to get some breaks, that's the good news. looks like we might see something saturday night, then sunday and monday. we'll be watching it closely. umbrellas, and it's going to be slow go. >> it's been a long time since we've seen rain. for three hours today, russian based officials lost contact with the international space station. the soyas took off yesterday ta

space station. the problem

well there's not a lot to smile about tonight if you're a 49ers fan tonight.

it just went from bad to worse. >> ugly, ugly tonight when it comes to the 49ers as a play off team, this game was a must. as in you must be kidding. the 49ers and the wildest stretch of the imagination in no way resemble a play off team unless you're a fan immersed in the deepest stages of denial. the chargers crushed the niners in every imaginable way. and they take a little bit of a cheap shot here against one of the chargers who didn't even have his helmet on. and it does go from bad to worse. clemens 58 yards, touchdown chargers and there it goes. alex smith will scamper to his left. he's in for a touchdown. it is signaled by the referees but the chargers challenge and they win it. no touchdown niners come out

with no points. now 10-0. same combination as earlier. he had three receptions coming into this game. he has three touchdowns when he leaves it. again it's jackson, diving, 34- 7 the final. the niners now 5-9. mathematically alive but maybe not psychologically. >> when you walk away from a beating like that it doesn't feel good, no. but i mean there's the nfl, that's the ups and downs of the nfl. you look at the chargers team and they got one handed to them by the raiders. so you have to be able to bounce back. aáepb lots to be upbeat for the sharks -- and lots to be upbeat about the sharks. not because they win but even when they lose it's by a close

one. on to over time, power play situation, the rookie logan couture will cash in on the opportunity. 15 goals already and the sharks on the road with a 4-3 victory and their third consecutive beyond regulation game when they've met the dallas stars. another day, another deal for the a's. not of the knock your socks varity. the nationals and the kings, the a's sent a couple of prospects to washington. two months or so with knee surgery this past season, but still managed to pump 16 out of the park for the nationals. meantime here's a good one to close out with, edgar renteria says the giants $1 million offer for him to play with the team next year is disrespectful. he's wrong on many levels including the fact that they just paid him $19 million over the past two years. he did nothing until the world

series so doesn't look like the world series hero renteria will be back. but i invite anybody to disrespect me for a million. >> for a million dollars. >> disrespect, go ahead. >> i can hear all the e-mails.