>> good morning. a preliminary hearing over a 16-year-old girl gang raped in richmond is hearing an end and two key witnesses will soon take the stand. >> east bay neighbors living in fear. what police are doing to catch the man they believe is responsible for a string of armed robberies and neighbors helping in the hunt. good morning. we are off to a foggy start in some parts of this friday, december 10th today in the east bay.

good morning, everyone. it's 4:30 and it's friday. let's start with a fantastic weekend forecast. >> good morning to you. a mild and muggy start. look at the numbers. 60 degrees this morning and 56 in livermore and 58 in oakland. a little bit of a breeze in some spots. southwest wind is 10 as we switch over to the radar. we have mist on the roads along with the patchy fog. some of that out by livermore and up towards concord and highway 4 this morning. we will continue to see the clouds during the day, but the temperatures running mild like we had yesterday with low 60s around oakland and berkeley and see temperatures in the upper 50s. the weekend we are talking warmer temperatures. scott? >> thank you, rob.

over to mike. any time you have skmift fog and wet, you have bumpers going. >> you can avoid that by lowering your speed. ugly picture here at the toll plaza where typically we have a view of the roadways. the headlights are moving throughout the area. we will keep on the area where dense fog advisory is coming over the water there. on the upper deck, debris reported and a tire in the lane and a bridge crew is heading over as well. highway 24 as cleared as you approach the caldecott tunnel. lakely going to see folks headinga off of the commute. we had fresh snow this week so

people are heading to it hoe. >> new this morning, final two witnesses are expected next week in the pretrial hearing of the richmond 7. the men stand accused of raping a teen girl after the homecoming dance. christie smith is live outside the courthouse where the emotional testimony continues. good morning. >> reporter: good morning and happy friday. 18 witnesses testified so far, but it's the last two coming up that could paint a clearer picture of what happened during this horrible gang rip of a 16 yooefr-year-old girl out of richmond high school during a homecoming dance. they are trying to prove there is enough evidence to bring seven boys and girls to trial. the youngest is 16 and the oldest a 42-year-old man. the remaining two witnesses are the lead investigator, a srmg

and a dna expert. the girl was raped, beaten and robbed in front of more than a dozen people before someone finally phoned 911. the oldest defendant was arrested based on a dna cold hit after the attack. the girl who had been drinking a parentally did not recognize him after. there was confusioning and conflicting testimony in the case thus far. when the last witness is dismissed, attorneys will have oral arguments before the judge decides there is enough evidence to bring any of them to trial. that's the latest live in martinez, today in the east bay. >> fear spreading in a neighborhood known for entertainment and restaurants. someone targeting people who eat, play, and shop there. we have a report from berkeley where the community is trying to help cops catch a serial armed

robber. >> paula is a frayed to walk in north berkeley. she's not alone. dozens of neighbors pack the area. >> we don't know there two suspects. >> one man pulled a gun and robbed five people in less than a month. police said he worked alone and has a get away car. >> some of the cars that were stolen were used in a way that it would be making sense someone was in a car. >> i want to help police cav him. >> we are talking about putting a web cam. the last hold up happened in front of my house. >> they are telling people to see who is around them, but many can't because it's so dark.

>> our light suggest extremely dim or non-exist ept and we are concerned we are not feeling safe. >> where one robbery was carried out, regular dog-walkers agree lights would improve safety. >> in this area, there is a lot of trees to hide people. down there, there is not tons of light either. >> i don't think the way he is behaving. >> police are stepping up uniform and under cover patrols and all these residents are ready to report anything unusual. today in the east bay. police say bart riders should try to walk home in groups from the station. be alert. they don't have a detailed description of the suspect or a possible get away car. police in richmond searching for two robbers who held up a credit union at gunpoint. they walked in, ordered the

employees to stand against the wall while they emptied the cash registers at the atkinson village credit union. they a away with $10,000 and no one got hurt. >> pat the nan who caused a traffic snarl on the bay bridge won't face kidnapping charges. he said there was insufficient evidence to put him on trial for that. the 52-year-old was arrested november 11th. he stopped on the westbound upper deck and allegedly phoned in a bomb threat. he has been in custody on $750,000 bail and faces child endangerment and making a false bomb threat. carlos was reportedly upset after learning his wife had an affair. a missing man suffers from dementia. they are looking for 90-year-old robert liktenstein who vanished

after his afternoon walk. if you have information as to his whereabouts, you are asked to call the oakland police department's missing persons section. wisconsin's loss is our gain. they are redirecting more than $1 billion from wisconsin and a higho to states more eager to start laying track like california. california will get $624 million, the largest chunk of funds after other states turned the money down. the first segment will be built starting in 2012. work will connect the bay area to los angeles. that's is expected to start in 2020. >> let's turn to mike inouye. it will be cool to go that fast. >> the lesson is, if you are offered a billion, don't hesitate. thick and low visibility, but

not the case all over the place. a live shot past 880. serious issues with low clouds and fog as well. we will look for the same conditions, but an easy drive through livermore. rob talked about 580 out of the pass on the maps. the travel time showing a 13-minute drive out of the pass. highway 4 with early slowing even for a friday. 65 at l street will dip to about 35. we will track that and show you, but the drive is warning about that fog as well. back to you. >> we are talking fog and time to check in with rob. >> probably mid-morning, but expect to see patches of fog around the bay. 58 degrees in oakland. we have a clear view of 880, but that may drop off with the misty skies and the patchies fog through the morning. 59 in concord and 56 degrees

looking at patchy fog out towards the pass. you can see here on the timeline, we have moisture spilling in across the pacific ocean. it has been aimed in and making things muggy at times and at least for one more day, we will have a chance for showers with misty skies for the morning. 50s and mid 80s and the storm track will lift to the north where the main concern for the weekend will be the fog that will be thick over the next couple of mornings. temperatures in the low to mid 60s again and it will feel muggy outside if the moist sur spilling in. temperatures should climb. around oakland highs in the mid 60s as we wrap up the weekend. fog could be an issue into early next week. >> coming up, a blip on the radar could ruin your christmas.

how a power outage more than 5,000 miles away that left for one second can leave you without apple gadgets. >> it has been a merry season for retailers. see the latest results.

you are looking at a live picture over at the public house at at&t park. stop by for a cup of coffee on third street. they are having an auction that helps the bay area sports hall of fame. several key bills of dead after republicans are blocking appeals. the don't ask don't tell policy after they fell three votes short. considering democrats lose the majority in the house soon, gays serving openly in the military may be impossible. killing the dream act after they realized they didn't have the support. they would give temporary green cards to children whose parents brought them to the country illegally and president barack obama's compromise on the tax plan with the republicans as well. >> we were told yesterday this was a take it or leave it deal.

we say leave it. >> the white house and leaders agreed to extend breaks. a vote could happen monday. aspect ok's branch of the salvation army in desperate need of toys trying to meet a goal of 13,000 toys for needy kids in contra costa county. the times reports ahead of last night 34 toys have been donated. the salvation army said they are waiting on the marine corps reserve and that makes up about 80 to 80% of the branch's donations. you can get a sneak peek on new artists in downtown livermore. the back well arts center will kickoff. meet local artists who are meeting space and artwork is for sale. it's at the site of a liquor store near the lucky super market. it runs from 11:00 to 4:00.

let's join mike innotice. things looking burden. >> on the roadway itself. debris reported through treasure island that is cleared. it couldn't clear out the fog and low visibility. chp with the officers traveling across. an accident at 29th. might have activity on the shoulder. prepare for flashing lights. 880 and 580 through oakland. no major issues north or westbound. that's right now. an easy flow as well and the yellow speeds indicating below 55. that's typical right now, but no major slowing including over the san mateo bridge. the bay bridge and the san mateo bridge look clear, but further along the coast towards half moon bay and pacifica, a lot of fog there as there was

yesterday. >> good morning. speaking of fog, we have misty skies across the golden gate bridge enough to wet the roadways. you will have to slow down and mist around san francisco. look at the temperatures. 50s to near 60s. not much wind with all the moisture and it's the story of the morning. the fog and the drizzle we see in the east bay. you can see the loop and light rain showers and the moisture will spill on in across northern california before the storm track for the weekend heads off to washington and oregon. that will shut down the showers and set the stage for a warm up in time for the weekend. low 60s around the trivalley. vacaville is 62. snow levels up high, close to 7,000 feet with the mild air. there you go for the weekend. look at the temperatures and upper 60s near the coastline by sunday. scott? >> new this morning, wall street will be watching washington for

signs of movements towards the tax deal. julia is at cnbc world headquarters. good morning. >> good morning to you. futures are pointing higher right now ahead of yesterday. they ended mixed as the tax cut extensions stalled in the house although it is expected to pass. there is a vote monday afternoon. asian stocked dipped on growing expectations that china will announce a rate hike. it's requiring banks to hold more cash to go against inflation. we have import prices, the trade deficit and the nasdaq rose seven points to 2616. companies may be ready to hire more people as revenues pick up. a survey by bank of america

shows nearly half plan to add to their workforce in 2011, up from 28% who said they were hiring more this year. many say they are confident they weathered the storm and ready for expansion. here's good mus and bad news. another recall at johnson & johnson. they are pulling all of the rolled as soft chews after they found bits of wooden metal. they uncovered problems with a third party manufacturer that left the particles mt. product. >> a refinery said they will be able to meet customer demand after a partial power outage that caused wholesale prices in the bay area that jump six cents and led to a health advisory that was lifted a few hours later. one employee suffered minor burns with the still unexplained

voltage dip. a small power outage in japan is creating big headaches. it happened wednesday at the toshiba memory chip plant. it could reduce the supply used in the ipad and ipod by up to 20% for two months. toshiba said the outage was less than one second, but even that can interrupt the production process and ruin a huge number of chips. companies like apple will turn to other suppliers if they need to. it's getting harder to keep the free checking free. accounts have fallen 76% from a year ago. to 67% today. about 10%. that's according to bank rate.com. you can look for banks that continue the trend when merchants pay for debit cards are cut. they are not free, but discounts are offered on windows phone 7 models.

amazon offering free at&t models that are selling for a penny with activation. t mobile has a model for $139 and others are offering discounts as well. microsoft is happy with the windows phone 7 sales. word on how christmas shopping is going. it may be too early to tell how main street is doing. online stores have something to cheer about. chris clackum has the story. >> for christmas shoppers are spending at the local retailers, the way they spend online, there will be smiles all-around. the research firm com score reports sales are up 12% compared to last year. there was over $1 billion spent online on cyber minute alone and for the season, there has been 17 billion in sales with online retailers. behind the surge is the free shipping. so many online stores are

offering. 1100 retailers signed up to participate in free shipping day, friday, september 17th with a promise to deliver by the 25th. something real stores can revel in, a survey found close to 60% of shoppers want that in-store experience to get you into the holiday spirit. nbc news. let's get a look at what's heading up today in the bay. that's laura garcia cannon. >> good morning, everyone. 14 shopping days until christmas. while you check off the list, we hope you remember the families and children who are not as fortunate. we will show you the easy way you can help and be guaranteed the gift you give gets where you want it to go. >> botox is for more than just wrinkles, but there is growing

concern it's doing more harm than good. why shipping out this holiday gift will save you time and headaches. scott? >> let's go over to rob with another check of the forecast. >> good friday morning to you. this morning looks like yesterday. we have the patchy fog and drizzle and we will track a chance of showers. the weekend looks outstanding for your plans out to the coast. some of that light rain spilling into the east bay hilltops and you will find drizzle around oakland and berkeley. the clouds filling in and our temperatures will stay down. it's not a cold start by any stretch of the imagination. 50s to near 60s this morning. we are not going to warm up a lot. low 60s and temperatures climbing up more for our weekend. maybe near 70 around santa cruz. scott? >> the season of sequels continues after harry potter's

dominance. the third narnia movie hopes to make a run for money. today in the east bay as more on this week's box office preview. >> a leaky painting leads to voyage the dawn treader. when they come up for air, they are whisked aboard a ship on the third installment that reunites old friends and enemies as they embark on a journey. rated "pg." >> do you mean ravishing? >> grab him. >> one kiss turns johnny depp's life upside down. the tourist is an average guy in europe, but when a woman sets her sights on him, angelina joely is involved in a experience and uses depp as a pawn after her. rated pg 13.

mark wahlberg takes a beating inside and the ring in the fighter. christian bale and amy adams lost hopes on the way to a championship title. the fighter is rated "r." >> strange bed fellows. >> ruffle brand does shakespeare. the adaptation of the final masterpiece is held with julie pay more. she casts in the role of prospera. they control the inhabit ants of a magical island. rated pg 13. that's the box office preview, nbc news. it's beginning to look more like christmas. they flip the switch on the holiday lights at kaiser center last night. it is the second year at that site. the effect made possible by the

uptown district association. much more ahead today in the bay. here's what's coming up. real estate rip offs and how thieves are staging heists all over the bay area. a super bowl star sentenced to 90 days in jail.

you can do something extraordinary. join your neighbors and the american red cross and help save the day when the next disaster strikes, when a neighbor's house burns down, if someone needs lifesaving blood or the comfort of a helping hand. hope. support the american red cross and help save the day. visit redcross.org. an engagement ring and

family heirloom stolen. thieves are staging all over the bay area. >> per a very unpleasant holiday surprise. we will explain the recent jump at the pump coming up in a live report. protecting swan lake. the bay area lawmakers plan to keep iconic animals from harm. those stories and traffic and weather friday, december 10th today in the bay. good morning. thanks for joining us. it's 5:00 and welcome to friday. sbrent on assignment sleeping in. rob is here with the hour by hour forecast. good morning. >> brent is lucky and what he is missing out on is a balmy start and 59 degrees. southeast wind at 8. temperatures here as we pass