>> some of this luck as you know, some is that we were focusing in areas where they

were likely to happen and we were able to make arrests. >> berkeley is unique. it's a small city wedged between big cities. the numbers here tell a different story. overall violent crime is down compared to last year despite the receipt stick up robberies. people should beware of their surroundings. >> you walk in by yourself and you don't know what's going to happen. >> the naacp is the latest to question the shooting death of two oakland police officers who shot and killed jones last month while responding to a domestic violence call. officers say he pulled a metal object from his pants before they fired. the police chief asked for a federal investigation into the shooting. meanwhile this morning's naacp meeting will be at the jack london aquatic center. it's open to the public.

back to the bargaining table. oakland nurses will return to contract talks. they haven't had a contract talk since mid-july. they are upset because administration at children's hospital wants them to pay more for health care coverage. >> we don't believe that cutting our benefits will help anyone else maintain benefits or lower the standard for anyone. the california nurse's association believes everyone should have access to health care. >> the group of nurses held a peaceful demonstration to express frustration. >> the morning commute could get messy. we have a live look. caltrans working on the two eastbound lanes. they will be closed until 6:00 this morning. after that a single lane will be closed until 2:00 in the afternoon. no westbound lanes will be involved. the work is expected to cause traffic problems over the next few days. they are putting up parts of the

tower. they are telling drivers to keep their eyes on the road, resist looking at the big cool tower. the new span is scheduled to open in late 2013. >> we are joining rob and he will do some weather and traffic. >> they will both impact each other when we will talk about wind and rain in the bay area. this morning, patchy fog and frost may slow your morning drive. scrape your windshield off in spots. 36 in livermore. look at oakland down to 39 near the water. chilly this morning and clear for the most part, but to the south we have clouds spilling across the coast. things are dry and should stay dry into the afternoon. towards the evening you notice more clouds and this is going to set us up for more rain into friday. the futurecast shows the rain coming in for friday and rain is off and on into the evening with

bands of heavy showers. you night rainfall rates picking up across the north bay and the santa crews mountains through the weekend with gusty winds. highs around the bay area with a cool start as the clouds spill in to block out the sun. low 50s and mid 50s around oakland for the afternoon. the seven-day forecast will bring in the rain. wind is the other component. we will see them 20 to 40 miles per hour. rape off and on and a brief break sunday and heavy rain again approaching monday. watching the morning commute, travel times across the east bay, highway 24 looking good as you get out of walnut creek. you can see around the nimitz freeway, travel times looking good. everything is still lightly above the speed limits there. look out for dense fog as you head into pleasanton.

i ran into some of that, but travel times east and robbery looking good through the pass this morning. >> coming up, busy week for congress. tax cuts, don't ask don't and a new nuclear weapons program. is it good medicine? cold and flumistry revealed. why some work better than others and the question you need to ask to keep your family safe. you are looking at a live picture of oakland. we will be back in just a moment. ♪

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>> a live look at the oracle arena in oakland off of 880. it's a cold, cold morning. we will check in with rob in a minute. the holidays will be merrier for 10 families in need. 49er players and coaches and sam's club and the salvation army teaming up for the fourth annual green drive. they will present families with $1,000 with the food and gifts from sam's club. this will be at the sam's club in concord. a woman in south africa took in 28 orphans. you can help her by drinking coffee. they're donating half of profits

to charitable causes. customers voted for the 9-year-old business to provide her kick down orphanage with a vegetable garden. they are hosting a celebration to thank neighbors for support from 7:00 to 9:00 on college avenue. >> they left the back slider open and holy cow, it was about 40 degrees in my house when i woke up. >> anyone would be waking up to temperatures in the 30s. we have an hour or two of cooling towards sunrise. look at this. mid 30s and patchy frost towards novato and here's the interesting thing. in the north bay valleys, woo ve fog. reduced visibilities and patchy ice could be possible in the roadways around the north bay. use caution on 101 into san francisco. patchy fog on sunol and

pleasanton. feels like december outside. we are rain-free for now. more rain coming in as early as this evening on the coast and everyone will see the rain later on tonight into friday. the clouds heading to the south, but we will see a lot of moisture aiming in for the next few days. here's a look at the rainfall totals. this is round one. maybe two to five inches around the hills of the north bay. the same story around santa cruz and a half inch to an inch around the rest of the bay area and an inch or two for sunday into monday. enjoy the dry break while we have it for another 18 to 24 hours for most of the bay area. the temperatures are cool. we have the chilly start and a cool afternoon as well. increasing clouds and chances of rain across the board. looks like heavy rain, gusty winds for the weekend with rain continuing through the first

half of next week. scott? >> thank you much. new home construction due out. the dow at a darn near high. for that and more news, let's go to courtney reagan. >> good morning to you, scott. futures are slightly higher ahead of the opening bell. investors began again worrying about the debt crisis because moody's threatened to cut spain's credit rating and off the economic news we got off of inflation and manufacturing. europe up slightly at this hour. the data still ahead like you mentioned. unemployment benefits and housing starts. we are also awaiting fedex. they are important because we are seeing a gauge of the broader economy. the dow fell to 11,457. the nasdaq lost 10 to 2617. the fed will unveil the new caps

on swipe fees. this is what the merchandise pays the bank every time you use your debit card. they must be proportional to cost incurred so banks could lose billions in revenue due to the regulation, forcing them to find other ways and fees to make up the difference. one could hit chase customers. direct deposits need to be $500 a month or they could be assessed a fee. that could hurt people who don't make a lot of money or who are on social security. >> the federal government announced the first civil lawsuits. the justice support is duing bp to recover billions of dollars from the country's biggest oil spill in left history. they allege safety and operations were violated long

before the explosion on the deep water horizon. >> for we intend to prove they caused or contributed to the massive oil spill. >> this is about getting a fair deal for the region that suffered enormous consequences from the disaster. >> the government estimates the clean up at more than $200 million though it's disputed by bp. the obama administration's lawsuit ask that they be held without limitation for damages caused by the spill. can washington get it done with christmas nine days away. congress is cramming to push through major legislation last minute, including the bill to prevent your taxes from going up. as tracie potts reports, lawmakers are getting answers. >> it is completely and totally inappropriate to wrap it up into a 2,000 page bill and try to pass it the week before christmas. >> they decide to work with us,

we will have a happy holiday or we will continue. >> keeping government running and ratifying to start nuclear treat we russia and the repeal of don't ask don't tell. >> the yeas of 250 and the nays are 175. the motion is adopted. >> i urge my colleagues to end discrimination wherever it exists in our country. >> the deal to restart unemployment checks and prevent a tax hike is moving forward. the senate passed it and president obama will hope they will spend and hire. >> they feel optimistic that by working together, we can get some of that cash off the sideline. >> the short-term deal is important. we have to keep the economy going. >> they promised final votes,

but the question is will they get to everything else? tracie potts, today in the east bay. >> let's go to brent cannon in the newsroom with what's coming up. >> thanks a lot. coming up on today in the bay at 5:00 and 6:00, a new terror alert and a closer look at the new warning in time for the holidays. palo alto high school's football team is playing from a state championship and we will meet the team coming up. that and traffic and weather in a few minutes. thousands of new books arrived as the library prepares to open. 1500 boxes delivered to the new library on 81st street near coliseum yesterday. they will serve the neighborhood has seen a lot of change. 21,000 square feet. it has a computer lab, internet cafe and we're told the design is environmentally friendly as well and will bring the community together.

>> friendly bilingual star that has this thing called the public library that so many don't know anything about. it's a very special place. >> the library was paid for with the state and matching redevelopment funds and it will open on january 29th. mixed news in the fight to keep you heart healthy. the american heart association released the end of the year report. the number of people killed from heart disease fell 30% from 1997 to 2007. stroke deaths were down nearly 45%. however the total number of cardiovascular surgeries rose 27% and the estimated total cost is $286 billion a year. heart disease and stroke are still the number one killer of americans. a new study finds toys helped shape the language development of toddlers.

they taught 18-month-olds the name of objects by playing with toys that had similar or different shapes. month later the kid who is played with different toys learned 10 new words a week. those with similar ones learned four. winter as defined by the calendar starts next week. the one defined by cold and flu starts now. you might have made a trip to the drugstore by now. years after new guidelines came out, parents are still confusioned about what they can and should not do. >> if you are looking for a good mystery, skip the bookstore and head to the drugstore. try to figure out what the rules are for cough and cold medicines. >> parents can be confused. there so many options out there. the question is which one is

really safe? >> this doctor is a pediatrician and said in 2008 the fda along with major drug companies came out with new, straight forward guidelines recommending parents do not use cough and cold medicine for children under the age of 4. still more than two years later many parents are unclear what to give or in the to give a sick child. >> it's hard to give the right amount. we always give half not to give more than you are supposed to give. >> not so confusing for me than my parents who gave them to me. >> they went to the guidelines in the first place because too many parents gave children the wrong doses. parents using kitchen spoons to measure out the medicine rather than the medicine cup and using too much. or they got confused when trying to treat different symptoms.

>> they will buy the pedia care cough and cold because that's what their child has and they don't realize there was tylenol in there and they use it again. >> even with the new guidelines, the doctor is still seeing the mistakes on a regular basis. she has a few suggestions to get you through your child's illness. saline spras are good with nasal congestion and honey is good for a cough in children older than one. never use an adult medicine and if the illness is not bad enough for a call to the doctor, perhaps do nothing at all. >> don't give them anything. the body knows how to fight it off. >> simplicity is often the best cure for confusion. today in the east bay. >> good old chicken soup. one reason the risk of overdose is there with children is it can

be tough to get a child to take medication so you want an entire dose to be delivered in one swallow or sip. you can get ready for flu season with a vaccination. the seasonal clinic will open at 10:00. the vaccines are free, though doctors would like a $10 donation. their bay area fans know they rock and people around the nation know it. jerry law and talk of the town made the finals. last night friends and family gathered in san francisco to watch the ak pale group compete for a $100,000 record contract.

>> we won the world series and we have something else to root for. >> you can vote for talk of the town on nbc.com. the finally is monday at 8:00. a major terror alert for the west. al qaeda could be planning a holiday attack. the latest in a live report. >> a peninsula girl finds out if she gets to play with the boys. we will he the ruling on the back side of this brick.

what do terrorists have planned for the holiday season? unfortunately plenty according to new threats the united states government seem to be critical. >> looking for your help. what police need to find a serial killer. plus, california leading the way. what the state could do that would once again put it on the forefront in the fight against green house gas emissions. . >> good morning. thanks for joining us. laura has the morning off. >> i'm brent cannon women want to get you started with with a check of traffic and weather this morning. we have