>> new this morning, no more spilled coffee during your commute to work. the bumpy east bay road that's about to get a major overhaul. >> if you plan on buying a car through an online ad, oakland police have a warning. there scammers out there. >> we are looking for changes in the forecast. details on tuesday, december 28th today in the east bay.

>> good morning and thanks for joining us. time is 4:30. we talked about the changes in the forecast. christina loren is here with a first look at the east bay forecast. >> good morning to you at home. we have showers pushing towards the east bay as we speak. light activity and nothing like later today. heavy rain on the way. in concord, look out for showers in the next 15 minutes. you will start to see the first showers this morning. take a look at what's coming our way. we have a potent storm that will slide south. could pick up to two inches of rain right here in the bay area. that's a short duration. flooding is possible. we will talk more about that. reduced visibility from the east bay to the north bay. the complete forecast is on the way.

mike, you have a sinkhole to tell us about. >> this was in the area christina was telling us about. this was on the eastbound 80 causing that connector to be closed. it's a 12-foot sinkhole and they can't start construction until about 7:00 or 7:30. you take westbound highway 4 to 80. the shortcut is cutoff, but westbound is the main commute. both directions should be a light flow. we are expecting that all week. the sprinkles and the fog christina told you about, we will watch for that. so far an easy light flow. back to you. >> thanks a lot, mike. buyer beware. the oakland police department is reporting a series of robberies with craigslist.

which ads victims are responding to. >> usually people respond to incredible deals on a high dollar car. they exchange e-mails with the seller and come to neighborhoods like this one. the rock ridge neighborhood to bate car listed on craigs list and that's when the whole thing goes downhill. the victim is robbed and sometimes at gunpoint. at least two times they are physically assaulted. police said the meetings are set up in the afternoon or early evening in east and north oakland. they think this could be the same group who did the same thing in april. the latest incident happened when a lodi man was rob and beaten here in oakland. what can you doe to protect yourself. they are suggesting you don't need anyone in a secluded or

residential area or carry a large wad of cash. in some of these incidents, they did carry a lot of cash. leave if the car is not there when you get there. give up the money if you are held up to be safe. crimestoppers are offering a reward for information leading to an arrest. live in oakland, today in the east way. . a body found in the oakland hills. police identified the woman as jill abbott. it's heart breaking news for friends and family and jean ellie has the new details. oakland police investigators are hoping someone saw something or know something about what happened to jill abbott. they believe someone dumped her body in the oakland hills. the holidays take a tragic turn for people living in this apartment complex. a neighbor is gone.

jill marie abbott was found dead christmas eve. someone found the 40-year-old's body friday along the bike trail. she was nude. the medical examiner performed an autopsy and hasn't determined a cause of death saying they are waiting on a toxicology report. word of abbott's suspicious death is spreading. her ex-boyfriend said he and his mother knew something was wrong when they didn't hear from her. they last heard from her wednesday night. they called hospitals and this morning they called the coroner when they read about the body. she was beautiful inside and out. she was a waitress and liked heavy metal. she remembered dime bag dare ole her car. friends remember her smile. today in the east bay. >> this is the second woman's

body found in oakland last week. they don't think the cases are connectioned. antioch police are asking for help to find the person who shot a local rapper for michael elijah banks. police believe he shot and killed a man last monday. a friend dropped him off on rock prince way. police and witnesses said he got into a green ford escort and he was shot in the head and pushed out of the car. a man released from the psychiatric section of an east bay hospital took a taxi for a joy ride. he stole the yellow cab saturday while the driver was helping another rider with her luggage. he was arrested after allegedly trying to register that yellow cab in his name at the dmv. they are trying to finned out what caused a house to get fire

on dreyton court yesterday. firefighters found thick black smoke inside and the elderly man in a back room. neighbors say he is going to be missed. >> loved by all the neighbors. several of us had him over for dinner on a regular basis. used to see him out walking every day. a friend of the neighborhood. >> the victim's name is not being released until relatives have been told. the cause of death and cause of the fire are under investigation. >> per good news for richmond. violent crime is down. crimes involving guns dropped 27 percent per for the same time last year. city leaders say the change is proof there new approaches to fighting crime is working and credit programs and engage the community like a community-based policing system. the city hired enough officers

to reach full staffing this year. one of the worst rides of the east bay is about to get a major fix. caltrans plans to start work on a project of interstate 680 in the san ramon valley. it's the first rehabilitation since it opened in 1964. caltrans plans to extend the carpool lane for another mile from alamo to the verona road in walnut creek. checking in with mike inouye. >> after that exstengz finished, expect it to start for the north at red gear. the similar map, here's the live traffic acceptsor showing speed is not a problem. typical week things will slow down to 7:00 or 7:30. we expect a very light flow this week. the 68 on your right, we didn't

get down to the 20s we see yesterday. we're pretty much in the 40s throughout yesterday's commute. expect a similar flow. it is a tuesday and rainey in portions. we will watch for that effect and the coming skyway on ramp to eastbound 80 closed. i will tell you about that. there is a big sinkhole. folksville to head down to highway 4 and take over to interstate 80. a little bit of back tracking and a light flow. you should be okay. back to you. >> you don't have to deal with a lot of rain already, but it is coming. >> it's coming. something that will impact your evening commute. more so than the morning. we have a few light scattered showers pushing in right now, but light activity. we are expecting heavy rain as we head throughout this afternoon and evening and into the overnight hours as this system starts to slide south. let's take you through the

timing. by about noon, the bulk will start to push into the north bay. by about 5:00 p.m., moderate to heavy rainfall throughout almost the entire bay area. 10:00 p.m., the heavy stuff into the wee hours of the night. then we have another system on the way as we get closer to new year's. we will take you into how this could bring us the first mountain snowfall. we will talk about that and the extended forecast coming up. >> thanks a lot. coming up, racked up a big credit card bill this holiday season? we will have the latest numbers on christmas spending. incentive for electric cars could be running out of gas. how soon the plug could be pulled. get rich quick. how one california man cashed in big on the governator. >> a nice looking shot here of the bay bridge. a vessel sailing under neeg and

cars making their way into the city. clear and smooth sailing, but we will check the commute and the forecast all morning.

>> per a live look and a distance down the road that we can see. not as much fog. temperatures fairly mild. all that was will change soon throughout the course of the morning. they hope governor-elect jerry brown can deal with the $28 billion deficit. they are up 8% from this time last year. the recent high covers the pension bill. if regents don't get $450 million back that lawmakers took, students will see budget cuts or a tuition hike. we want to check in with mike. a few things to watch out for. >> a lighter volume between christmas and new year's. it continued through the morning commute that caused the closure on the eastbound 80 into novato.

because of the giant sinkhole. this is a cut that people take into vallejo. take that over to interstate 80. light volume should keep things moving slowly off the bridge down to the bay bridge toll plaza. an easy flow of traffic and a couple of extra toll gates. they are closed this morning. about 5:00, they should reopen. a lot of lane changes for the next few minutes. back to you. >> at least it's clear and we will get through the morning commute. it's later we have to watch for. >> later on this evening, make sure you are ready to drive for showers on your way home. you should be okay falling in the east bay. a lot of activity is actually deteriorating before it makes its way onshore. we will still see light scattered showers. by noon that's when the bulk

will push into the north bay. let's take a look at the hour by hour rainfall. talking about the evening commute, moderate rain and heavy rain between 5 and 10 over the entire bay area. could pick up to two inches in a very small amount of time. low visibility and if you are headed to concord, take it easy and watch out for patchy dense fog. not as warm as it was yesterday, but it will be warmer this morning. a good dusk clouds overhead that tends to keep things mild. 56 degrees and 56 in pittsburgh. the extended outlook and temperatures expected in the 30s closer to the weekend. we will talk about that and possibly the first snowfall as well. stay tuned. back to you. >> new this morning, a scary

prediction from the former president of shell oil. he sees gas prices at $5 a gallon by 2012. he said the price spike will come due to increased global demand for oil. gas prices are up 4% from last month and 16% from a year ago. for more on the news before the bell this morning, we want to check in with courtney reagan with the latest news. courtney? >> good morning. futures are higher after a mixed to light session on monday. they were open for business, but many stayed home due to the storm. on the floor of the stock exchange was the lowest since may of 1998. asian markets fell on concerns of the rate hike for china. europe is in positive territory. we will get a pair of economic reports and prices and consumer confidence. the nasdaq edged up, but just

one point to 2667. the cash registers were ringing nonstop this holiday. shoppers spent more than before the recession. spending rose 5.5% through christmas eve, the best since 2007, beating even the most optimistic forecast. apparel led the way, up 11%. jewelry and lux we goods close to strong gains and a strong increase for home furniture. back to you. >> thanks a lot. now is a good time to buy a new car. dealers are racing to make good deals these days if you want to shop around. analysts say many dealers do most of their business, 70% of it in december between christmas and new year's. the final week that we are in right now. gains are helping to fuel car sales, especially in the luckry car sector. experts say don't expect the big

deals that were available last year since car sales have recovered since then. >> per california's electric car rebate fund is in danger of losing its charge. the $5,000 rebate makes buying a $40,000 plug in car more affordable. the $8 million set aside by the state is only enough to pay rebates for 1600 buyers. experts at plug in america expect that many to be sold by next july if not sooner. baby boomers are approaching retirement age and according to experts, some are not ready. beginning in january, more than 10,000 boomers a day will retire. that pattern is expected to continue for the next 19 years. reductions in pence plans and decline in stocks and home values compared to prerecession rates left a dent in the nest egg and that could leave many having to continue to work. the high unemployment is making

it difficult to keep or find a job. americans are living longer and spending more of their added years in poor health. 20-year-olds today can expect to live one less healthy year than a 20-year-old 10 years ago. researchers at the university of southern california found the average period of a person's life spent with serious disease or loss of mobility has increased over the past few decades. the percentage of the population with multiple diseases has increased. >> have you tallied up how much you spent for the holidays. if it's more than you expected, that may be bad for your credit card bill and good for the economy. consumers are feeling better about the future and we have more numbers coming out. today in the east bay's tracie potts has a preview. >> the new total is $21.38. >> spending is up. mastercard reports holiday sales

soared 15% over last year. >> they can continue christmas into next year, it would be good. >> economists say it could be the best christmas in four years. >> $39.95? that's ridiculous. >> they were surprised how many trucks they sold. >> that's a good indicator. >> the spend suggest ing is une. >> they were buying christmas presents, but not going out to dinner. >> jewelry is making a come back and some can barely afford gifts. >> i am shopping for my daughter who i can't afford to shop for until the day after christmas. >> will spending translate into jobs? >> we are starting to see job openings in the full positions like finance, engineering, software and so forth. if they get going, they will pull the recollects along. >> perhaps not enough to make a dent in unemployment, but headed in the right direction.

in washington, tracie potts today in the east bay. we want to take a look at what's coming up late or. we check in with laura garcia cannon live in the newsroom. >> good morning, everyone. one of the bumpiest roads will get a makeover, but is it worth it to drivers? talk about the monday morning quarterbacking. the president is taking heat over a call to the owner of the flef eagles. we will give you the story and let you know how much a south bay fire chief is making after giving up his job. all coming up. >> we will see you in a few minutes. with a week to go until arnold schwarzenegger leaves office, one california man is saying goodbye and thanks. in sacramento, the man behind the governator made a fortune. >> this was the original one.

>> knowing everything from ball caps to breath mints, the term the governator popped into his mind seven years ago. when arnold schwarzenegger announced he was running on the jay leno show. >> jay said somebody is going to make a million on that. somebody always does. >> worry the internet and a $435 filing fee, he registered the governator as an official trademark with the u.s. government. within months, governator items were selling in souvenir shops and airports across california. he sold 300,000 t-shirts alone. he made enough money to buy this new house in lincoln. >> realistically i hit seven figures. >> in 2005, as schwarzenegger was preparing to run, his lawyers approached him and after a series of negotiations, he

describes as friendly and they entered into a partnership. he got permission to use the terminator movie picture and schwarzenegger got a cut of the profits when which he donates for the charity for after school programs. as part of the deal, he agreed to change the governator, adding this r right here. the lawyers felt that was more gramatically correct. governator bobbleheads are out of production. he said he will probably shut down the rest of the business over the next few months. >> for me, it was a fun experience. i met a lot of people and put me in area where is i hadn't been before. >> a middle of the night idea turned into more than $1 million. his one regret? he never got to meet the man to whom he owes so much. >> get ready for tuesday night football. because of the snow that we had on the east coast, the

eagles-vikings game got cancel and they will have to play tonight. bulldozers were brought in to clear huge pils of snow so the people can get in the park. the field has to be ready for tonight's game. we will have it live here on nbc bay area. because of the change, we have a change in our lineup. join us at 4:00 in the afternoon for nightly news and a half hour of local news at 4:30. sunday night football starts at 5:00 and that is followed by an hour long edition of sports sunday prime time. at 9:00, we will have nbc bay area news prime time and we will get back on schedule with our normal 11:00 p.m. newscast. warriors doing something they haven't done since april. they are winning three in a row. putting up 22 points and 12 assists. not bad for the player of the week.

golden state beat philly. the next game tomorrow in atlanta. late last night, palo alto grad jeremy lynn was shipped out of oakland and he is headed to reno. the warriors want him to get more experience in the nba development league. they did play in 17 of the team's 29 games, but he is excited to get out and get playing time and a chance to grow as a player. president obama took his family and friends for a must have treat in hawaii during their vacation. it was his first public appearance during his stay. he bought a round of snow cones called shave ice for his daughters and family and friends. the president talked with excited employees and took pictures and enjoyed his own shave ice. a flavor combination of melon, lemon-lime, and cherry. your tax dollars at work. how one county is allowing one

employee to make double the pay for doing one job. it's not illegal. we will tell you how they do it. meet the bay area man who quit his job and is making a million. he is rakeing it in and clean tweb. laura has more news. stay tuned.

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