a body is found in a nova to backyard and now a person is the person of interest in her husband's appearance. nearly $4 a gallon and rising. i'm christie smith with what's behind the prices and how much is too much for bay area drivers? we'll tell you what they are saying about it this morning. i'm bob redell at the already very long airport name that could become even more of a mouthful. that explanation coming up. you are seeing a live look outside at the bay bridge this morning. it is a clear morning out there. it is also cold. snow in the works. it is thursday, february 249, "today in the bay." maybe it is so cold the live

picture froze. >> uh-oh. get a blanket, a big one. >> the time is 6:00. i'm brent cannon. thank you for joining us. >> i'm laura garcia-cannon. you have to bring in some of the plants to protect them, your pipes as well. christina has a look at our forecast. yes, indeed, especially up in the north bay where temperatures friday night into saturday morning are expected to fall into the mid-20s. you definitely want to protect the sensitive vegetation up there and probably the pipes as well. definitely cold enough to burst pipes. freezing temperatures forecasted for friday night. it will be very, very cold on saturday morning. and if we see any precipitation on saturday morning because it will be so cold, yes, we could see some flurries on the valley floor. maybe even in san francisco. right now this system is really, really tricky because it is not holding a lot of moisture heading into friday and saturday. the bulk of the moisture is coming through tonight. we'll time that for you throughout the morning. right now it is chilly as laura pointed out. grab the snuggie and the

umbrella because you need it later. by noon the showers start in the north bay. low snow levels tonight down to 1,000 feet. even lower saturday morning. we'll talk all about that this morning. we'll talk to mike, maybe you have to get out the front door right now. what is it looking like? we have the slowing in antioch. you have enough time to contemplate the nbc bay area snuggie. we are looking at the red, the speed sensors show 34 at horizon lane, but we are down to 20 coming off 880 over to somersville. then over to love ridge, still speeds the near the 50s. we'll watch that as it progresses for highway 4. 680 smooth down to the dublin interchange. and 580 is smooth there as well. a live look shows a building in traffic and something slowing in the fast track lane. i'll track that down and send it back to you. new this morning, the libyan army units attacked a mosque earlier today as the unrest gets violent. many anti-government protesters were inside that mosque. the eastern half of the country is already broken off from

moammar gadhafi. his forces are trying to keep control of the city of tripoli. secretary of state hillary clinton says the international community should get together to intervene, but this morning the head of nato says it will not get involved at this time. you can see a result of the unrest in libya at the gas station. it is pushing crude oil prices over $100 a barrel this morning. and that means we face a very real possibility of seeing gas prices higher than $4 a gallon very soon. "today in the bay's" christie smith is live in oakland at a station where we are just 1/10 a cent away from $4 a gallon. >> reporter: this is not a popular subject for drivers. if you have to drive, you have to pay it. as you said, they are paying nearly $4 a gallon in oakland. so a lot of moaning and groaning from drivers this morning. and to make matters worse, analysts predict it could go higher than that if we see problems with oil coming from

saudi arabia or iran. now, here at the shell station in west oakland it looks like people are just putting in $5 or $10 and moving on. so what's behind this spike? well, of course, you talked about the uprising in libya sparking record-setting gas prices on wednesday with crude oil touching $100 a barrel for the first time since 2008. we just spoke with one driver this morning about those $4 prices and the possibility of $5 or $6 prices. that could be a deal breaker. >> i will be staying in the house. i'll be staying in the house. i don't think i can afford that much for gas, you know. i have a 5-year-old, i don't think i can do all that. >> reporter: tellcommute? >> telecommute or skype or something. gas shouldn't be that expensive. they need to do something about that, really. >> reporter: her plan is that she never lets the tank get very low, so it feels like she is not

paying that much to fill it back up again. here's something to make you feel a little better about paying that $4. we paid more than that. the single-day record for california was set in 2008 when we paid $4.61 for a gallon of regular. reporting live in oakland, christie smith, "today in the bay." thank you. 6:05 right now. we are following a developing story out of novato. crews there will exhume a body from the backyard of a missing novato man later this morning. a neighbor reported 74-year-old dale smith missing on february 9th. police say the neighbor told them she hadn't seen smith in months and his wife evelyn seen here with dale talked about him in the past tense. yesterday cadaver dogs picked up the scent. the fbi came in to start the excavation. police call evelyn smith a person of interest to come in to help with the excavation. neighbors stay they are stunned.

>> they seemed to get along fine. i didn't hear any arguing or anything. a lot of conversation between them. and i really don't know what happened. >> reporter: "today in the bay's" marla tellez is live at 6:30 with more on this case from novato. the professional poker player accused of brutally beating his parents to death will return to the stand. ernie sherr iv remained unphased while talking about his upbringing and family tension. he told the court his father drank a lot and played poker while he grew up. authorities say he was deeply in debt and wanted to claim his $1 million i her tans. but sherr says he's not guilty. >> a northern california judge now says the man accused of raping and kidnapping jaycee dugard is mentally fit to stand trial. a judge made that decision based on reports from two psychologists as well as reports from the sheriff's department and defense attorneys.

phillip ga tree garrido is accused of kidnapping jaycee dugard and holding her captive for 18 years at his home in antioch. bob redell is live in san hoy save with details on a longer name at sfo airport. >> reporter: it is already a long name. ten years ago the city decided too change the name of san jose international airport to norman y mineta san jose international airport in honor of the former mayor and then secretary of transportation. well, now the city is talking about changing the name again to the norman y mineta san so jose/silicon valley international airport. they think by adding the words

silicon valley that it has global cache. the hope being that with more global cache the airport can market itself better and ultimately improve business, which hasn't exactly been stellar as of late. right now you might not realize this, but san jose ranks behind sfo and oakland in terms of annual passenger traffic. and it has something that the other airports don't have. and you are looking at it right there. a brand new facility, a brand new terminal that costs $1.3 billion. that's not been fully paid for. mayor chuck reed of san jose pointed out to "the mercury news" that sfo markets its way to the gateway to silicon valley while the airport that is actually in silicon valley doesn't even have silicon valley in its name. do you think as an outsider that would help san jose by putting silicon valley in the title? >> it would be too long. i'm from atlanta and it is atlanta hartsfield/jackson

international airport and it is too long. so as an outsider i think that would be too long, either san jose silicon valley or san jose whatever the other name is. >> reporter: what do you mean the other name is? you don't know? >> i can't remember. i only fly in once a year to san jose, that's all i know, san jose airport. >> reporter: even the outsiders know and refer to this as sjo. so reporting live here from norman y mineta san jose international airport, soon to be norman y mineta san jose -- just just a minute, san jose/silicon valley international airport. >> thank you, bob. we have some breaking news right now. toyota just announcing it will

recall some 2.1 million vehicles in the united states. they say that the recall is to deal with potential gas pedal entrapment that's been an issue to plague them. this morning 2.1 million vehicles being recalled. they have not listed specifically which ones yet, so we'll try to dig into that a bit and see if there's an actual list and year. snow in the works. boy, this better happen, everybody is talking about it. >> hey, i know. i'm putting my credibility on the line. i do think, i have looked at everything that i can possibly look at, i continue to look every time the new round of data comes out. right now i can say with confidence, yes, snow tonight down to 1,000 feet. it gets very, very tricky when it comes to late friday into early saturday. that is when we could see snow levels fall to 500 feet if it is still raining. we'll let you know what we are expecting from that system. we'll break down the day today. we have showers pushing into the south bay right now.

heading throughout this afternoon, this little bit of activity here will intensify. we'll start to see a pretty good system slide to the south as we head throughout the day today. by noon the showers arrive. and it looks like by noon up in the north bay that's when the rain will start. it will be steady throughout the night. as we head through 10:00 p.m. our temperatures are falling. our snow levels come down to 1,000 feet. widespread shower activity, this could make for several outcomes. we could see snow levels fall below 1,000 feet tonight, which means a very dangerous commute tomorrow morning. and it will still be raining at 7:00 a.m. be sure to tune in tomorrow. we'll get you to work safely. we'll be on top of this. tonight snow levels with 1,000 feet. maybe three to six inches. we'll see a lot of moisture come through. by friday night cold conditions. the cold will set in, especially in the north bay. we have a freeze watch in place with temperatures forecasted in the mid-20s. and then by saturday morning, very, very cold conditions. flurries actually possible near sea level. i'm going to break down the cities that could see the snow,

the most likely cities, the christina loren forecast is coming up. so stay tuned for that. find out if your city made the list. that's on the way. back to you guys. christina, we'll take it over here. first of all, the approach to the maze, the buildup is just happening. that's much more reasonable than we saw earlier with speeds in the 60s. earlier the speeds were in the 70s. you can see the slowing for 101 there. the accident now right at 19th avenue near holloway. that's moving pretty slow. the chopper is heading to the scene. there they are coming off 280 and heading onto 19th avenue. we don't see any major slowing, but i want to let you know it is affecting 19th at holloway. meanwhile, we'll look at the east bay right there. a smooth flow past the coliseum building there. it is 6:12. >> still to come on "today in

the bay," people in the lower sierra are also getting ready for another shot at snow we have been talking about. we'll have a live report coming up. and more on the unrest in libya. the latest coming up in a live gt finshongt.on ♪ [ female announcer ] starbucks via is planted the same... ♪ ...harvested the same... ♪ ...and roasted the same as our other premium coffees. it only makes sense it would taste the same.

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good morning, everybody. here's a live look at the bay bridge. and it is a cold start to the day today. no snow yet, but stay tuned. 6:15 right now. san jose's new police chief starts work tonight. chris moore has served as san jose's interim chief of police since rob davis retired in october. he'll be sworn in as chief tonight at 5:00. moore was selected over oakland police chief anthony batts and critics say moore was the safe choice, but they are afraid he won't do enough to reach out to

all of the diverse community. snow should be falling at lower elevations starting tonight. >> "today in the bay's" brian hickey is live once again this morning. he is in auburn just up the hill a little bit outside of sacramento with a look at how people are getting ready. brian, i understand they might get a decent amount of snow where you are. >> reporter: yeah, here in auburn, all along the highway 49 corridor, they are expecting significant snow here in the foothills. and then even down in the sacramento area, they could see a dusting of snow down to the valley floor. it will be a cold an interesting storm, 39 degrees on the bank side of the street with a light wind that's making it chilly here in auburn this morning. nowhere near as cold as it is about to get with the cold storm coming straight out of canada right into the u.s. it is in seattle now. we are bracing for it here in the foothills. yesterday in placerville the city department spent the day

hauling out changes. they are repairing their chains to make sure every truck is ready to go. they expect the number of roads they have to plow to double should the snow fall as low as it is forecasted. a foot or more is possible. rockland and roseville could see a dusting in sacramento. then after that even colder air comes in on saturday to make one of what could be the coldest days of the year. if we have the power outage problems like we had in the last winter storm, especially for those in the foothills, they would be in for one long and cold storm cycle here with this system coming in. so everyone is bracing the hardware stores and the grocery stores. people are loading up for this one. and the skiers are waxing their skis because it will be a great one. back to you guys. >> nothing to keep them away. thank you, brian. we are talking about how cold it will get here and will we see snow in the bay area.

we want to check in with christina to get her thoughts on that. >> well, guys, there are two things we are looking for when it comes to snow at sea level. we are looking for a very cold temperature, 32 degrees is freezing, as you probably know. and we are also looking for the timing of this system. will there be any moisture left? will it be coming down heading through saturday morning? if it is, if it is still raining early saturday morning, i do believe the precipitation will be coming down in the form of snow in livermore at 480 feet, 31 degrees for the low temperature. yes, snow is forecasted in livermore. danville, 368 feet. i'm going with a dusting of snow. 32 degrees. just some light precipitation in your area. san martin, a dusting at 281 feet. and, of course, san francisco, 52 feet, city hall, that's the elevation there, 37 degrees. i'm not going to rule out the possibility of flurries, which is aed issen burst of snow with a gust of wind coming down as a

mixture, little or snow acumulation. it is still possible. we are looking for the cold. and if it is still raining i do believe we could see the flurries in oakland. right now it is pretty mild. we'll take you through your day in detail. here's a dry first half of the day. grab the umbrella. showers arrive as of this afternoon. the system of low pressure, you can see tall spotty clouds, very cold air mass here making for the very cold temperatures. at the same time as the precipitation, together, we are forecasting snow in the bay area. timing is key with this system. we have a little bit of activity pushing onshore. heading throughout the next few hour that is will intensify. by noon the bulk of the moisture pushes in to santa rosa and the north bay. sliding south throughout the day here, 10:00 p.m., snow levels come down to 1,000 feet. look at the moisture coming our way. places that pick up rain, we are looking for a quarter inch of precipitation on the valley floor. maybe three to six inches of

snow above 1,000 feet. that's your 7:00 a.m. commute forecast for tomorrow. still raining, icy conditions anticipated. make sure you tune in to mike and myself tomorrow morning. we'll get you to work safely. now it gets much more interesting heading into friday night. temperatures really drop in the north bay down to the mid-20s. so you want to protect that sensitive vegetation. we have a freeze watch in place all the way from friday night into sunday night. and snow levels fall to 500 feet. if we are still seeing precipitation saturday morning, flurries certainly are possible near sea level. so we are going to keep watching this for you. i can't take my eyes off of it even for a minute, even for the word of the day, but we'll do it anyway. the word of the day is "all about eve." we want to send you to the movies in new york, dallas or los angeles. all fair game in the fact that you enter at nbcbayarea.com. we are also giving a stay-cation here in san jose.

tickets to cinequest. log on to nbcbayarea.com. register, it takes a couple minutes, then you can take a flight as a result. back to you. sounds like a lot of fun. thank you very much. it is 6:20 right now. high winds and seas are keeping many americans trapped at ports in libya as protests continue to surge. back home president obama is stepping up his tough talk in teaming up with other countries to figure out how to deal with the violence. tracie potts is live in washington, d.c., this morning. the president is putting the blame squarery on libya's government. >> reporter: he is. now he's sending secretary of state hillary clinton to geneva on monday to talk with other countries, other foreign ministers about what they can do, possibly sanctions, to bring this very dangerous, very volatile situation to a safe end. a couple of updates for you this morning. first of all, we were waiting to hear from moammar gadhafi who promised to make a statement later this morning about the army attack on protesters in a

mosque early this morning. we understand he is now on a phone interview with state tv. we are waiting to get more details about that. also, waiting to hear whether or not that ferry full of americans headed for malta was able to takeoff. it has been delayed as a result of weather problems off the coast of tripoli. and then also new this morning the state department says it has be told by libya's government that journalists who have entered the country illegally to cover the violence, to cover the situation there will be treated as al qaeda collaborators and that the state will not be responsible for their safety. new information this morning as we continue to cover this very volatile and changing situation in libya. >> it is a frightening place to be right now. thank you very much. meantime, at 6:22, a facebook movie is up for several oscars this weekend. but up next, a facebook comic

book. scott mcgrew has the details. a live look outside this morning of the beautiful bay bridge. folks are making their way across it. a clear, cold morning. ecast e a look at the fort ec tf and, of course, your morning commute.

good morning, folks. 6:25. here's a live shot from our chopper over 19th avenue. that's the accident i told you about. the earlier shot was on the oakland side while they were en route. that was clear. the flat bed tow truck arrived on the scene there. a pickup truck is on its side. no major injuries reported. we are having trouble with the signal, but as they widen out, we are told this is the southbound direction. the muni lines can proceed, but i have not seen moving trains in the last few minutes. it looks like you may be rerouted there. so the police are giving you an assist on that. we'll take you live to the maps

where we show the vicinity. actually, we'll take you back to the desk an update the east bay slowdowns coming up. back to you guys. thank you, mike. >> meantime, there's been a facebook movie out. and now scott mcgrew says there's going to be a facebook comic book. do you get the book or -- >> there was a book about facebook. "accidental billionaires." then there was the movie based on the book. apparently a company called blue water comics publishes comic books about the president and william shatner and the cast of "glee." this morning it has a new one featuring mark zuckerberg. the plot is loosely based on millionaires. the comic of zuckerberg, in the comic, rather, zuckerberg isportrayed in a more positive light. meanwhile, disney bought

togetherville. we don't know the terms of the deal, but does knee has picked up a number of up and coming companies. and steve jobs is 56 today. we expect apple will announce new laptops. they are not saying it is because of the bz', boss' birthday. next week it will announce a mississippi mystery project. we predict it to be the apple 2. right now oakland police are asking for your help to help a man they think sexually assaulted a woman. we'll show you a picture of the man coming up. and an analyst says $4 a gallon gas prices could seem like a bargain in a few months. we'll tell you why coming up in a live report. and investigators find a

body in a marin county backyard. find out who neighbors believe it belongs to next.

a california senator wants to help end a law that defines marriage. see what dianne feinstein is doing coming up. and we are getting our first look at the marin county man who could be buried in his own backyard. i'll marla tellez live in novato with what family members and neighbors are telling us this morning coming up. how much is too much? bay area drivers weigh in this morning on paying nearly $4 a gallon for gasoline. plus it could go even higher. that story is coming up in a live report. and a live look outside this morning. this shark tank, the sharks are playing on the road. i wish we could see you because you have been on a role. we'll have more on them coming up in a bit. it is thursday, february 24th.

this is "today in the bay." good morning, everybody. 6:30 right now. i'm brent cannon. thank you for joining us. >> thank you for joining us. i'm laura garcia-cannon. we'll get right to the forecast with christina. good morning to you. we are already picking up snow on the radar. the bulk of the moisture has not even come through. we had a rain/snow line. see the pink there? that's the rain/snow line. but just to the east of that, we have a pocket of white snow coming down near mount hamilton already. so we are starting our snow levels this morning at 4,000 feet. as we head through tonight we are expecting them to drop to 1,000 feet. so it is going to get interesting around here. it already is with showers pushing onshore right now all the way from san francisco to redwood city. watch out for some light scattered showers. by noon the bulk of the moisture arrives. steady rain starts in the north bay spreading south. as you take your lunch break you'll need the umbrella. by 5:00 p.m. tonight we are looking to a wet commute. so let's find out how your

commute looks right now. this evening could be tricky. over to you, mike. that's right. right now this morning it is tricky for southbound 19 getting out of the city heading down todayly daly city. near holloway we have an accident. the southbound side is stopped. there's a muni bus there. i don't think the bus was involved, but they may have seen the accident. the tow truck is waiting to finish the paperwork there. we don't have word on injuries, but south 19th is closed near buckingham or winston. that's just a few blocks away. no one is scrambling around for injuries at present. back to the maps showing you in the east bay we also have the bay bridge toll plaza, there's a backup there because the metering lights are on. the backup at the toll plaza itself is building quickly in the last 15 minutes. now there's a backup near the 880 overcrossing. 6:32 right now. we have more information about the marin county man who could

be buried in his own backyard. 74-year-old dale smith was reported missing earlier this month. fbi investigators found human remains on his novato property yesterday and his wife is now considered a person of interest. "today in the bay's" marla tellez is live where detectives are considering their investigation this morning. marla, we are also hearing from smith's family for the first time. >> reporter: we are. i'll let you hear what his sister is telling us this morning in a moment. but first, let me tell you that detectives with novato police are on the scene this morning. and neighbors in this very quiet cul-de-sac are beginning to wake up. we have talked to one, we'll hear from her in a moment. let me give you a look at the home where the dig is taking place. you can see it is surrounded by crime scene tape this morning. now this morning we have our first look at dale smith, a photo given to us from his sister. it is from 2009. we are told this is dale along with his wife evelyn who as we

mentioned is a person of interest in this case. we also have chopper video of yesterday's dig in the backyard of this home, although fbi agents did find human remains they have not positively id'd them. so it is not certain it is dale. overnight dale's sister kathy sherman sent us an e-mail telling us dale has owned this home for 40 years. she says, quote, when we were told he was missing we all knew in our hearts he was decease. we only hope that his cause of death can be positively determined and if evelyn was involved that justice be served, end quote. a neighbor tells me she thinks dale has been missing since september. she has seen evelyn around quite often. >> well, she didn't neighbor with anybody, really. she kind of kept to herself, walked the dog four or five times a day around the court, never really talked to anybody, but just seemed a little odd

always, always. >> reporter: it was, in fact, a neighbor that reported dale smith missing earlier this month back on february 9th. police are talking to evelyn smith, but to be clear, she is not in police custody nor is she under arrest this morning. a novato police officer here tells me they expect a police briefing to happen about 8:00. then fbi agents and cadaver dogs will continue their dig here in the backyard of this home later this morning. live in novato, marla tellez, "today in the bay." thank you, marla. >> meantime, oakland police are asking for your help in finding a man who could be a sex assault suspect. police say surveillance video shows the man who assaulted a woman and beat her at an apartment complex on jackson and eighth february 7th. if you recognize the man in this video or you have any information about that attack, call the oakland police department. the man accused of killing oakland journalist chauncey bailey wants the trial moved out of alameda county.

a hearing today will decide if former yusef bay iv and co-defendant antoine macey will be granted their change of venue request. they are charged with three murders including the death of bailey. a third suspect agreed to a plea bargain in exchange for testimony in the case. california senator dianne feinstein will follow president obama's lead to try to end the law defining marriage. senator feinstein will introduce the bill to repeal the defensive marriage act. the obama administration asked the justice department not to defend the act yesterday. senator feinstein and senator boxer joined 12 others to vote against that act back in 1996. that law defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman. unrest in libya is leading to higher gas prices all over the country. the fear is that the protests are going to spread to more arab countries and that has prices

very close to $4 a gallon already. "today in the bay's" christie smith is live in oakland. the bad news here is $4 a gallon might seem like a bargain in a few more weeks or months. >> reporter: yeah, that's right. you know, i have to tell you when prices get like this we have seen people running in and out of this gas station very quickly buying a whole lot of gum and not a whole lot of gas. this is just something they really don't like talking about. if you drive you have to pay for it. and we are looking at nearly $4 a gallon here at this gas station in oakland. as you said, it could go higher than that. analysts saying if we see a problem with oil coming from places like iran or saudi arabia, this case could mean that the bay area would pay $5 or $6 a gallon. what's behind this? the uprising in libya set record-setting gas prices on wednesday with oil touching $100 a barrel for the first time since 2008. one driver told us she's tightening her belt but who can just stop driving?

>> all i can do is just, all i can say is i just keep getting the gas. i don't have a choice. we don't have a choice as people. we just got to get the gas, you know. >> reporter: do you cut back anywhere else? >> i try to in other areas, yeah. >> reporter: now $4 a gallon certainly does seem awfully high, but we have actually paid more. the single-day record in california was set back in 2008 when we paid $4.61 a gallon. reporting live in oakland, christie smith, "today in the bay." let's hope they don't get too high, but it could be inevitable. >> shuttle "discovery" lifts off in a few hours. we'll have an update on the final mission coming up. nd l her new movie. we'll talk about that coming up in a live report. going to the bank without going to the bank...

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well, we don't think you'll be pulling out the ski pulls and skiing the slopes of san francisco this weekend, but the chance for some snow flurries at sea level definitely possible as a system of low pressure is going to drp our snow levels to 1,000 feet, which is actually rare for around here. as of tonight, that is. we'll take you through the forecast. we already have showers coming down, so give yourself a little bit of extra time to avoid slick conditions and slow down because of showers in san francisco. showers also spreading south into redwood city right now.

take a look, already have a little pocket of snowfall coming down over near mount hamilton. an enduation of starting with snow levels at 4,000 feet. they will likely come down to 1,000 feet tonight. this is what it looks like at noon making your way out the office door. still slick, keep the umbrella handy. 5:00 p.m. leaving the office, showers coming down, widespread activity as of 10:00 p.m. that's when we expect the snow levels to fall in the very cold air to push into the bay area. it is lingering all the way throughout tomorrow at 7:00 a.m. so it looks like heading throughout tomorrow and tonight kind of a tricky commute for you. you really want to take it easy out there to stay alefrt letter. three to six inches possible above 1,000 feet. friday night the freeze watch goes into play for the north bay. saturday, sea level, snow possible. i think it is more likely for some flurries at sea level. i'm bringing the snow level down to 500 feet. now someone who is certainly going to get a lot of snow and is probably very happy about it

is joni lynch from mammoth. hey, joni. >> reporter: good morning. we are coming to you live this morning from mid-mountain here at mccoy station. we just opened up a new location. take a look at the summit of mammoth mountain. that's 11,053 feet. standing here at 9,600 feet. that's mid-mountain here at mammoth. the snowstorm that just hit us last week dropped a couple feet of snow leaving us really great conditions. and the cold storm that's going to hit the bay area will also hit mammoth this weekend. it is shaping up to be a great weekend here. we have a promise of powder for information on everything mammoth. our snow report, web cams, everything else, check us out at mammothmountain.com. >> thank you, joni. all the snowboarders and skiers are chomping at the bit around here. back to you, laura. thank you so much. with all the rain and snow headed our way, it could be a good day to check out a movie. and we have a guy who i'm sure would like to recommend one. ed helm, star of the "office"

and a new movie called "cedar rapids" is joining us. how are you? >> good morning. >> good to see you. tell us a little bit about "cedar rapids. ". >> well, "cedar rapids" is a heartbreakingly hilarious feel-good movie of the year. >> there you go. >> it is a movie about a small town guy who gets -- is forced to leave, even though these never left before in his entire life, he goes to cedar rapids, which is a giant, terrifying metropolis and gets in over his head. >> so true to life. so anne heche is in this one as well? >> the cast is amazing. isaiah whitlock as well. it was a blast. if you are a fawn of john c.

riley's, this is some of his best work. he made me laugh constantly while we were shooting this. >> that's got to be a lot of fun, just kind of working on a film like this. so many people know you from "the office" right here on nbc. there's a new episode tonight at 9:00. besides "the office" you have a sequel hitting theaters in a few months, right? >> uh-oh. yes, "the hangover 2" will be coming out memorial day. fasten your seat belts. >> do you like doing movies or tv? do you have a preference or all in a good day's work? >> i just like doing work that is fun and funny, honestly. and the format is kind of incidental. i have been really fortunate to work on tv shows that i love. "the daily show" and "the office." and these movies, i have worked on a lot of movies, not all of

which i love, but most recently "the hangover" franchise and now "cedar rapids." i really am passionate about. that's a fortunate thing, i'm very lucky. >> you are right, life is good. ed helms, thank you so much for joining us. >> thank you for having me. >> "cedar rapids" is playing all across the bay area. meantime, we'll go to mike who has an eye on your morning commute. i assume this morning's commute is going to be a lot better than tomorrow morning's commute. >> i thought it was going to be, but we have pretty big trouble spots right now. yet you are talking about the snow potential for tomorrow morning and ice in the north bay and along the coast as well. you guys, we'll watch for that. right now we do have the 19th avenue closure at holloway avenue. the chopper shot is not available as something is up with the signal, but we have more information that the truck was not a flatbed tow truck, it is an equipment hauler. you saw the gate down there. it is possible the pickup went

up to the gate and flipped over. someone is still in the pickup. no major injuries, but that's why folks are working so cautiously around the area. southbound at 19th is still closed as you are approaching holloway avenue. we'll get a live look at the toll plaza where the backups are there. that's been going on a half hour now. slower build, so we don't see as much of a slowdown, except down the berkeley curve. you can see that on the map here as well. down to the end of the east shore freeway, it is slowing at emeryville. the backup is past west grand making its way back to the maze. northbound 680 at vallecitos up to pleasanton, there's slowing there, but at the speed limit approaching there. westbound through livermore there's the altamont backup that did form. it has not gone unnoticed. a little spring training update for you. the giants' manager bruce bulche says despite a schedule filled with a lot of days off in the opening month he still plans to

use a five-starting pitcher rotation. the off days mean the giants could skip their fifth starter if they wanted to. the other four pitchers could still get four days of rest in between. but bulche says the extra rest can fight fatigue as the long season wears off. you get the payoff come october trying to get into the playoffs. >> it was picture day for the giants there. time is running out to get your least favorite thing smashed bay monster truck. we'll show you how to get it done next. and the space shuttle tory later today. a live report come florida is coming up next. i love america,

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well, the space shuttle "discovery" is on the launch pad right now getting ready for the final countdown. kristen dahlgren is live this morning at florida's kennedy space center. kristen, today could mark the end of an era for the country's space program. >> reporter: yeah, hey there, brent. "discovery" is the first space shuttle to be retired. there are three launches including this one left. this would be the last for the space shuttle "discovery" thought to be the darling of the shuttle fleet. the oldest osh or the in space. it carried john glenn and the first female into space. it returned after both "the challenger" and "columbia" accidents. the launch is scheduled for 1:50 this afternoon. right now all systems go. the weather is looking absolutely perfect here. and as they are fueling the tank

right now, those cracks that they were concerned about when trying to launch back in november have been fixed. they are not showing any signs of being a concern at all later today. they are watching those closely. right now no technical issues either. so all systems go. it looks like we could have a successful launch later today. back to you. >> let's hope it is all smooth today. thank you, kristen. meantime, do you have stuff from your ex laying around the house that you want to get rid of or maybe a strange gift from a mother-in-law that you just want to smash rather then a regift? >> never. "today in the bay's" bob redell is live with how to dispose of unwanted stuff and get a little revenge or feel good in the process. >> something like that. >> reporter: exert some range without being arrested. good morning to you, laura and brent. tomorrow morning we'll be live at the oracle arena with a preview of this weekend's monster jam, monster truck extravel began za extravaganza.

they can crush your junk tomorrow morning, whatever it may be. if you have a vase, a clown statue, whatever it is at home that has been bugging you and you need to get rid of it, shoot me an e-mail with a picture of the object and a brief description and story of why you want to get rid of it. shoot that to me at bob.redell@nbcuni.com. if it is good enough we'll invite you down there tomorrow morning to watch the massive six-foot wheels crush whatever it is that you've got. now, let's say you are at home this morning right now, happening to be watching this on tv, and not listening to your mom who is yelling at you to get ready for school. what i want to make clear is that i'm not saying this zsu-zsu pet that is adorable and never has made me trip on the floor is going to be smashed by the

monster truck tomorrow, but i'm saying just listen to your mother and clean up your room. then no one gets hurt. >> i think that goes out to a specific kid in mind. >> dad, leave my room. >> he likes to carry that thing around in his pocket. >> that is really his zsu-zsu pet. we have to move on to wall street this morning. >> that's right. no trading of zsu-zsu pets, but the dow industrial is up an unexpected 15 points this morning. all the trouble in libya has been causing a lot of problems on the markets. the only local tech stock up this morning is apple up 1%. today is the day that chicago-based motorola starts selling the zoom tablet xoom. it is expennive, expensive, $800 or $600 if you exit to commit to a two-year plan.

it is called excellent. however, we do expect apple to come out with a new ipad or at least show off a new ipad next week. so if you are thinking about buying a xoom, wait until next weekend to see what happens. >> are you going to give me your old one? >> that's not a bad idea. i can get a new one and you can have the old one. >> yes, you can do it next week. all right. let's check the forecast now with christina. beautiful out there. >> it is beautiful out there. at least in some cities. right now i think it is relatively dry. we have a little bit of scattered shower activity pushing onshore. mostly right now over san francisco we have a little passing through redwood city, but that's all pre-frontal precipitation. we are expecting the moisture to really arrive in bulk as we head through this afternoon. in fact, this is your noon forecast. showers increasing in the north bay becoming more steady heading throughout the day. at 5:00 p.m. making your way home we are looking to pretty good shower activity, so it

could be kind of a rough commute home. 10:00 p.m. tonight, snow levels fall to 1,000 feet. widespread shower activity. it will be interesting to see how this plays out. this is 7:00 a.m. tomorrow. showers still coming down. so three to six inches possible. above 1,000 feet that is. by friday night a freeze watch in the north bay. then saturday morning could see the snow level at 500 feet. somebody has been busy without a lot of rain, and that's mike inouye. good morning, christina. we have the accident in san francisco. the approach, the freeways are moving smoothly. on the east bay you see the metering lights marking the map. i want to call out that southbound 19th is closed near holloway. chopper was on the scene, you can see the tow truck hooking up to the pickup turned over. there's the equipment hauler. just off to the right of the screen the ramp is down on the back of the equipment hauler. no official word, but that may have played a part in the turnover. you have seen the ramps in the movies with the cars going up the ramps. that's speculation on my part, but we have the slowdown. we know that for sure.

and there's a closure near winston and 19th. you are rerouted there. the bay bridge toll plaza backed up back past the area. there's mist in the area. we'll end with this shot and note there are sprinkles around the area. keep that in mind. thank you so much for joining us this morning. the "today" show is coming up next. >> of course, we'll have a local news update for you in a half hour. have a great day. we'll see you back here in a little bit. i finally found a body wash that moisturizes and softens my dry skin. [ female announcer ] new gold bond deep moisture, with 7 moisturizers and 3 vitamins. the body wash that moisturizes like a lotion.