combined. we have a lot more work to do. good morning to you. coming up on "today in the bay," destruction and devastation in japan and a growing nuclear crisis as authorities race to battle the threat of reactor meltdowns. "today in the bay's" george kiriyama reports from japan about that devastation and how the japanese people are holding up. and a 17-year-old boy clinging to life after being shot in the face in the south bay. who police say is responsible. this is "today in the bay."

good morning to you once again. i'm in for kris sanchez this morning. this morning in japan, six nuclear reactors and two power plants are at risk for melting down after that explosion at a building housing a nuclear reactor. it's just the latest fallout from two minutes of terror that is prompting the country's triple disaster. we do have some chopper video shot this morning along japan's northeast coast. as you can see, the devastation stretches for miles. right now, japanese government officials say the death toll in this one state alone could reach into the tens of thousands. 170,000 people who lived near power plants are being evacua d evacuated. millions of people don't have drinking water, electricity, or even food. and 100,000 japanese soldiers are now on the16rii ground carr out search-and-rescue missions along the northeastern coast. now our very ownfóiiñ george kia

landed in japan just hours ago, and he joins us now on the phone from the city of narita. good morning, george. unfortunately, we do not have jornl at this time. as you can understand, it's a difficult connection. but, again, we will hear from george in just a few minutes as soon as we can make that connection. this morning, people in japan are being tested at screen centers for radiation exposure. japan's cabinet secretary is warning a partial meltdown at a power plant in fukushima is highly possible. that plant is just one of three nuclear plants that lost cooling functions after the earthquake and tsunami. nearly 170,000 people who live near that plant had been ordered to leave. we spoke to a ph.d. candidate who studies nuclear power plant safety at uc, berkeley. he says the blast at that nuclear power plant in japan

destroyed the exterior building but so far the reactor inside remains intact. >> the primary area for containment in the reactor vessel is the large e metallic structure here. that's what's going to hold it. there are multiple barriers that prevent this, and they have not only by common sense but also by law have to implement multiple, multiple redundant safety systems. >> and so far a complete meltdown has not happened. if it does, uranium and dangerous by-products would be released into the environment causing serious health problems. now, we do have our own george kiriyama on the phone now joining us in japan. good morning, george. >> reporter: well, good evening or good morning to you there in california. >> what's the scene there? >> reporter: well, you know, the last few hours we've actually felt three aftershocks. i have to say it feels like i was on a boat.

the hotel room was kind of swaying back and forth very windows rattle. so we already have i guess a little taste of some of the shaking that's been going on around the past few days. certainly nothing strong like what happened the past few days, but already we're getting a sense of what the japanese people have been going through. when we arrived at narita international, i want to say we sawh2q members of the search-and-rescue team. looks like they had just arrived about the same time we did. they were wearing their uniforms, and it looks like they were getting their instructions to get ready to go up to the sendai, fukushima area. >> and did you get a sense of what the people, what they're feeling? >> well, obviously, it was the talk of the airport. i mean, conversations talking about the earthquake, people with friends and family up in

that area, just obviously concern. but everyone trained to, you know, create a sense of normalcy because, you know, here in tokyo, it had been feeling the aftershocks since thursday. but they still want to maintain a certain sense of business as usual because the prime minister, it's important for the prime minister when he came out and said that he wants the japanese people to realize that the country still has to keep going. in fact, he spoke to the nation a couple hours ago, we got to the room, turned on the television, it was around-the-clock coverage. he got on camera and basically told the nation, hey, we must conservative electricity. there's a shortage because of the quake. and obviously damage to the nuclear reactors. he also said -- and this is something that i think has been put forth in the last couple hours -- that this is absolutely the worst crisis for japan since world war ii. >> george, i know you're going

to venture out and head to the heart of the damage, so we encourage you to be absolutely as safe as possible. and thank you. >> reporter: thank you. >> we'll be hearing from george a little later in our show this morning as well. this morning communities here in the bay area are still feeling the effects of the tsunami surge. governor jerry brown has declared a state of emergency for both santa cruz and san mateo counties saying the ocean surge from the tsunami waves put infrastructure and public safety in extreme danger. "today in the bay's" kimberly tere reports from santa cruz where the harbor remains closed this morning. >> we're looking at broken docks, sunken boats, flotation that's loose floating around the harbor, a lot of debris. >> reporter: a boat tour of the santa cruz harbor shows the devastation left behind by a tsunami that barreled 5,000 miles across the ocean before slamming into the california coast. >> the harbor has been here for

almost 50 years. we have employees and we have tenants who have been here almost that long. and, you know, it's really been a tragedy for them to see, you know, this beloved center really of the community to take such a hit. >> reporter: at least a hundred boats are damaged, 18 completely sub merged, four swept out to sea. crews are working to get the sunken vessels out of the water and to mitigate fuel spills. so far the coast guard has only spotted one sheen and are taking care of it. right now the focus is getting the harbor safe enough to get the boat homes back into their homes. >> we're housing some of the people that were live aboards, housing them in our house across the freeway. and, you know, we consoled everybody last night with a little crab feast. tried to make the best of it. >> reporter: the santa cruz harbor is also home to a large commercial fishing operation on which many local families depend

for their livelihood. another reason the harbor is trying to work quickly to reopen. >> it's heartbreaking. >> reporter: even with the damage estimated to be $17 million and climbing, many people here say they're counting their blessings. >> the people in japan are so far in much more trouble than we are, so we have to be grateful for what didn't happen. >> it sure could have been a lot worse, you know, but it really hits close to home. >> reporter: kimberly tere, "today in the bay." >> the folks in japan still dealing with powerful aftershocks this morning. >> you have an 8.9 main quake and the aftershock sequeike is incredible. as you can see on the map, we've had more than about 26 eq6.0 aftershocks or larger, one that was a 7.0. keep in mind, you know, a major quake for the bay area would be a 6.0 earthquake. they've had 26 following up that 8.9 and more than a hundred 5.0 earthquakes or larger. here's another view from the satellite. you can see the coastline before the tsunami. then as we e show you the after

effects, you can see how six to seven miles inland that water raced across the coast. now, back to our weather this morning, 52 degrees. san jo. i want to show you we have rain offshore. this is going to be a change-up for the rest of the week. you can see the rain lurking on the north coast. pretty powerful storm. we'll spill clouds our way and eventually bring us some rain drops. for the morning, most of the rain off to the north bay. as we head through the afternoon, still some mild temperatures, but you'll want to dust off the umbrellas as we watch the rain come flying back in. we'll have a full look at these changes ahead in the forecast and see our snow coming back to the picture, as well. we'll have a full look coming up in just a few minutes. >> i don't know if they've been in the closet long enough to get some dust on them. >> can always go a day or two without rain. thanks, rob. coming up, a shaib teenager shot in the face. the manhunt for the men police say are responsible. and then the fight against legal immigration. the controversial ad hitting bay area airwaves. n

good morning to you on this spring forward sunday. it's 7:12 now, a gorgeous shot of the bay bridge as people are making an early morning drive into the city this morning. developing now this morning, a teenager in the south bay is fighting for his life after being shot in the face. now, three men police say ar$'e connected to the shooting are behind bars. police officers remained on the scene of the shooting overnight at the corner of almaden expressway and coleman avenue in san jose. an officer responding to the scene spotted a car fitting a description of the getaway vehicle about 6:00 last night. police chased the three men through neighborhoods near meridian and hillsdale and then eventually arrested them. police say the 17-year-old boy who was shot is at a local hospital right now recovering from his injuries.

memorial organizers for a berkeley man killed six months ago are hoping to bring more attention to this unsolved case. 35-year-old adolfo bravo was robbed by two men who then shot and killed him near a berkeley b.a.r.t. station. family members flew in from chile to join berkeley police and the chilean consul general to talk about the case. there is a $17,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of bravo's killers. an alameda family is remembering the life of a soldier who was killed in afghanistan. 27-year-old army sergeant eric trueblood died last thursday when he stepped on a hidden bomb. trueblood was apparently walking toward an ied that had just exploded when a second one went off, killing him. he is the fourth bomb expert to die in the past week and the second from the bay area. and now to the fight against legal immigration. you may have seen the controversial ad that's running

right now in the bay area. it takes aim at immigrant workers but not the undocumented immigrants who are usually blamed for stealing jobs. instead, the ad focuses on immigrant workers who are here legally. some say the message is controversial but it does raise a point. >> we need to slow legal immigration. >> it ignites a fire in some and piques curiosity in others. >> the thing that really offends me about that ad is it puts -- it's us against them. >> what about these workers? >> the 30-second ad calls for lower levels of legal immigration until california's nearly 12.5% unemployment rate improves. >> take good jobs in places like california. >> i think the workers who are unemployed are going to look at it and say that's right, why is my government bringing in workers to compete against me when i'm finding it so difficult to find a job? >> rick oberlink is a representative of californians

for population stabilization. the santa barbara-based nonprofit produced and paid for the ad. >> it's not a criticism of people who play by the rules. we're saying that perhaps the rules are wrong. >> the website says the ad was launched in the bay area because it's home to silicon valley, long known for, quote, cheap labor and temporary foreign workers. >> interestingly enough, just right here in silicon valley, a lot of people who came, you know, with work visas are people who have started businesses and were -- had been able to generate thousands of jobs. >> people like yahoo!'s jerry yang, google's sergey brin, and sun microsystems costla, some of the most influential players in silicon valley, all immigrants and all founders. rodriguez is policy director of service, immigrant rights and education network. the san jose-based group believes all people regardless of legal status are entitled essential services.

rodriguez says the ad is misleading. so the ad begs the question, are legal immigrants taking jobs from american-born workers? a recent report released by the pew hispanic center shows u.s.-born workers lost 1.2 million jobs from 2009 to 2010, while foreign workers gained 656,000 jobs. the migration policy institute says the number of legal immigration workers in california grew by more than a third in the past ten years. well, much more ahead on "today in the bay." coming up, the big island rocked by the tsunami surge. and business is getting wiped out. >> a beautiful view over san francisco this morning. we have clouds spilling into the bay area. we'll eventually see om rain coming back into the picture.

a very good spring forward sunday morning to you. a live look at the vapor, this morning fog free, but we'll have to get used to the darker mornings now but at least brighter evenings as we officially move forward into daylight-saving time this morning. so, yes, the time is not 6:00. we're now in the 7:00 area around the bay area. 52 in san jose, south wind at 5 miles per hour this morning. a dry start. the bay bridge, 53 degrees. the wind light but we'll see some south winds picking up as we head through the afternoon. right now your morning starting off with 40s and 50s outside, 45 around gilroy, 49 in livermore. kind of mild outside because we've got a southerly flow moving into the bay area and clouds spilling in as well, which is going to keep our morning temperatures up a few degrees. here on the time lapse, you can see we've got clouds spilling in but really not a lot of rain just yet. the radar scans, though, starting to pick up the rain drops offshore. that will be coming in as we head through the afternoon.

meantime, the rain already flying around mendocino county northward into lake county and northern sonoma county. again, this is what's heading our way late into the afternoon and this evening. pretty powerful storm that will pack a punch to the north. the trailing edge will come sweeping on later today on into tonight and probably linger for just the early part of monday morning. so today some rain showing up later on. we'll see 50s to some+"iñ mid-6 for highs. rain mainly through the san francisco area to the north bay to start, then moving southward through this evening. for tomorrow morning the showers should end early, clearing and mild, dry till probably about tuesday morning, then more rain will drop back in. for the sierra, snow close to 6,000 feet, good for a winter weather advisory and more off-and-on snow for monday and tuesday. temperatures around the bay area today, still 60s across parts of the south bay. mid-60s around gilroy, low 60s closer to san jose, further northward, running a little cooler. we'll see 50seúj( for highs fre peninsula back over towards the

inland east bay up towards the delta and north bay, rain, probably about a half inch or so across portions of the north bay. a little less as you drop into san jose. the main event for the system coming in probably between 6:00 this evening and 10:00 tonight. so in and out of the rain drops as we go through the week. the interesting part of the forecast is actually heading towards next weekend. we could see snow levels dipping back to 4,000 feet, which means that sierra ski season could be going into june at this point the way things seem to be going in our seven-day forecast. >> the snow bunnies are loving it. >> they should be, okay. >> thanks, rob. well, damage from thursday's tsunami in hawaii has many people who live there displaced this morning. now, this is a house under water. check this out in captain cook's bay on the big island. on the kona side, at least three resorts including the four seasons, they have been evacuated and are shut down this morning. other islands are said to have just minor damage. a promising sign, though, the beach at waikiki yesterday

afternoon was filled wih÷-ople once again. much more ahead on "today in the bay." coming up, destruction and devastation in japan. and a growing nuclear crisis as authorities race to battle the threat of reactor meltdowns. good morning. i'm justin allen. the giants and dodgers putting on a thriller in spring training. and the stanford women's hoops team looking for its sixth straight pac-10 tourney title. we'll have that and more just ahead in sports.

>> our final stay was at the outrigger beach resor, an upscale and elegant vacation condominium. adventures on kauai are almost limitless. a chopper ride with sunshine helicopters took us above the grand canyon up the pacific and along hawaii's nepali coast. we took part in the incredible zip line safari, which included

kayaking, a wagon wind, and jumps through where jury rasic park was filmed. all downhill on the wye may ya canyon bicycle ride and a lucky lady snorkel cruise looking at the 4,000-foot cliffs. watch our entire hawaiian adventure. the sharks get iced at home and the giants take on the dodgers in scottsdale. justin allen has it all. just a month left in the season, time for the first-place sharks to start eyeing the playoffs. no better way to gauge where you are than taking on another playoff-worthy team. the new york rangers as expected a close one.

second period, mitchell fires away and dan eager redirects for the game-tying goal. a 2-2 game goes into o.t. where there was no scoring, so the shoot-out where niemi cannot stop the brandon dubinsky shot. sharks lose back-to-back home games for the first time in two months. 3-2 in the shoot-out. well, despite it being just a spring training and the dodgers playing with just a split squad, it always gets interesting with the dodgers and giants meeting up. no exception on saturday. cody ross comes up big in the fourth, gets a hold of this one. a two-run shot puts the giants up 4-3. game tied at 7-7 in the bottom of the ninth when the giants' 2010 first-round pick gary brown comes through with the liner and the walk-off win. 8-7 the final. world series rematch with the rangers today. a's facing the mariners, guillermo moscoso not doing

himself any favors in his quest for the fiftyth starter gig. milton bradley racks the double off him. ichiro scores. moscoso gave up six hits, four runs in three innings. justin smoak smokes this one to right center, scores a couple former a's, brads lee and jack cust. it was a blowout. seattle takes it 10-2. to college hoops. a long time since the stanford women's team has lost a pac-10 game. two years, in fact. saturday it was close. title game of the pac-10 tourney taking on ucla. cardinal had to erase an 11-point second-half lead. the board, then back inside for the bucket. tied it at 46-46. the freshman scored ten of her 17 in the final five minutes, this from three as the cardinal won its sixth straight tourney title and 57th consecutive pac-10 game 64-55 the final. that's going to do it for morning sports. have a great day.

much more ahead on "today in the bay." coming up, "today in the bay's" george kiriyama reports from japan about the devastation and how the japanese people are holding up. and a 17-year-old boy is clinging to life after being shot in the face here in the south bay. who police say is responsible. [ male announcer ] beatrice earned her masters in education

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>> right now in america, one out of four children doesn't know where their next meal is coming from. >> food insecurity is a growing problem in the united states. >> tune in march 19th at 7:30 p.m. on nbc to see child hunger ends here: a special report. just about 7:30 now. good morning and thank you for joining us. i'm marla tellez in for kris sanchez. this morning in japan, six nuclear reactors and two power plants are at risk for melting down after an explosion at a building housing a nuclear reactor. it's just the latest fallout from two minutes of terror that is prompting the country's triple disaster. we have some chopper video shot just this morning along japan's northeast coast. as you can see, the devastation stretches for miles.

right now japanese government officials say the death toll in this one state alone could reach into the tens of thousands. 170,000 people who lived near power plants are being evacuated. millions of people don't have drinking water, electricity, or food. and 100,000 japanese soldiers are now on the ground carrying out search-and-rescue missions along the northeastern coast. here in california, scientists and engineers are taking a closer look at our own nuclear power plants. they say despite the blast that destroyed the exterior of one japanese plan, the reactor inside remains intact. but some are questioning what is happening happening across the pacific could happen to this state's two new power plants. experts say the chance of our own plants being severely damaged is remote. >> if you look at it from a probable risk perspective, the risk is very, very small, very, very low.

each of those plants on the west coast has been designed to withstand earthquakes as well as tsunamis. >> engineers say they have learned from past disasters like the three mile island incident by building multiple safety systems in modern nuclear plants. we'll talk to our own george kiriyama, who is in japan this morning, coming up. this morning fishermen and boat owners in crescent city are wading through the wreckage of that tsunami surge. as "today in the bay's" david bee nick reports, this is not the first time it's been left in shambles. >> reporter: in pouring rain, crews rode onto crescent city harbor to get the first close-up look at the damage. >> the dunks are completely destroyed. this harbor is shut down for god knowings how long. >> reporter: repeated surges tossed boats all day and into the night. this 53-foot trawler, the bountiful, was saved but only because of another boat owner's

misfortune. >> the poor boat that sank right next to it held it in place. >> reporter: the harbormaster estimates physical damage at up to $25 million. but he says the financial damage for the 300 people who fish out of here and the entire community will be much worse. >> the jobs that are based here are going to go somewhere else temporarily. >> reporter: this latest damage and especially the video from japan remind people here of another tsunami 47 years ago that destroyed much of crescent city. here at the crescent city harbor, there's a reminder of that 1964 tsunami, this high. water mark, eight feet above the parking lot. >> i mean, you're not going to have a half hour, 45 minutes' notice if it hits 80 miles off the shore here. when you feel it rumble, you better be moving out. >> reporter: people on the north coast now realize they can no longer think of a killer tsunami >> 7:32 now.

not 6:32, believe it or not. >> that's right. >> and rain on the radar. >> it's a sleepless forecast this morning. we're looking at -- actually crescent city, you saw the wind and rain thean on the north coast. t we're starring to see me ose that on the radar just off the coast crossing across the coast, marin county into sonomame coun, santa rosa looking at light rain. heavier rain on the north coast, a pretty powerful system that will pack a bigger punch to the north today and eventually increasing chances of rain as we make our way into the afternoon and evening. main event for the storm coming up later today into tonight. coming up, we'll let you know what you can expect for the last full week of winter. seven-day forecast coming up in a few minutes. >> thanks, rob. well, this morning a 17-year-old is recovering at a south bay hospital after being shot in the face. the shooting happened early yesterday evening at the corner of almaden expressway and coleman avenue in south san jose. investigators say three suspects are behind bars this morning for that shooting.

an officer responding to the scene spotted a car fitting a description of the getaway vehicle. police chased the three men from neighborhoods near meridian and hillsdale. published reports say pg&e avoided time-consuming and costly inspections of gas pipelines by using their own set of safety standards. the "san francisco chronicle" says the company would test for weld problems only if pressure had risen 10% above federal safety levels. the pipeline that exploded in san bruno more than six months ago now had faulty wells. sogts say pg&e had twice xooeded the lines' pleasure limb -- pressure limit and did not conduct inspections. reduced retirement funds because of the chronic city budget deficit. mayor chuck reed says employees need to reduce pensions and bonus checks among other recommendations to save the city millions. this year the deficit has

climbed to more than $105 million. several unions have offered to take a 10% pay cut to help the budget woes including the firefighters' union most recently. the city council will hear the mayor's recommendations on tuesday. much more ahead on "today in the bay." coming up, american travelers return home from japan. the emotional reunions at airport terminals across the country just ahead. and a blizzard blankets the midwest, leaving hundreds of people stranded on the roads. i hate getting less. but i love getting more.

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it is 7:37 on this sunday morning. good morning. here's a live look at the san francisco bay. some clouds, and as rob says, rain on the way. he'll tell you about that in just a moment. well, our very own george kiriyama landed in japan just hours ago, and he now joins us

on the phone this morning from the city of narita. >> reporter: well, good evening, or good morning to you there in califor5 >> what's the scene there? >> reporter: well, you know, the last few hours we've actually felt three aftershocks. i have to say it feels like i was on a boat. the hotel room was kind of swaying back and forth very gently, and you could hear the windows rattle. so we already have i guess a little taste of some of e shaking that's been going on around here the past few days. certainly nothing strong like what happened the past few days, but already we're getting a sense of what the japanese people have been going through. when we arrived at narita international, i want to say we saw members of the search-and-rescue team. looks like they had just arrived about the same time we did. they were wearing their uniforms, and it looks like they

were getting their instructions to get ready to go up to the sendai and fukushima area. >> and did you get a sense of what the people, what they're feeling? >> well, obviously, it was the talk of the airport. i mean, conversations talking about the earthquake, people with friends and family up in that area, just obviously concern. but everyone trained to, you know, create a sense of normalcy because, you know, here in tokyo, it had been feeling the aftershocks since thursday. but they still want to maintain a certain sense of business as usual because the prime minister -- it's important for the prime minister when he came out ansaid that he wants the japanese people to realize that the country still has to keep going. in fact, he spoke to the nation a couple hours ago, we got to the room, turned on the television, it was around-the-clock coverage. he got on camera and basically

told the nation, hey, we must conservative electricity. there's a shortage because of the quake. and obviously damage to the nuclear reactors. he also said -- and this is something that i think has been put forth in the last couple hours -- that this is absolutely the worst crisis for japan since world war ii. >> george, i know you're going to venture out and head to the heart of the damage, so we encourage you to be absolutely as safe as possible. and thank you. >> reporter: thank you. george will be in japan in the coming days, and he'll be bringing us live reports from japan during the week on nbc "bay area." this week, many americans with loved ones in japan are spending anxious hours waiting for word about their safety. and for some, finally reyou nighted at airports nationwide it's been a joyful weekend. friends and family waited anxiously at airport arrival areas as flights from tokyo and other japanese cities landed on u.s. soil. many passengers say the experience was terrifying but

they were not aware of the scope and magnitude of the devastation caused by the earthquake and tsunami. >> the past 48 hours have been pretty emotional. happy he's back. >> meantime, a japanese firefighting crew is expected to arrive here in the bay area today to participate in a search-and-rescue training program in menlo park. the park team has been training japanese firefighters in these lifesaving skills for more than ten years. the damage to japan is widespread and devastating, and the economic impacts could be greater. the tokyo stock market will reportedly open tomorrow after plans to close it for a few days to prevent panic. those plans were dropped. japan's central bank will hold an emergency meeting tomorrow to put together an emergency plan to maintain financial stability. government leaders estimate they'll use about 200 billion

yen, or $2.4 billion, to pay for that recovery effort. now, cnbc's sue herera has a look at the upcoming week in the world of business. this week wall street will be watching how markets around the globe react to the devastating damage in japan and if political turmoil in the middle east ramps up impacting oil production and prices. it's no secret that prices at the pump and the grocery store have been shooting higher. and this week we'll get two reports on the pace of inflation at both the wholesale and consumer levels. each are expected to show prices rising but more slowly than before. there's been no inflation in home prices as the busy spring real estate season gets closer, we'll find out if prices on homes are still sinking or whether they've leveled off. senate, meanwhile, holds a hearing on the state of the housing market and whether federal programs aim to help struggling home owners are succeeding. the federal reserve meets this week to talk act key interest rates and how its multibillion-dollar bond-buying program is impacting the

economic recovery. more quarterly earnings reports will tell us how some companies are faring. federal express and nike are both expected to report they're making a lot more money these days. and the events may not be happening until the summer of 2012, but tickets go on sale this week for the games of the 30th summer olympics in london. i'm sue herrera. get all your business news on cnbc. get all your business and tech news before the bell weekdays on "today in the bay" starring at 4:30 a.m. bright and early. a massive pro union demonstration rocks wisconsin's capitol yesterday. just under 100,000 people gathered to protest a bill passed on friday that cuts public workers' collective bargaining rights. they also welcomed back senate democrats who tried to stop the passage of the new law while spending the last three weeks in illinois. wisconsin democrats will focus on recalling the republicans who

voted for the law. a massive blizzard across the upper midwest leaves hundreds of people stranded in their cars. north dakota's highways were crowded with state and federal emergency vehicles helping stranded drivers on saturday. more than 500 cars were found abandoned on the roads due to a quiteout caused by ice, snow, and 60-mile-an-hour winds. no injuries, believe it or not, have been reported. most of those highways have been closed since friday. much more ahead for you on "today in the bay." coming up, more on the disaster in japan and the debate of foreign aid. how much are we giving and how much should we give? political analyst larry gerston weighs in. and on this spring forward sunday g,moharnin we're watchin rain springing forward back to the coast right now. there you're seeing it live around marin county into sonoma county. you can see it coming together. what does it mean for the rest of the weekend and the week ahead?

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the united states is responding to the japanese earthquake disaster with various forms of aid ranging from food to technical help. now, all of this raises the question of foreign aid. in a time of huge deficits here at home, do we give enough? do we give too much? nbc bay area political analyst larry gerston, he joins us this morning to sort out these questions. larry, where do we begin? >> it's fascinating because, you know, there are some things that we think happen and they just don't. and foreign aid is one of them. you know, why does a nation give foreign aid? that's the first question. well, we give foreign aid

because they're our allies who need our help. we give foreign aid because there are poor countries that are in desperate need. we give foreign aid because we're a fairly affluent nation, wealthy nation compared to others so, we kind of help them out. out of this, there's a practical side, too, and the practical side is what are we getting back from it? what's it doing for you? well, when you get to those tough times in life, line up other countries, a lot of this is because of that. there are some good reasons for it. the question is too much, too little, what about that. >> with the current budget times it's not like we have an overabundance of money. do we give too much? >> and that's where the myth and reality have a problem, marla. look, take a look at a very interesting recent national survey that looks at how much money people think we're giving to foreign aid and how much we actually spend on foreign aid. it's absolutely fascinating. these are median answers here. first of all, people think we spend about 25% of the national

budget on foreign aid. that would be $850 billion, way out of kilter, okay. how much should we spend? they think we should spend about 10% of the national budget on foreign aid. that would be $350 billion. how much do we actually spend? 1%. $35 billion. so we really do spend very little. as a matter of fact, if you look at us with foreign aid compared to all the other industrialized nations in the world, we spend less per capita than any other industrialized nation. yet the perception is that we're spending a ton of money. >> still, japan not a poor country. so, you know -- >> right. >> should we be rushing there? >> why should we do it? well, let's remember, go back to the assumptions we talked about at the beginning. japan is a critical ally. a critical ally next door in asia is north korea, is china, and these are countries we've had our difficulties with, so you have to look t it that way. japan has also been there for

the united states on issues ranging from nuclear proliferation, global warming, all kinds of stuff. it's not to say we agree on everything. we don't agree on whaling. we don't agree on fishing terms, things like that. but for the most part we would be hard-pressed to find an ally more loyal to the united states than japan. so even when affluent nations like japan has difficulties like this incredible series of events that we've seen, the earthquakes, the tsunami, the aftershocks, that's a time when even an affluent nation like the united states helps a friend. >> does this actually fit into the current budget? he laughs. >> this is where, you know -- this is where we kind of, like, take theory and try to plug it into reality because there are a lot of people out there who know we're trying to deal with this deficit, trying to find ways to curb spending. and one of the favorite targets is foreign aid. so a number of republican leaders right now are saying we have to cut back. we have to top giving all this money. number one, we're not giving that much money. we talked about that. number two, we need to think about some of the consequences.

yeah, we may cut back, no question about it, but at what cost in the long term? that's the kind of very meaningful debate that we're going to have against this backdrop of this disaster in japan. >> larry gerston, always so nice to talk to you. thank you for your insight. and a reminder. you can get larry's political insight anytime on nbcbayair ba.com. nbcbayarea.com. coming up on "today in the bay," a look at the forecast. .

a good sunday morning to you. a live look at san jose. some clouds, a few breaks along the south bay but eventually mainly cloudy skies and a good bet finishing the weekend with some rain drops around the bay area. san jose, 52 degrees, mild start to the morning. we sort of have a bit of a southerly flow coming in from the south and clouds spilling in, so morning temperatures aren't too chilly, 45 degrees

about as cool as it gets around gilroy, 49 at santa rosa, 49 in napa and 49 degrees in livermore. a pleasant start to the morning. as you see here on the cloud cover as we put this into motion going back from the last few hours, we have clouds spilling in and now lurking offshore here. the radar beam starting to hit some areas of rain offshore. some of it already spilling into pars of the north bay around santa rosa heading up on the coast there, out by bodega bay. you can see some of those showers there, most of this light rain. the air at the surface still fairly dry, so as the rain falls through the atmosphere, moistens things up at ground level, eventually we'll see more rain reaching the ground. powerful storm, cold air offshore, the cold air racing along the coast. unfortunately crescent city that had the problems with the tsunami earlier this week, you can see they'll be dealing with very heavy rain up here around delnorton county, heading into oregon and washington. there's where the worst of the storm will bear down with strong

winds and heavier rains. the bay area kind of getting a glancing blow as the system comes on through as we're starting to see already this morning. as we put the maps into motion, obviously we're going to see a cooler finish to the weekend as the rain drops start to fly later on in the day. we will see most of the accumulations for the north bay, maybe as much as an inch around the coastal mountains but less further south as we wrap up the weekend. and into monday, maybe some lingering showers, but then we're going to be clearing as we go through the afternoon, high temperatures on monday not all that bad. we should still make the mid-60s in a few spots, trending cooler, though, for the beak ahead. speaking of cooler, how about the winter weather advisory for the sierras? snow levels close to 6,000 feet today bnd and by monday and tuesday dropping closer to 5,000 feet. for the next weekend, we could see snow levels at 4,000 feet so for the last week of winter, doesn't look like it's letting up anytime soon.

mid-80s around the bay area, mainly around gilroy and hollister you'll notice lower 60s likely for san jose, trending cooler as we head into the north bay where the rain drops will fly and will help to cool the atmosphere as well. you can see from san francisco heading over to the east bay and into the north bay, temperatures in the 50s to wrap up the weekend as the main event in terms of this system drops in on us later around midday into the evening. tomorrow morning maybe some lingering showers and not a complete washout this week. monday afternoon through at least monday evening should be dry, then tuesday into wednesday a little more rain. thursday looks mainly dry. that colder system dropping in on us as we head towards friday and saturday. off-and-on rain showers for the week. >> this morning we'll all spend our time moving our clocks forward. right? >> absolutely right. >> okay. thanks, rob. well, this morning people in japan -- six nuclear reactors, rather, and two power plants are at risk for melting down after an explosion at a building housing a nuclear reactor. it's the late ut fallout from two minutes of terror that's

prompting the country's triple disaster. we have chopper video shot just this morning along japan's northeast coast. as you can see the devastation stretches for miles. right now japanese government officials stay the death toll in this one state alone could reach into the tens of thousands. 170,000 people who have lived near power plants are being evacuated. millions of people don't have the drinking water electricity, or food. and 100,000 japanese soldiers are now on the ground carrying out search-and-rescue missions along the northeastern coast. this morning people in japan are being tested at screening centers for radiation exposure. japan's cabinet secretary warning a partial meltdown at a power plant in fukushima is highly possible. that plant is just one of three nuclear plants that lost cooling functions after the earthquake and tsunami. nearly 170,000 people who live near that plant have been ordered to leave.

our george kiriyama will be reporting in with us live in japan throughout the week. have a wonderful sunday, everybody. thanks so much for joining us this morning. [ male announcer ] this...is the network.

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