japan. >> reporter: i'm bob radell live in san francisco where officials are monitoring the possible arrival of a radiation plume from japan, but why you should not be concern about your health. i'll explain about that coming up. >> reporter: and in the morning after a surf dies at maverick's, a high surf advisory is in effect. good morning. i'm marla, how this is affecting people along the coast in my live report from pacifica coming up. a live look at the bay bridge. nice and clear now. we are looking for significant changes coming up in our forecast. it is st. patrick's day, thursday, march 17th. "today in the bay." and good morning, everybody. thanks for joining us. time now, straight up 6:00. i'm brent cannon. >> and i'm laura garcia can

knop. check the forecast with christina. >> good morning to you. happy st. patrick's day of course. a chilly day. the good news, luck the irish is with us and we'll see a pretty nice day today. a dry day after four consecutive days of rainfall in the bay area. today looks pretty good. now, as we head through tomorrow, a really potent storm is on the way. it is a winter storm as we transition into spring over the weekend. so i have some major news to report as we head throughout the morning. but for today, before you head out the front door, if you're leaving now, grab a jacket. maybe something you can peel off later. temperatures end up in the 60s, but you can leave the umbrella at home. how the roadways are fairing. >> a little gold, not the end of the rainbow, through livermore. a new accident right around first. i'll show what you lies beneath that icon. it is slow. below this map a live look at sunol traveling 680. a heavier volume than the

previous three days at this time. watching slowing and fremont holding up as far at speeds go. a lot of taillights, guys. back to you. >> thank you. 6:01. this morning crews are going anything they can to stabilize a damaged nuclear reactor in japan. two chinook helicopters dumped at least four loads of seawater on to the damaged reactor, although tv coverage shows much of the water is actually just getting blown away by the wind. those helicopters are now grounded while experts determine if the operation was successful. in the meantime, plant operators are racing to finish a new power line that could restore the cooling systems at the fukushima plant and slow the nuclear crisis. new this morning, americans are leaving japan with the help of the u.s. government. the state department is now chartering planes to help americans who are trying to escape the radiation surge. a voluntary evacuation is also in place for the families are government workers living in tokyo and yokohama. the state department is also

warning about travel to southern japan saying the changing weather and wind conditions could mean more radiation in that area. and an update on the radiation plume and the jet stream making its way to u.s. soil. "today in the bay"s, we're live in san francisco kelling us how much is expected to hit the bay area and what if any risks the public faces. good morning, bob. >> reporter: good morning, laura. the general con sen is among the experts is that this is not something that we as individuals should be worried about. if radiation does make it here to the bay area, it would be detected by a detector that's located on the top of the bay area air quality management office here in san francisco, which we're standing outside of right now. on the roof is one of over 100 radiation monitors that the epa operates up and down the west coast. the question is whether that plume of radiation will filter into our part of california. this is a computer model put

together by the comprehensive test band treaty organization obtained by the "new york times." looking at it it does not appear that this plume is expected to drift over the bay area. the animation shows the plume avoiding hawaii, floating over the aleutian islands of alaska later today, and then pushing over southern california as early as tomorrow. it's in the central valley in sacramento and into arizona, utah, and assuming the weather patterns don't change and the forecast is correct, the plume does seem to go around us. whatever radiation does end up over the west coast is not expected to be significant. detectable, yes. dangerous, no. this, according to the country's nuclear regulatory commission and at least one nuclear watchdog group. the cdc also expressing confidence that they don't expect any radiation from japan will pose any significant health risks here on the west coast. now, keep in mind, this plume must travel hundreds of miles across the pacific from japan to

reach the west coast. over that distance, it is expected that that radiation plume would dilute. reporting live here in san francisco, bob ardell, live in the bay. you can take a class to get better prepared in the bay area and help with disaster recovery. cupertino's office of emergency services is offering training. the people who want to become part of the emergency response team or cert. people will learn as search and rescue, first-aid and rescuing. sign up for free. a fee if you're a non-resident. those classes start today and will run through early april. can you logon to cupertino's emergency website for more detail. 6:05 right now. in san jose, police are husntin for a man who opened fire outside a mcdonald's restaurant startling customer. the shooter walked up to another man in his 20s outside the

restaurant on south bascom avenue. shot the victim at close range and then ran off. the victim was rushed to the valley medical center just across the street. at last word, he was in critical condition police released few details about the suspect or possible motive. several nearby schools were on lockdown for a short time after the shooting but dismissal went as planned. could be a big company that court for the couple accused of kidnapping jayee dugard. negotiations for a plea deal are still in the works. philip and nancy garrido expected to appear in court this morning. a lawyer for nancy garrido says te is unlikely she will change her plea to guilt any time for today's hearing. he says that's because the latest plea deal from prosecutors comes with a sentence of 180 years to life in prison. her lawyers are pushing for a sentence of more like 30 to 40 years and philip garrido is also expected to enter his plea today after being ruled mentally fit to stand trial. the jury questioning begins

today in the barry bonds perjury trial. prospective jurors will fill out a 19-page questionnaire and the san francisco federal courthouse today. some of the questions include things like the number of baseball games they went to, and if they're family has had substance abuse problems. bonds faces charges that he lied to a grand jury in 2003 about taking steroids. jury selection, the actual process for that, begins in his perjury trial next week. 6:07 now. this morning state regulators are threatening to fine pg&e $1 million a day. the california public utilities commission says the utility has not handed over enough of its records in the wake of this san bruno explosions. specifically, the state committee says the utility hasn't turned over records that would determine if the pressure lef levels in gas pipes are safe. at a meeting today, the commission could vote to fine pg&e $20,000 for each violation, which could total $1 million a day. pg&e insists it has turned over

more than 90% of its key records on thousands ever miles of gas pipelines throughout the state. we are seeing choppy and dangerous conditions along bay area beaches this morning. they come after an elite surfer dies in the waters at maverick's. a surf advisory is in effect keeping a lot of boats docked. today's live in pacifica with a look at some of the dangerous conditions out there this morning. marla? >> reporter: brent, good morning to you. if this is any indication, the pier that extends tr the chitchat cafe in pacifica usually opens at 4:00 a.m. to the public, but guess what? the gates remain closed. it is closed, and it will stay that way, because of the high surf advisory in effect through 11:00 p.m. tomorrow night. so that's friday night. take a look at the choppy conditions you saw already several times water making its way up to the sea wall here. folks at the national weather service tell me the advisory extends from sonoma county all

the way to monterey county with waves expected 13 to 16 feet high. this does not bode well for the harbor trying to recover from the tsunami surge. the expected high surf could cause even more damage. here in pacifica, some early morning crab fishermen came out as they typically do to do some crabbing but were turned away. is this different than normal? >> yeah. that's why i thought there was another tsunami warning or something. >> reporter: not a tsunami warning. the high surf advisory does come after yesterday's tragedy out at half moon bay. a 35-year-old professional surfer from hawaii who always wanted to surf the big waves at maverick's was killed. witnesses say the waves that likely pinned him beneath the

surface were about 40 feet high. now, bottom line, we're going to head out here, be mindful of the ocean and also keep in mind that high tide is expected to hit the bay area shortly after 10:00 this morning. live in pacifica, marla tellez, "today in the bay." >> thanks, marla. appreciate it. check the forecast with christina. >> yeah, a big storm on the bap that's what prompting that high surf advisory and the waves that are already dangerous this morning will be even more dangerous tomorrow as that system moves onshore. so you probably want to avoid the beaches for the next couple ever day. it is downright cold out there, anyhow. that should make it easier for you. 42 degrees in oakland. in the 30s this morning up in santa rosa. 37 degrees for you, same for novato and temperatures aren't even as cool as they're going to get just yet. you will need that heavy jacket this morning. about 15 degrees cooler than we were at this time yesterday morning. clear skies overhead. show you what's happening on the satellite imagery, telling a

great story for us today. you can see why we're expecting that plume to head towards southern california and not the bay area here just by where the jet stream is headed. you can see here, already made a drawing. you can see the clouds. well defined jet situated right over los angeles, digging south as a system of low pressure pushes onshore packing a punch. windy conditions. expecting heavy rainfall. heading throughout tomorrow morning, during the live broadcast, we'll have showers coming down. we'll get you to work on time tomorrow. get you through all that wet weather. today, though, the luck of the irish is with us. especially in dublin. 59 degree. sun and clouds. breezy at times and when talking about the rain for tomorrow, we're going to see very interesting situation. our snow levels will come down to 2,500 feet on saturday. so we're going to see warm rain first. once that system passes, we'll see the cold front come through and looking towards really cold and wet weekend. so not good news there.

good news for today. the luck of the irish is with us in the weather department for one day only. is it with us in the traffic department, mike inouye? >> christina, in a weird way it for dublin. an accident in livermore. westbound 580 over at first. one lane is blocked causing slowdowns. already slow out of the altamont pass. zoom in behind the icon. you see more slowing approaching the cutoff through livermore folks making their way cutting through 680. dublin on the west of your screen, a little clearer flow because of all the folks headed up into the area. lucky for those commuters and also bearing some of the lighter traffic, castro valley. 52, seeing some slowing there. pretty typical flow for thursday. lighter at the san mateo toll plaza. a disabled vehicle reported downtown. taillights slowing down through downtown approaching the toll

plaza, relatively slow going. 6:12 now. still to come on "today" in the bay, the pac-10 ready to become the pac 12. also a sports fan's holiday of sorts. the start of the ncaa tournament. and uc students could start to see big tuition hikes every year. find out how large and why next. versus toyota. which is better?

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$1.5 billion budget gap oerch are the knox f over the next few years. they would have to combine tuition hikes to bridge the gap. the region aprove proved an increase in september and a 13% increase last year. and the conference is taking on a new look. including a new logo, which was unveiled on youtube. there's the old one and there's the change. just changed the 10 to the 12. the new pac 12 logo. stamford and cal, they are longtime members of the pac-10, still part of the pac 12. the conference headquarters is in walnut creek. this summer colorado and utah will join the conference. of course, they to change the name and the logo and i like to see the official change. there it is right there. >> good thing they just did the numbers. hard enough to figure it all

out. >> we kind of get a preview of that conference coming up. cal and colorado going to play in the n.i.t. coming up on friday, but the big talk today, talking about the ncaa tournament, because it really gets going this morning. more than likely, you have your brackets like everybody else. we've been filling them out as well. we'll take a peek at those in a moment. you can get in on it. take part, go to our bracket challenge at comcast sports bay area. fill out the brackets, see how we're doing. >> impatiently waiting. the bracket guru paul gutierrez. remember i called you guru when you looked at my picks. who are you picking? >> everybody fills out their brackets. you've got to have the real one an then also you have to have your dream one. ply west coast, like to bring a little west coast, i'm going washington. >> really? >> i'm going -- >> is this your dream or real one? >> dream one. washington, unlv, san diego

state. that's crazy. i'm actually doing ohio state, texas, louisville and, oh, yeah. pitt. my final four. >> doing it that way. my dream one is st. mary's. they win it all. >> that's not going to happen. >> hey, okay. it's not your turn anymore, paul. you're going to stay here, this is my world. he just lives in it. >> definitely not -- >> laura and i are on the same page. >> what. >> in terms of ohio state going all the way. we've been filling them out. check in with christina and see what christina picked. do we have her final four bracket? what she's got? there's mine. ohio state, kansas, byu, duke. >> i don't bllike byu or duke. >> kansas is vulnerable. those are mine.

my final four pick. who else is there? kind of walk through and see? >> i think we have christina's up next. skipped mine. i gave you my dream one. final four, ohio state, notre dame, pitt and duke. you already said you didn't really like duke. >> that's more of a personal issue than a really kind of a professional -- that's just duke. >> all right. what do you think about my picks? pretty golden? >> all right. ohio state. >> in the end. >> so now, we want to check in and see how the rest of us did as well and checking in, trying to get to the christina's picks to see where she stands on things as well, and christina, who do you have going all the way? >> i have ohio and kansas. in the very end. but wisconsin and duke, i think that they'll make a final four appearance, and i'd like to challenge any viewer out in who thinks that they can take on laura garcia-cannon or myself, because the women on this show have done their research. i know laura and myself are prepared to take you on.

>> that's right, bring it. huh? a little smack already. >> i know there's -- let's see. somebody here, mike has a little bit of a personal vice as well. >> well, you know -- >> back to the pac 12. >> back to the pac 12 exactly. my personal bias, paul, ucla. that's, you know, not personal bias. going all the way. upset st. mary's isn't in it. no. i'm a ucla alum. all emotional. >> you did. >> i put them all the way. if i'm going to make them go, they're going all the way. there's my final four. >> keep dreaming, little bear. >> exactly. you know, i think ohio might get the upset only because i like to be the guy who called it, even if i wasn't really formulating about it. there's the final four. ncaa, kansas, ucla, emotional choice and duke, ucla. >> that comes from being a unlv -- emotional. >> there you go. >> one of those guys that likes

to pick duke because when they lose, it's okay. just offering -- we're not spending any money here. exactly. it's done. >> here's the deal, paul. all the time, people can pick the favorites and who do you think is going to win. the fun thing about the ncaa tournament is there's always some upset that ruins your brackets for the entire thing. scott mcgrew has interesting brackets. brackets that fit that, oh, gosh, they all got ruined mold. >> then i look like a genius. if i don't, you'll completely forget i ever did it. so i have duke winning it all, actually. michigan state and duke playing for the final there. >> vanderbilt. >> villanova and vanderbilt. >> the tech guy will think you have some weird app to pick. >> talking basketball. that changes things. i'm the only guy that who will remind who works on sports radio. so you just watch. >> on sports radio, how did he get that gig?

>> on sports radio. >> that's true, but -- >> watching right now, when you go on your radio thing a little later on. there you go. >> all right. >> too funny. >> it will be fun. >> the cool thing about it, for viewers, fan, audience, they just go on to the site, it's all free. logon, put your pick. whoever wins this whole thing of the fans can win an ipad ii and win that and the other thing about it, they get to go on there and see some of the pro athletes from around the area. joe thorne, matt cain, bruce, andrew, all put brackets up there. compare and see where every stacks up. i really can't believe this myself. >> kidding? >> in the first round, always a big name that gets lopped off. you see any big upsets? >> i had usc beating georgetown. i'm already down. they lost last night that whole

thing, i was mad usc got in instead of st. mary's and colorado. >> i know. >> so i -- >> that loss, there you go. >> thank you very much. it will be fun to play. >> good stuff. >> please, play along as well. let's check the forecast with christina now. different kind of numbers. >> yeah, different altogether. pick your alma mater. mine is cheek oh statoh -- chic. they don't have a basketball team, but they are up celebra celebrating st. patrick's day. . it you're doing so, take it easy, especially on the roadways. grab a jacket. it's downright cold out will this morning. rain is on the way heading through tomorrow. wind on the way for today. all in all, a nice st. patrick's day day across the area. finally a break from the steady rains over the past several day. our next big weathermaker. it's going to take a little time to get leer, but we have

concerns with his system. you can see right now it's already creating enough instability fo lightning off the coast of california. all north of clear lake. for today that's where the storm track mostly stay. heading throughout this afternoon, it starts to slide to the south. just enough for us to see mostly cloudy skies as we finish off the day and then the rain arrives just in time for your morning commute tomorrow. so we're going to talk about what we're expecting in terms of accumulations, definitely more than an inch in many areas across the bay area. enough for flooding. that forecast is on the way. back to you, ent. >> thanks, christina. more news coming up in a minute. the sound of spring...

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welcome back. 6:27. mike inouye. for the second day in a row a problem out at the altamont pass. similar spot at first street. an accident blocking a lane of westbound 580. commute direction, slowing behind the icon speeds. really different down there coming in towards work. people cut off and head towards 680, that's holding folks up into livermore. benefit south of there, sunol, lighter volume of traffic. built up earlier, taillights over the hill and the bay bridgefulful, pretty calm. expect to see the metering lights on. that may help up in the valley. 6:27. coming up on "today in the bay,"

stabilizing a nuclear plant in the japan. experts say a radioactive plume is headed towards california. we'll tell where you it is headed and if you need to be worried coming up flex in a live report. >> reporter: commuters in the east bay are one step closer to an easier ride. i'mhristiesmh, a look coming up in our live report. ♪ have a good daisy ♪ eat well, live long ♪ have a good daisy, work out, get strong ♪ ♪ when you need a lift, just sing a song ♪ ♪ and have a good daisy ♪ have a good daisy with a natural treat ♪ ♪ have a good daisy, healthy foods to eat ♪ ♪ when you want some joy, dance to the beat ♪ ♪ and have a good daisy [ female announcer ] enjoy the fresh, 100% natural choice in cottage cheese.

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new this morning, thelatest efforts to stabilize the damaged nuclear plant in japan. i'm bob live in san francisco with why experts say you should not be worried about the plume of radiation that's expected to hit the west coast with the next 24 hours nap st s. that story coming up. good morning, i'm christie smith. the arch is up. work has started on the

caldecott tunnel. when it will be done, coming up in a live report. and a live look outside this time from the east bay. it's thursday, march 17th, st. patrick's day, "today in the bay." good morning, everybody. happy st. patrick's day. thanks for joining us. 6:31 right now. i'm brent cannon. >> and i'm laura garcia o'cannon. now to the forecast with christina. >> no green on the radar for this morning. this is your futurecast, a potent winter storm is going to pound the bay area tomorrow, but today the luck of the irish is with us. partly cloudy conditions. temps in the 60s. this morning you'll need a coat. it's chilly out there. upper 30s, low 40s. talking about lightning and possible hail associated with a system that moves onshore tonight and pushes through just in time for the morning commute

tomorrow. get you to work on time. it's st. patrick's day. we want an easy drive. is that the case mike inouye? >> in dublin, one of our topical cities, yes. approaching the area, a big gem. second day in a row, big problems at the altamont pass. an update on that in a few minutes. focusing on the maze. the toll plaza and the caldecott tunnel -- bay bridge no major slowing. month metering lights. that's late. one big point. the consulted kaaldecott tunnel christie is on the side of the road. what's going on? developments there. >> reporter: yeah, good morning to you. you know, mike, this is a major development in the fourth core project of the caldecott tunnel, an archway is built, and a year into it, work is starting on the oak left-hand side of the caldecott tunnel. for drivers today, there won't be any detours or disruptions, but work is actually starting

over here and it's been a long time coming. now, drivers won't see anything, because there's a big sound wall up, but this fourth bore will basically widen the tunnel, a major bottleneck in the bay area. it will add two lanes and ease the reverse commute congestion. so far crews have dug more than 900 feet in all. this will be about 3,400 feet long. it's difficult, and risky work, with falling rock and actually quite a bit of dangerous gas inside. the cost of this is about $391 million. sounds like a lot, due to bidding, the price went down. when it's done, two bores will be dedicated to the westbound direction. two bores to the eastbound direction, which should really be a relief for the 160,000 drivers who pass through here each day. a little later this morning, the media is going to get to go down there and get a closer look at what's going on, but quite a bit of progress here. that's the latest from here. reporting live in oakland,

christie smith, "today in the bay." >> thanks. new in japan this morning, military helicopters have been ordered to haul seawater drops on the damaged nuclear reactors. >> two chinook military helicopters dumping water on to the reactor hoping to keep it from melting down. most experts say the water drops have little effect. meantime, plant operators are racing to finish restoring cooling systems at the fukushima plant. the japanese government does not plan to expand the warning zone. u.s. officials warning the zone should be at least 50 miles from the plant. according to united nations officials, a radioactive plume is heading west and will hit the bay today. a look how it's going to hit the bay area and whether we'll be affected here, and, really, how much risk there is for the general public. bob? >> reporter: good morning to you, brent. according to experts, there is

no risk. no significant risk. the u.s. government operates a series of radiation monitors up and down the west coast, including one on top of this building right behind me. this is the bay area air quality management's office, district office, here in san francisco. so far those monitors have not detected any elevated levels of radiation, but that could change with the next 24 hours. a computer model created by the test ban organization, updated by the "new york times" projects the radiation plume from racketers in japan is expected to miss hawaii but hit alaskan aleutian islands and southern california by sometime tomorrow eventually heading into utah, arizona and it appears to avoid the bay area, even if the radiation were to flow over our neck of the woods, the nuclear commission and one nuclear watchdog group expect to be

detectable but not dangerous. the cdc also expressing confidence that this would pose no health threat. keep in mind that plume is expected to dilute as it traveling the hundreds of miles across the pacific ocean. there are a couple of x factors, however. the weather patterns could change ultimately affecting the direction of this plume, and this model doesn't present information about the actual levels ever radiation in the plume. it's only projecting the direction. keep in mind during the mid-1980s when the chernobyl nuclear reactor blew up, radiation came from around the world to here on the west coast. took ten days. they were measurable, detectable but did not pose a health risk. reporting live, bob radel in the bay. >> the crisis is still ongoing in japan. is this something we need to watch for an extended period of time? >> reporter: they're saying that the first part of the plume is

expected to hit the west coast with the next 24 hours. it's not like it hits and then it goes away. it all depends on what's happening in japan. there could be a continuous stream of radiation. as i mentioned, the model does not present the actual levels of radiation and it seems there's a give and take how much radiation has been released from the reactor. that is the x factor. how long will that go on in japan and how much is being released? >> good to keep on top of. thanks for the update, bob. we are learning more about the devastating human toll of the triple disaster in japan. now word 14 elderly patients have died after being transferred out of the hospital in the radiation zone to a temporary shelter in a high school gym. right now, more than 5,300 people are confirmed dead. that number is expected to grow to well over 10,000 people. more than 450,000 people are staying in emergency shelters.

communities in the south are teaming up to help the victims of the japanese earthquake and tsunami. the japantown commute congress of san jose will hold a vigil and fund drive today that starts at 6:00 this evening in front of the san jose buddhist temple on north fifth street. all donations go directly to the consulate of japan for relief efforts. all right. switching gears a little at 6:38. check the forecast for today. a storm coming, you think tomorrow, right? >> tomorrow. a nice st. patrick's day before we see that really potent storm make its way into the bay area. and we are pretty concerned about flooding when it comes to this storm. also, thunderstorms are likely as we head into tomorrow afternoon. a lot of instability associated with this one. 47 degrees in san francisco right now. it's pretty cold out there. overall, especially inland, temperatures are about 15 degrees cooler this morning than we we were at this time yesterday. it has everything to do with the sky's clearing overnight. all the heat from yesterday

escaped into the atmosphere. a very cold start as a result. you'll need the jacket this morning. you can see here, here is the weathermaker. a well-defined storm with two sides to it. the first side pushes onshore heading into tomorrow morning. we'll see a warm, showery start and then the front pushes through. this is the timing we're looking at right now. going to step out of the way. 7:00 a.m. friday. you see that front very strong pushing into the north bay. by about noon. heavy rainfall coming down over the bay area. and our concern is, with this storm, we could see heavy flooding. if this system stalls out and doesn't move through as quickly as we're expecting it to, possibly up to three inches of rain in the north bay. possible. right now it looks more like two inches, but as i said before, really watching it, because if it does slow down or stall out, it could sit and dump rain over the bay area. 60 degrees in oakland today. 61 in fremont and 62 degrees in san jose. we're looking pretty good for this st. patrick's day and sun

and clouds, 62 degrees. just a little cold this morning. probably want to warm up your car. right, mike? >> exactly right, christina. want to warm up the car. plenty of idle time for westbound 580. coming out of the altamont pass, an accident blocking one lane over at first springtown exit. and the icon, pulled it away. also a lot of folks would ditch out of the area if there was a problem on 580. you cannot access the alternate route. it gets you off the freeway and unfortunately isabel over to 680. through the dublin interchange and castro valley, because of this, stick on the maps, one more map, update, just in. b.a.r.t. delays of 15 minutes heading out of san francisco into the east bay. that is opposite and most of your commute, but the b.a.r.t. line is fluid. getting out of the city side and heading over to the east bay. watch to see if it has a ripple effect to the system. meanwhile, a look at the bay bridge toll plaza, maybe a bigger backup.

coming into the east bay, some hit the roads coming out of the east bay. out of san francisco. a backup there. back to you. 6:40. this morning the state department says japan's safety zone around its damaged nuclear plant is not big enough, and now the obama administration has new advice for americans in japan. move back or get out. tracie potts is live in washington, d.c. this morning. tracie, the state department's new travel warning really stronger twhan the japanese are recommending. efforts continue to, try to cool down the reactors. >> reporter: yeah, very much so. the same thing with germany and australia and other countries. who have decided that it is much safer to stay much further away and perhaps even to leave japan. overnight the state department decided to issue a travel alert saying that you should not travel to japan, and also that americans who are already there should consider leaving. so today they'll start organizing charter flights out of japan for people who can't get commercial flights. by the way, those airports are

open, they are now available again. the japanese responding saying that there is no reason to leave tokyo, which is 170 miles away from the site. although elevated levels of radiation have been detected there and around the country. some japanese experts now cannot agree according to the government on whether or not there is enough water or any water left in that number 4 pool to cool that reactor. what japan is trying to do, get power to that plant. they're trying to run power lines so they can boost the generators, get the cooling system working again and now we understand, laura, they may have the power lines in place by later today. >> all right. interesting to see. thank you very much, tracie, for the update like from washington this morning. >> tough battle there. time now is 6:42. i'll take it from here. president obama could have a big decision to make, in fact, if he gets re-elected next year. find out which cabinet member is questioning a return. and tiger woods hits the

late-night circuit. it is a circus as well. talking more about his comeback next. u

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taking a live look outside at the bay bridge this morning. enjoy today. change in the works in the weather department. 6 oorngts 45 right now. and hillary clinton says she has no plans to run for president again. she says she only plans to serve one term as secretary of state.

clinton tells cnn she plans to retire from politics after 2012, but did not explain why. she says that that means she has no plans to be secretary of defense, vice president or president or anything else. in her words, "i have no intention or even any idea of running again." >> we'll keep tabs. may be teed off with the wee haze playing golf but tiger woods was all smiles and a little nervous laughter during his first late-night appearance in more than a year and a half. he appeared on "late night with jimmy fallon" during the wee hours of the morning. the golfer was a pretty good sport answering questions about his lackluster performances. >> thanks for having me. >> a year and a half since you've been on the show. what have you been up to? >> ah, nothing, nothing. playing bad golf. >> yeah. >> even jokes about his infamous scandal in 2009. >> from a comedian standpoint,

thank you for some of the greatest. >> tiger joined fallon and amy poehler for a round of golf. look it's like they were doing a little karaoke as well. poehler suggested woods wear his green masters jacket. he swaunted to wear it for st. patrick's day. >> playing woods video game there. the big dance starts in a few more hours. 32 teams in action today. the ncaa tournament, 32 more play tomorrow. in round one. now, there are no bay area teams in the tournament this year, however, it's still lots of fun. pick your favorites and watch them go. the brackets are filled out. we all have them. you can play along with us. go to the website, nbcbayarea.com and search brackets or go to csnbayarea.com, find the brackets, fill them out and compare and contrast the morning team. there are some professional

basketball team analysts. only a few more hours to go. you can't fill them out after teams have played and lost. so do it now. y especially want to do it now, because it's st. patrick's day. maybe luck will be on your side. luck's on our side in the weather department. clear conditions now. it's cold, but the relentless rain we've seen over the four past days are finally going to subside for today. looking towards mostly clear conditions. partly cloudy by the day's end as a system of low pressure finally pushes onshore. a big time weathermaker we're expecting to arrive into the bay area sometime tonight around 8:00 p.m. it will really start to get active here tomorrow by about 6:00 a.m. the bulk of the moisture coming through between 6:00 a.m. and about 2:00 p.m. tomorrow. show thaw on your future cast in a minute. what's happening out there now. jet stream to the south, showers to the north. most of the moisture stays to the north of clear lake this

morning. a little ridge of high pressure setting up. that's going to keep things pretty nice just for today. after we head into this wet pattern that kicks off tomorrow, it looks like it will stay with us each and every day throughout your weekend. and even next week looks rainy as a whole. 42 degrees now in hayward. 39 in sunnyvale and at 37 degrees in santa rosa. much colder this morning. as we head throughout the day today, talking partly cloudy sky. clouds increasing ahead of that front. also we'll see the winds pick up. rain arrives. the front arrives by about 7:00 a.m. friday pushing into the north bay and then also moving through the east bay along the peninsula by about 1:00 p.m. up see that yellow. that orange. that's heavy rain. our concern is if this front stalls out, it could just sit and dump rain over the bay area. right now it does look like it's going to move through quickly, but there is a chance that it could slow down or stall out and just dump rain on us producing some flooding. we're also expecting thunderstorms tomorrow.

so seize the day. st. patrick's day in the bay area looks pretty good. 60 degrees in oakland. 61 in fremont and 6 2 degrees today in san jose. two sides to this system. the warm side arrives first. that means friday. our snow levels come down to about 5,000 feet. then we've got really cold air behind that front. so saturday, snow levels coming down to 2,500 feet, and you know what that means? more snow on the way to mammoth. good morning. how's it looking up there? >> reporter: hi, good morning, christina. on a cold and clear morning in mammoth. temperatures in the teens here at midmountain at mammoth. a storm yesterday dropped 6 to 12 inches of fresh snow. today's the break. we are expecting a big snowfall entering into this weekend making for a great powder weekend. all of that snow adding up to a great spring in mammoth. don't forget about the twice daily flights, one from san jose, from san francisco, straight into the airport. makes for a quick trip. going to be a long season.

happy st. patrick's day, christina. >> same to you. just one hour away from fresh packed powder. and, of course, spring kicks off sunday. so you do want to go ahead and head up there, because we're going to warm up and all that snow eventually melts. back to you guys. >> thanks so much. time now, 6:51. still to come on "today in the bay," mike will be back to make your commute a little smoother this morning. and we'll have the latest on the dangerous conditions along the bay area coast. after a pro surfer dies in the water. and a live look outside. it looks pretty nice today. enjoy today before the changes that christina was talking about comes along. [ female announcer ] finally, a hand sanitizer that won't dry out your hands. new gold bond ultimate hand sanitizer sheer moisture. kills 99% of germs without alcohol. new gold bond hand sanitizer sheer moisture.

good morning, everybody.

like look outside from the south bay this morning. again, nice and dry now, but it is going to be changing in a few more hours coming into tomorrow. almost a year ago more than 4,500 new employees lost their jobs when the auto plant closed. now a $2 million increase approved to help train the workers. the additional money adds to a $2.4 million contract with the oakland private industry council for educational services and training programs. the program will also provide employment resources for the displaced workers. more than 3,500 of them have already enrolled for that program. right now i want to check the morning commute with mike. see how thing, rolling out there. >> all right. a look at the roads. i almost said christina. talking about that all the time. looking at the amazing approach. the only major thing of content, the bay bridge toll plaza. a live look. the events forming quickly. the bulk of the traffic arriving in the last five minutes. might be news to exchange over in livermore. i'll cue you into that in a

second. first an issue affecting transbay traffic, the b.a.r.t. system coming out of daly city, a 15 minute delay. earlier problems with a maintenance issue that's cleared up. still delays heading out of the city and over towards the east bay. get awe look at the change i told you about in livermore. the accident has cleared at first and springtown. still a backup and a big slowing. a burst of traffic heading through sunol, over towards 880 and castro valley. this will get very crowded in about 20 minutes. back to you. this morning a high surf advisory in effect hours after an elite surfer died in the water at maverick's. "today" on the bays marla tellez is there. >> reporter: good morning. until 15, 20 minutes ago, pretty spoiled as far as the weather is concerned, but the wind is really beginning to pick up, and that's only adding to the already choppy waters behind me

here. you can see the waves crashing against the pacifica pier and even making it all the way to the sea wall, even though it's barely 7:00 a.m. the pier, in case you're wondering, heading out today, it is closed to the public. typically opens at 4:00 a.m. but today it is closed because of this high surf advisory in effect through 11:00 tomorrow night. that's friday night. the national weather service tells me the advisory extends from sonoma county all the way to and through monterrey county with waves expected 13 to 16 feet, and this could create deadly rip currents. now, of course, this is note good news for the santa cruz harbor. still trying to recover from friday's tsunami surge. the harbor remains closed through sunday. boat owners have to worry about the high surf that could cause even more damage. here in pacifica, early morning crab fishermen kacame out but lt disappointed since the pier is closed. >> a bummer.

one day that it wasn't going to rain for the week. i was hoping to come out and go crabbing. >> reporter: the high surf advisory comes after yesterday's tragediality half moon bay. a 35-year-old professional surfer from hawaii always wanted to surf the big waves at maverick was killed doing just that. the waves he went up against were about 40 feet high. again, high surf advisory in effect until 11:00 tomorrow night. live in pacifica, marla tellez, "today in the bay." >> thanks. talking about the markets suffering losses yet. he says better news this morning. >> yeah a little bit of irish luck this morning. in fact, i believe the general mills lucky charm's guy, magically delicious and all that opening the bell. the dow jones industrial up better than 120 points. now, apple has recovered. apple was down big yesterday. apple's up at least 2%. not total rovly, not bad. speaking of phones. new phones on sale today.

the htc thunderbolt from verizon, first 4g phone, faster than the one at home as far at the internet goes. >> thanks, scott. have a magically delicious day. the internet on a plane! are you from the future?

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