>> new this morning, the danger level upgraded at the nuclear plant in japan as crews try new ways to prevent a melt down. we will have the latest, coming up. >> the santa cruz harbor one week after the tsunami surge is in recovery mode this morning. another set back for this weekend's expected storm. i'm marla tellez. my report is coming up. >> good morning. i'm christie smith live in marin county. hold on tight to your steering wheel as you head out. that wet weather is here we will give you a first look. >> a live look outside, not a lot of traffic on the golden gate. it's friday, march 18th, 2011.

thanks so much for joining us. >> we begin with big rain. we have been talking about it on the way and it is here. christina has the latest. >> good morning to you. not just big rain this morning we have big wind and thunderstorms. smug don't usually see here in the morning because it's so cool. especially this time of year. we have a moist, cold air mass colliding with a warmer air mass and lightning strikes you have a strong temperature difference for us this morning powerful weather as a result. let me show you where the storms are headed they are closer and closer to ukiah. a strong thunderstorm cell here and you want to stay indoors and try to avoid traveling for the next half hour or so. reaction is starting to push into the bay area.

we saw christie smith and she got caught up in a thunderstorm cell. any improvement? >> well, yes. thank you for asking. a couple of minutes ago it was pouring on us. now i'm not wet at all. it has been on and off, but when it's on, it's really on. it was probably worse when we drove up through the east bay. now that we are on marin, we are on 101. this is the area where you see cars going down 101. it's kind of empty, but when you see them, they come down near lucky drive and you often see them plowing through the ponding sitting here and making a huge splash. that's starting to happen this morning with quite a bit of rain that we are expecting. i did just get off the phone with the chp. at the start of rain like this

when we are supposed to get quite a bit overtime, they are starting to see the effects. the slippery roadways are up on highway 17. when it gets like this, they don't add extra personnel. what they do is they often get folks ready from behind the desk and get them ready to suit up and back out and help patrol the roadways. as you head out, give yourself extra time. it's on and off and it's wet out here. back to you. >> good morning. she gave you a good note. added law enforcement and maintenance crews are out there clearing the drain. slow down they are out there to help make things smoother the map will show you what christie was talking about. the slowing shows you north and

we typically see flooding across the golden gate bridge. the water on the roadway in the north bay and over towards the carquinas and benicia bridges. use caution and another live look shows across the bay bridge, no camera schick, but gusty winds catch from you time to time. >> this morning the nuclear crisis is growing more dire as experts raise the level of danger from a 4 to a 5. the international scale ranges between a 1 and a 7 rating. to put it into perspective the disaster is two levels lower than the chernobyl disaster rated a 7. military trucks continue to spray water on the damaged reactor to prevent fuel from over heating and spug radiation. they are facing two challenges cooling the reactors and cooling the pools of water where used

fuel rods are stored. since the massive quake and tsunami, four of the six have seen fires and explosions or partial melt downs. a nuclear fear is growing in japan and so too is the death toll. 6500 people are confirmed dead. 10,000 people are reported missing. more than 450,000 people are homeless because of the quake and the tsunami and about a million homes do not have water. more than 340,000 homes do not have electricity. >> a fund-raiser held at the buddhist church downtown raised $31,000 for the earthquake and tsunami. for one family it was especially emotional. jesse brought his wife, son, and mother-in-law where they have family. their home in japan is 150 miles from the fukushima nuclear plant. the family said their minds are still on loved ones back home. >> i have a friend in a shelter.

she hasn't been able to change her sanitary stuff since the earthquake. people haven't brushed their teeth. >> if you missed the fund-raiser, you can still help. today in the bay and comcast is sponsoring the telethon you can call the number on your screen to donate. operators will thereby from 7:00 this morning until midnight. there will be a donation drop off in japantown tonight between 5:00 and 7:00. the address is right there on the screen. north fifth straight in san jose. >> u.s. troops are doing everything they can to help. they helped clear snow from a japanese air base so they could land the navy is sending up helicopters to survey and help with the search and rescue. troops are ready to help.

>> the squadron is being relocated. that's happening right now. as soon as we get set up, we will do all we can to deliver supplies and search and rescue and e vac or whatever the case may be. we are ready. >> u.s. troops in the region are receiving anti-radiation pills before they embark on mission where is they are likely to encounter radiation. >> the japan earthquake did damage a half world away. several bay area counties are joining santa cruz in asking the white house for emergency relief after last week's surge. marla tellez is live at the harbor. it was one of the hardest hit spots. she has a look at how things are recovering today. >> good morning to you. right away i am pleasantly surprised by the condition of the harbor this is my first time here since

the giant waves rolled in on friday. it looks like they made quite a bit of progress, but keep in mind much of the parking lot that surrounds the harbor is still roped off. internally had looks like a calm and serene harbor. you mentioned federal disaster money. that is up to the obama administration to decide. the harbor is designated as a coast guard safety zone that means it is still closed to traffic one week after that destructive tsunami surge wiped out docks and pulled boats under water. the folks are dealing with two issues much the first is the economic impact. each day the harbor remains closed and the area is losing $206,000 a day. there five eateries surrounding the harbor and several businesses while they are open, parking and access is limited. they are not seeing street traffic they are used to. the second concern is the next

and perhaps last winder storm expected to blow through the national weather service said a high surf advisory will take effect as of 3:00 this afternoon and last into saturday night. the worry is just as the harbor is getting back on their feet, the high surf will cause more danger. already damage estimates total upwards of $25 million. out of the 13 boats that sunk, eight have been recovered. the harbor master said they are hoping to reopen by monday, but much of that is depending on the power of this weekend's storm. live in santa cruz, today in the bay. >> thanks for the update. >> we want to talk about that storm right now. >> good morning to you guys. we are tracking the radar. i want to point out a couple of things to you here. this is a live picture the satellite-radar. take a look at the lightning

strikes taking place offshore. they are getting closer and closer to the bay area. i zoom in for you and you can see pokts of red and yellow towards san francisco. within the cells we could see torrential downpours that are brief, but dangerous driving. we could see flooding and also gusty winds and pea-sized hail, something we are concerned with this morning this is a strong storm and we have not even seen the strongest component of this storm yet the front comes through and let me show you what we are expecting. by 9:00 a.m., the conclusion of rush hour, it starts to push into the north bay. santa rosa getting hit hard. wet across the bay area and into the south bay with heavy rains over fairfield, concord, san francisco, and redwood city. we will continue to see residual rain, cloudy and breezy

conditions temperatures struggle to get up into the low 60s tomorrow more rain on the way. snow levels falling to 2,000 feet and this weekend we have another strong storm on the way for sunday. basically my biggest advice is give yourself plenty of time to reach your destination safely. someone who can always help you is mike. >> let me take you out to the roadways. the approach to the bay bridge things are nice, although the rain you are talking about is hitting hard. we are watching for reports of flooding oakland and the vicinity, none were reported the gusty wins might be an issue. highway 24 has seen a couple of problems around the area. clear so far and 580 westbound had problems coming through, but clear there as well. watching both of the areas. we will take you to the south bay where no problems northbound. that's slowing on eastbound. that pops up every day and it

clears no incidents reported throughout this portion of the south bay. going way south, i want to give this note. if you are planning a weekend get away all the way down here, south of carmel. carmel by the sea, the closure for highway 1 that took place a couple of nights ago. the roadway is gone through the area you use 101 and that's a big detour. check the conditions as they may update over the course of the next day. >> 5:12 and a school janitor arrested after accusations of child molestation. >> san francisco cabbies are on the look out after a couple of robberies over the last couple of weeks. >> just when you thought you were safe, charlie sheen making headlines again. this time he is coming to the bay area. icro-beads. any last wishes? new selsun blue deep cleansing micro-bead scrub goes to the source wiping out flakes before they flake. new selsun blue deep cleansing.

after months of investigation, belmont police arrested an alleged child molester. they say the former middle school custodian was arrested on allegations he groped female students. he is held on $200,000 bail and will be arraigned later on today f. he is convicted he could face 10 years in prison. >> a taxi driver robbed at gunpoint while sitting in his cab. it is the second cabbie hit by thieves this week. concern that a tax on cabdrivers could be on the rise the cabdriver pulled over when a gunman came up to his window and demanded cash. the suspect fled with the cabdriver's money in a black lexus. it happened yesterday morning and no arrests had been made. >> the markets rallied a little and so did the cost of oil.

live with a look at what will build the markets today. >> futures higher and marks are moved by the big central banks including the fed to intervene or pump money into the markets. the effort is really aimed at stabilizing japan. it was up about 3% today. the markets are higher and oil is on the rise about 103 bucks a barrel after the council voted to impose a no-fly zone and take all necessary measures to protect civilians and u.s. markets closed higher to recap due to good economic data. the dow rising to 11,774. the nasdaq to 2636. nike plans to start hiking prices of shoes and clothes to cope with the rising cost of oil

and cotton and shipping they are squeezing profits they reported lower than expected earnings. the company has undertaken surgical price increases targeted at the markets. they are helping to shut down one of the biggest e-mail scammers they took legal action against the network of infected pc program to send us spam. that led to big rays across the country yesterday. they are believed to be responsible for about half of the e-mail spam that you and i received. leading into the weekend, that could give us less. >> we will see what happens. less is a good thing >> 5:17 right now and stanford university want to be part of

it. new york, new york. a research and emergencying campus on roosevelt island in new york city. the campus would be the university's only major site outside of palo alto and the first to offer full graduate degrees. stanford is not the only to express interest. college from finland, india, canada, israel, england and korea as well as ivy league schools bidding for the land. >> time now is 5:18. we want to check with christina about the new round of weather. this got a bit of a kick to it. >> we don't see this activity in our neck of the woods all that often. we are concerned this morning. what you can see from the radar looks like showers streaming onsho onshore. pockets of red and yellow and orange are heavy downpours when i step out of the way, we have realtime lightning strikes offshore in the north bay. definitely a very tush lept

atmosphere. you can see what we have happening. closer and closer to san francisco. i think these will bypass san francisco and look at this one. this is an extremely strong thunderstorm cell and it looks like it will go over redwood city as we head through the next 15 machines wherever you head, you could get caught up in the thunderstorms we are seeing gusty winds and pea-sized hail and downpours they are heavy rain and moved quickly. still enough to cause localized flooding when all that rain comes down so fast. it can't dispurse very easily. this morning you want to make sure you take it easy, especially getting the little ones to school. look at what's going to happen. this is the strongest component that we will see throughout the day. heavy rainfall in the north bay. some areas that get hit the hardest, we will see a couple of

thunderstorm cells pass through. could pick up to four inches of rain. another system on the way for sunday. several pulses behind that bringing more rain for next week. this is a big one. let's show you by 5:00 p.m., we will see good clearing. the highs end up in the 60s. by 5:00, it will settle down across the bay area. we will have the totals and tune in for that. you want to take it easy this morning. i don't like to whoop up a big storm unless there is a big storm. >> if you are sick of watching the charla sheen drama unfold, now you can watch it in person. he plans to bring his live show to san francisco on april 30th on nob hill. tick guess on sale tomorrow. the violent torpedo of truth show sold out in detroit and chicago. a portion of the ticket sales

will be donated to the victims of the disaster in japan. he knows how to spin it. >> the guy knows how to make money. >> he's a promotional genius right now anyway. there lots of questions surrounding the future of the bay to breakers we will get a better idea on if there will be a 101st race. >> the dollar gets cheaper and the yen gets more expensive. what that means to you in business. as we get you driving past the coliseum, no problems, but we have issues with the weather. coming up. bl

5:23 and a live look outside

at the golden gate bridge. you see it is starting to rain from n places and we will update ow a rough morning commute. >> new information this morning about an unusual 12 k race celebrating 100 years of people running through the streets of san francisco in silly costume fist any at all. today organizers of the bay to breakers race will announce that redwood city-based jazzle will sponsor the race. the online market place is taking over sponsorship bowed out in part because of the rowdy behavior that is typical of the event organizers are cracking down. alcohol and floats will not be allowed. registration is now closed. it is capped at 50,000 participants. >> want to check in with mike. we took a peek at the golden gate bridge.

we are seeing puddles forming. focus on the commute and the rain will affect your weekend as well. we will look at the maps and the east shore freeway and an 18-minute drive off of the bridge. a smooth drive with the speeds, but the conditions are wet at times and windy with thunderstorms as well. the carquinas and benicia bridge into the east bay. we have your out of the area commute towards the sierra as well. i will show you the north bay, but we want to show you further, the antioch bridge with the traffic control that cleared up. it was overnight construction. the 60 will dip down into the low 30s over the next 20 minutes. we will watch that and a live shot shows you the effect of rain with the glowing lights and the camera shaking because of the wind. christie is there we won't get a car in this spot.

big puddles >> good heads up. honda, toyota, sony tvs and all kinds of japanese products will likely get more expensive because of the quake. scott is here to explain. >> it's because the dollar is getting cheaper compared to their yen. japan holds a great deal of our debt and we buy stuff from japan they turn it around and invest that money in u.s. government treasuries. that's how it normal low works. economists say we can expect japan to sell off that debt, turning our ious back into dollars. weaker in the price of anything we import goes up. now that is bad news for us, but bad news for japan. you don't want your products to get more expensive because fewer people buy them. one possible side effect of all of this, economic side effect may be our trade imbalance is going to get better. another is we may see

unemployment rate going down. japan will produce less and we have idle workers. here's wells fargo's chief economist. >> we may see growth in the united states relative to what you might have expected otherwise. our u.s. firmsville to produce more machines, more automobiles, a lot more turbines to produce energy >> sylvia will talk about the effect on press: here. we will talk california house prices neighbors ask me when will our house prices recover? we will have an answer from one of the smartest guys in the economy on sunday morning. >> thanks a lot. >> 5:27 and more news ahead.

>> per new this morning, a moment of silence. one week after the deadly quake

and tsunami, japan pauses to remember those lost. >> how you can help us help the victims of the quake in japan. we will tell you about what will be starting in just over an hour and a half. that story is coming up. >> nuclear worries continues and experts talk about the radiation that will affect us here. >> in a live look outside, the golden gate bridge and it's friday, march 18th. this is today in the bay. good friday morning and thanks for joining us. >> i'm laura garcia cannon. the big storm come with christina >> this morning we have pretty strong cells pushing onshore. you can see just offshore we have lightning strikes. these lightning strikes are getting closer and closer to the

san francisco coast. as we head throughout the morning, we will continue to see more of this activity. you can take a look at the well-developed cell, bull's-eyeing the area. san bruno will get hit hard in the next 15 minutes. this one is on the way to places like stinson peabeach. we will track them for you all morning but first let's get you there safely with mike. >> we are following you carefully because we want to make sure folks get there safely. wet conditions around the maze, but the speeds are showing you no major issues. the bay bridge crossing. san mateo from the toll plaza. the cameras shaking because of the gusty conditions and right into the area that is coming over the next 15 minutes back to you. >> the japanese government said it is overwhelmed by the scale of the disasters and is welcoming help from the united

states to deal with the growing nuclear crisis. in fact, conditions at the plant have become worse and they have been upgraded from a 4 to a 5 on a scale of 7. chernobyl was rated a 7. they are spraying water into the plant in fukushima. emergency crews face a couple of challenges. cooling the temperatures in the reactors where the energy is generated and cooling the pools of water where the used fuel is stored. japanese officials say the situation is not getting worse. they simply underestimated it in the first place. since last week's massive quake and tsunami, four of the six reactors at the plant have seen fires, explosions or at least partial melt downs. the world health organization said there is no immediate threat anywhere else in asia.

the radiation isolated for now to the areas immediately around the damaged nuclear plant. health experts say there is little risk beyond that including dun to the capital of tokyo, about 140 miles away from the plant >> the nuclear crisis led to a lot of scrutiny of plants here in the u.s. it may be needed. 14 near misses at u.s. nuclear plants including the in san luis obispo. the plant's operators did not realize a system that pumps water into one of the reactors during an emergency was not working. it took the plant 18 months to discover that mistake. earlier this week, barbara boxer and dianne feinstein called on the regulatory commission to perform safety inspections at the two nuclear plants in california. some are concerned that

radiation from japan could make its way into the bay area. some of that radiation could have already arrived. local scientists claimed no one will get sick from the extremely small traces that could be arriving now. you are more likely to be exposed from radiation in your own kitchen. >> they measured increased rates in tokyo. the increased rate they mentioned is less than what you get if you are leaning over your granite countertop. granite is naturally radioactive. >> the doctor goes on to say it is important that people educate themselves. radiation is like a wood stove. it's only dangerous if you are very close >> we have to redo our county tops. survivors are not only dealing with nuclear fears, but the toll in japan more than 6500 people are confirmed dead. more than 10,000 are reported missing. 450,000 people are now homeless.

one million homes in japan do do not have water and 340,000 homes do not have any kind of electricity as well. survivors held a moment of silence to mark exactly one week since the triple disaster. hundreds of people quietly stood and bowed heads in the northeast part of japan they pressed their handsing to and vowed to remember those who lost their lives >> kmups acrocommunes are pitch help japan. nbc bay area is helping to raise money for the relief effort. bob redell is live in japan with more on how you can help. >> reporter: nbc bay area and comcast are teaming up with the cultural center in northern california. here in japantown in san francisco for a telethon that will benefit the northern japan earthquake relief fund.

in just over an hour, the center locationville volunteers manning a phone bank and at 7:00, you can phone in to help our friends across the pacific ocean. that phone number is 4 zn 5-529-1322. they will have operators from 7:00 this morning until midnight. if you are in the south bay, you can also help out by dropping off donations in san jose's japantown. from 5:00 to 7:00 tonight. the buddhist church will be collecting donations to help victims in japan. their address is 640 north fifth street. it should be on your screen. it's from 5:00 to 7:00 tonight. it was there last night that members of the community came together for a vigil to pray for

the victims. one man fled tokyo because he was concerned about the radiation leaks. he still questions whether leaving japan was the right decision. >> i feel like a coward. my family is safe. i'm safe. a lot of people aren't. >> if you want to help out those people, i will put up the telephone number again. nbc bay area and comcast are teaming it up here in northern california. we will be cutting in to programming intermittently to remind you of that phone number to help out those people overseas who are suffering right now. live here from today in the bay. >> it's the least we can try to do. >> efforts are under way to raise money for the victims and

there also efforts to give federal help for people in california. a lot of places were damaged because of the tsunami including the santa cruz harbor. marla teles is live with how they are recovering and the help they are looking for. marla? >> by the looks of the harbor, it's hard to tell it was just a week ago this harbor was hit by the strong tsunami surge. take a look for yourself. although the wind is beginning to pick up, it's a calm and quiet harbor. it's hard to see any of the damage at this hour. the harbor is still closed to traffic and that is really hurting the businesses here the harbor remains closed and the area is losing an estimated $206,000 a day. there five restaurants and cafes here and several other businesses while they are open, parking and

access is limited they are not seeing the foot traffic they are used to. another concern is the next storm is expected to blow through this weekend. the national weather service said a high surf advisory will take effect and that lasts until saturday night, about 9:00 p.m. waves expected to reach 13 to 16 feet along the coast. the worry is of course just as the harbor gets back on its feet, the high surf will cause more danger. totals are $25 million. private property damage estimated about $4 million so the folks here are hoping the obama administration grands federal disaster money. the harbor master hopes to have it open again by monday. live in santa cruz, today in the bay. >> let's hope things go well for them. >> let's hope things go well for us in the bay.

we have a big storm coming our way. >> where the storm is pushing in, take a look at this. you see all that was lightning. over the past six hours between cloverdale and the northernmost portion of california, we have seen 71 realtime lightning strikes and it continues to push to the south we are expecting to see the strikes offshore in the north bay within the next 15 to 20 minutes. remember if thunder roars, go indoors if you are close enough to hear the thunder from that lightning, you are close enough to get struck. you want to seek shelter. it's not a good morning by any means. give yourself plenty of time to reach the destination. the activity is certainly picking up. the whole peninsula is getting slammed. this continues to bull's-eye redwood city. another one is getting ready to push onshore.

if you are waking up in stinson beach, take it easy the satellite tells a great story we are on the warm side of this storm. as a result you got that very warm air mass colliding with a dry cool air mass. as a result we have the strong storms firing off. behind that the pockets of clouds. that will bring the snow levels down to 2,000 feet. we see the showers continue for tomorrow. let's talk about the timing of the system by 9:00 a.m. the main portion of the front arrives to the north bay. we are not even in the thick of it just yet. we will push through throughout the day. rainfall totals and what it means for the drive home coming up. back to you. >> we will take it because you are talking about the drive home. i'm worried about your drive in. we awe overnight rains coming through livermore. not as big as redwood city, but

we will watch that as well. we had problems the last two. moving smoothly out of the pass. antioch with the 58 not so bad. a little later starting lighter for friday. that's typical. if you are heading into the north bay to tahoe, keep in mind it's going through rainy areas through sacramento. the freeways are opening and no advisories are required. here is the north bay commute. christina is talking about the rain and maybe flooding coming in soon. we saw a lot of water on the roads. the golden gate bridge reflects that rain coming through. >> time now is 5:42 and oure conterin o cur coverage coming next with a live report on what washington is doing. ov

>> this morning japan is upgrading the nuclear emergency from a 4 to a 5 on a seven-point

scale. the disaster in japan is on par with three-mile island disaster. they are desperately trying to cool the facility to prevent it from overheating. live from washington this morning. tracy, the biggest danger zone remains in the area around that plant, right? >> absolutely. one of the biggest concerns in that plant are the spent fuel rods where nuclear fuel was held after it's been used. in addition to the reactors which we have seen exploding over the last few days, the spent fuel rods appear to be heating up. they are partially exposed, experts tell us. half emerged in water. they have been doing the water drops, trying to truck in the water and get it in any way they can because if they are exposed, there is the danger of them overheating and releasing lots of radiation into the area. the japanese tell us they detected low levels and non-harmful levels of radiation as far away as tokyo.

140 miles away and beyond. that's one of the reason that is the u.s. is asking people to consider leaving, although the government and military said the charter planes are ohm half full. keep in mind commercial flights are flying out as well. then the reaction and the impact back here. as people come in from japan, the planes and the passengers are being checked for radiation levels the department of homeland security overseeing that we are seeing economic impact and the gm plant down in louisiana that is closing for a week next week because they can't get parts in. that will affect almost 1,000 jobs. back to you. >> so interesting. thank you, tracy. 5:46 and an update on the barry bonds trial. a federal judge decided not to allow the jury to hear angry voice mails he left his mistress while they were together. they wanted to use the messages to show that the slugger was

experiencing roadway rage. while demanding to know the whereabouts of his former girlfriend kimberly bell. they ruled the voice mails were not relevant to proving he lied when he denied knowingly taking steroids >> one of the big stories is the change in weather. we are getting powerful storms through the bay area. christina has been tracking strong cells >> really strong cells this morning. good morning to you at home. if you are waking up in places like half moon bay, let me show you what's headed your way. we have strong cells out there. you see this red and the yellow and the orange that is heavy rain towards redwood city and as i zoom in further, you can see just how strong this cell is. let me step out of the way. rain rates with this cell coming down over two inches per hour. it looks like it will start to fall apart a little bit before

it makes its way to half moon bay, but you are getting light rain and very heavy downpours in the next to 10 machine this is morning. as this front continues to push to the south, it's a very unstable air mass and we are seeing lightning strikes. that will be the case for today and this afternoon. our air is warm enough for thunderstorms to continue and this is unstable colliding with a cool dry air mass. we have stormy conditions for the first part of the day and the second side of the storm arrives, the cold front will bring us a cold shower as we wake up and there is a strong pulse behind that. that will bring heavy rain into the weekend. today, tomorrow, the next day, we are talking about rainy conditions. it's really going to start to get active today at about 9:00 a.m. when the front comes through. we are not even seeing the bulk of the moisture yet. santa rosa getting hit hard.

you take your lunch break in the bay area, heavy rain is coming down over san francisco. redwood city, concord and fairfield towards the south bay throughout the remainder of the day and a bit of a break tonight before the cold showers come down tomorrow, dropping the snow levels to about 2,000 feet. 62 degrees in san jose. 59 degrees in gilroy and 60 in livermore for today. you will need the jacket and the umbrella when you head out the front door. you will probably need both this weekend as well. we have rain in the forecast. each and every day next week as well. we will talk about why the rainy pattern won't let upcoming up. when we expect drier conditions to resume in the bay area. back to you >> thank you very much. >> day two of the ncaa tournament gets under way. >> not the only game in town. cal, still alive. cal plays at colorado tonight. in the college insider tournament, santa clara hosts air force.

tomorrow usf will play hawaii as part of the same tournament. >> the women start their run with the national title tomorrow. it will be the only two morn california teams in the women's tournament. they host uc davis at naples pavilion. we want to check out how the today in the bay crew did after day one. >> some good, some bad. mike is in first place. 14 out of 16 directly. brent and i are tied for second. that will be a good one. christina with 11 and look at scott. >> you picked the winners? >> oh, yeah. >> i get it now. >> that's the problem. >> laura and i did not copy. we did our own. same number, but different deals time is 5:50. president obama is getting ready for a return to the bay area. i wonder how his brackets are going.

you getting used to the time change? remember the spring forward? i will help you wake up in gadget friday. >> as your commute sources are out from the time change earlier, the rain and the stormy weather. we had a couple of c problemous last couple of days as well. your friday commute coming up. bl call or click today. [ male announcer ] why do so many car companies compare themselves to toyota? maybe it's because toyota has more hybrids on the road than all other automakers combined. like the 50-mpg-rated prius, the best selling hybrid in america. and prius was also named a best overall value of the year. plus, every new toyota comes with toyotacare, a complimentary maintenance plan with roadside assistance. we're #1 for a reason. come see for yourself. hurry in for the best selection. ♪

>> good friday morning to you. 5:53 and i want to check the commute with mike. >> usually we like to talk about friday light. we start with the wider shot. you see the green here. that's great, but that's reflecting the green also on christina's map. the rain getting smacked here for san mateo. reports coming in very wet.

you want to lower the speeds because of the lower visibility and traction as well. i will jump all wait down to carmel by the sea. a beautiful place if you are hadding there. you can get there, but south of there, highway 1 is closed. if you head down to big sur, a reroud. the rest of the area through the mountains, very wet conditions and the signs are activating the things about the wet conditions the south bay is moving smoothly. i will be at the buddhist temple helping to raise funds drop off a check there for the relief fund and a light look. no delays, but the big puddles with ray wet windy commute. >> president obama will be back in the bay area for about a month. the said he will be here to strengthen the economy. he came to the bay area to dine with the tech industry's top

leaders and raise a little bit of money. no word yet on o who he will meet with next time. >> here's a secret. we don't like spring time. it messes up our clocks i love it. we didn't write that >> that are part, yeah. >> i'm sure you love the flowers and the buddies and stuff, but do you like the spring forward thing? >> well, okay. >> i didn't go to bed. >> what time do you go to bed? >> if i'm luck he? >> like 9:30. i have triplets. >> we get later into the summer. it stays late and light longer into the evening. this week we have to get up early. it's wake up light. those are birds you put this on your table and as you can see, we time lapsed it, a half hour before you wake up it starts to glow and over

that half hour it getz brighter and brighter and the buries get louder and louder. there is actual science behind this. this was put with the cooperation from the national sleep institute or sleep society. it actually has the same material temperature as the sun itself. it has a blue light, but it looks white to you right now. it brings the sun light into your bedroom and wax you up slowly with birds. apparently it's a very, very useful tool especially getting use to the new time zones. if you get up before the sun itself. >> when you were talking about how the buries get louder, i thought you were going to say a rooster pops out and starts pecking on your head. >> i found that will it get loud enough that it will wake you up. the first time i experimented, i set two alarms. the traditional and this then

this one. the birds will wake you up and the light is amazing. doesn't look bright in this studio, but in a dark bedroom it's blinding >> how much is it? >> $99. >> you dent get me anything for my birthday. we have serious news we are following this morning. libya's foreign minster stopping all military operations after the un voted a no-fly zone they authorized it in all measures to protect the libyan people. something we are teaming tabs on this morning. this just coming into our newsroom. >> our coverage continues upg o up on 5:57 and more on japan in a little bit. bl i love my pick-up with the custom constitution paint job... i celebrate jury duty... i love america so much, i'm making an all american jack combo

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