a ship from japan enters san francisco bay. did it bring radiation with it? plus, you never want your ex-mistress to testify against you. what's in court today for barry bonds. a live look at the bay bridge this morning. it is tuesday, march 29th. this is "today in the east bay." good morning, everyone. i'm scott mcgrew. it is 4:30. a fabulous week ahead. christina loren has your forecast. good morning, christina. good morning to you, scott.

good advice at the top of the show as well. temperatures are pretty mild in comparison to where we were at this time last week. we had temperatures in the 30s. we are now going to see our temperatures warmer and warmer in the afternoons and mornings. spring has sprung in the bay area. we are still on pace to hit the 80-degree mark as of thursday. high pressure is the reason why. it is building in for today. for us it will be a beautiful day, even the city will see temperatures in the upper 60s. tomorrow we are talking about the mid-70s. by thursday, the 80s. we'll break it all down for you, but first mike inouye is busy this early morning already. good morning, christina. we will take you to the maze where things are smooth. interstate 80 and the east shore freeway we are looking good, but we have a sig alert on southbound 880 to the connector of southbound 238. that's opposite the main commute, but the connector ramp, one of the lanes is blocked. traffic is getting by. there's a big rig there. it is a tanker truck. back to you.

thank you. this morning concerns about radiation hitting right here at home. a cargo ship from japan has arrived in oakland. now friday night a different cargo ship from asia dock tested positive for very low levels of radiation. there is a monitoring system set up at the port to screen each ship and its cargo. this newest ship will be screened. meantime, the situation at the fukushima nuclear plant intensifying. emergency crews dealing with a reactor that's been leaking for two weeks. workers are trying to contain and dispose of new pools of radioactive water leaking from the plant. this while highly toxic plutonium continues to leak into the soil outside. officials there insist the leak does not pose a threat to the public in the local area. many concerned citizens in the bay area, meantime, attended a vigil held last night at san

francisco's civic center and across the u.s. more than 150 communities participated in this nationwide vigil, which also marks the 32nd anniversary of the three-mile island nuclear meltdown in pennsylvania. events in japan raising questions about whether u.s. nuclear power plants are prepared as they should be. an associated press investigation finds some are more susceptible to dangers from power failure than others. u.s. regulators know a power failure lasting a couple of days could lead to a radioactive leak, but they have only required plants to develop plans for dealing with much shorter blackouts. the damaged plant in japan has enough battery power on site to power emergency cooling systems only for eight hours. that obviously was not enough time for power to be restored. you can learn more about california's quake, tsunami and nuclear plant preparedness tonight at uc berkeley. bay area experts will talk about whether california faces similar

risks as japan and potential damage. the panel discussion from 5:30 to 7:00 tonight on the uc campus. meanwhile, a former oakland a's slugger will testify today in the barry bonds perjury trial. jason giambi is expected to take the stand. yesterday bonds' long-time mistress kimberly bell told the court how bonds attributed a 1999 injury to steroids. she discussed how the giants' great became verbally abusive threatening to cut out her breast implants and burn down the arizona home he bought for her. further testimony included other symptoms consistent with steroid use. now bonds is accused of lying to a grand jury when he said he never knowingly took steroids. the man who admitted to the 2007 ambush and killing of oakland journalist chauncey bailey will return to the witness stand this morning.

devandre brussard said yesterday yusef bay iv ordered him to kill bailey in order to keep a report on bailey's bakery from being published. bay is on trial for bailey's murder along with two others. broussard agreed to testify against bay and antoine mackey in order to reduce his sentence. the man accused of killing his parents in their home will be on trial this morning. scherer maintains he was asleep the night of his parents murder. the couple was beaten with a baseball bat and stabbed to death in their castlewood home back in 2008. scherer will be sentenced in may facing life behind bars.

an east bay county is warning of the danger of a 73-mile long canal system. contra costa says after heavy storms it is extremely dangerous. the flood-controlled district will hold a meeting tonight at the 6:30 for the public's input. it takes down at the walnut creek library. last month two local teens drowned while trying to draft a rain-swollen creek. police say an antioch art teacher accused of inappropriate i touching a student may have fled to mexico. charles redmond was interviewed on thursday about making lewd comments to an eighth grade boy and allegedly inappropriately touching him. shortly after the interview redmond left a note for his family and disappeared. redmond is on leave pending outcome of the investigation and a $100,000 arrest warrant has been issued for him. today mount diablo district teachers will start voting on

whether to accept a new contract. teachers will cast their ballot today and tomorrow. the new contract would include three furlough days to help the district balance its budget. if teachers approve the contract the school board trustees will vote on it next month. two mount diablo school foundations will see their bank accounts grow today thanks to concord car dealers. they will make good on a promise to make a donation to local schools when they present checks to the mount diablo music education foundation and the athletic foundation. it will be at the future ford lincoln of concord dealership. 14 car dealers partnered with the city on the donation. let's check in with christina. give me a break and you can talk about the nice sunshine. >> yeah, hey, you want to hear what i have to say for once. good morning to you. we are looking pretty good this morning already starting out in the upper 40s. expecteding 70s in many cities across the bay area. fairfield, santa rosa, napa, you'll see the 70s today.

it will be warmer and warmer throughout the week as high pressure continues to build in. the difference between yesterday and today, we had brilliant sunshine yesterday. today not quite as sunny with more clouds pushing in. this is called a dirty ridge of high pressure. when we see the cirrus clouds come through, we call it a dirty ridge. today high cirrus clouds with filtered sunshine at times. overall, a nice day with temperatures towards 70 degrees. at noon you are peeling off a layer. 60 in sunnyvale and gilroy by noon. then rounding out the day, 69 in oakland. 66 in san francisco. 70s throughout the south bay. we'll let you know how much warmer it is going to get. but hey, this is what i call barbecue weather. we'll see what's cooking on the roadways with mike. so far nothing is cooking, but we had a tanker truck involved in an accident this morning. this is a water tanker. there's a small oil leak that has been confined, so now fire crews left the scene. one ramp of the connector is closed, and one lane is open. if you want to stay clear, go

ahead and get off through san leandro streets and get back on to 238 there. looking at the maze and the approach to the bay bridge, not a problem. the san mateo bridge is equally smooth off 880. very light volume right now. we'll send it over to you with a steady camera shot, no winds. coming up, volkswagon has a new bug, and it is not a car we are talking about. and a staggering discovery in a local artichoke field. what the farmer found and why so many people are suddenly digging. and the best diet to feed your baby for optimal brain growth. you are looking at the bay bridge. it is 4:39.

a live look at the toll plaza where things are very quiet and dry for once. it will be a nice, sunny week. well, huge creatures once roamed california but remains exist and some were just discovered. "today in the east bay" was given special access to the dig site. one that already made history and could make much more. >> reporter: while there are many things that come out of the ground that end up on your

kitchen table, that's not true of what's being dug up here, if for no other reason that's what's been found on this spot is likely bigger than your entire kitchen. >> it never occurs to most people that underneath the ground there might be an ice age animal right there. and you'll know it when you see a femur this big. >> reporter: dr. timothy king is one of the three directors after the mammoth excavation team. he said three months ago as this farmland was being graded in preparation for planting, the tusk and tooth of a columbian mammoth were uncovered. an ice age beast 14 feet tall weighing 10 tons, the columbian mammoth roamed california tens of thousands of years ago. it is a relative of the much better known wooly mammoth. the lack of study may make this discovery so special. >> it is going to change things. it could rewrite textbooks. >> reporter: so under a cloud of

secrecy for the past month, teams of volunteer from santa clara university, foothill college and other bay area schools have been carefully uncovering what it turns out is not just one mammoth but two. an adult and infant. and they found not just tusk and bone but hair as well. >> it is kind a dark brown/red. >> reporter: if they are able to extract dna from any of it, it will be the first time that has ever happened. >> we are always very excited by the find of hair because it gives you a very good chance of actually finding dna that comes from the animal that has lived tens of thousands of years ago. >> reporter: but making history is rarely easy, and this dig is no exception. our recent wet weather has created a sea of sticky, clay mud making not just excavation difficult but even walking a challenge. so you have to wonder, just why do they undertake this operation this time of year in these

conditions? well, they really didn't have much choice. you see, the farmer who is gracious enough to let them dig here wants to grow artichokes on this property. so he told them, either dig now or not at all. so they are going to have to be thorough and fast as well, though that does not appear to be a problem for this team. they have already uncovered 10% of what they think is there and can't wait to find the rest. >> every day we find more pieces. we find more pieces to the puzzle. more of it gets revealed. so that's also really exciting for all of us. >> reporter: garvin thomas, "to the in the east bay." >> the team likes to think of the two mammoths as mother and baby but can't tell for sure. the farmer on the land the remains was given was the naming lights and he chose stella for the adult and addi for the infant. imagine driving on the freeway honking your horn and having your car stall.

that's aparentally happening on volkswagon jettas. the problem stems from wiring in the vehicle's alarm system and horn. no accidents have been reported because of the glitch but if you drive a new jetta you are asked to contact your dealer immediately. nicole lapin is joining us from cnbc. that's the greatest thing because when a rude guy gets behind you to horn his car dies. >> reporter: now, now, be nice, scott. my first car was actually a jetta. and it was named bert. >> you named your car? of course you did. that's a girl thing. we'll pull out here, but that's a girl thing. bert, the car. go ahead, nicole lapin the cnbc anchor. >> reporter: let's recap the markets yesterday, shall we? we were in slow-mo.

not really in overdrive yesterday. we were out of the gate, but out to the end of the session we lost 22 points to close the day at 12,197. the nasdaq is composite also lost 12 to 2730. futures are higher but by about this much. so we are basically flat. this is after wall street snapped the winning streak yesterday. tech stocks, political worries we have been talking about this week and last are weighing on investors. asian markets were lower overnight on the very same issue, so that could come over because it has already done that in europe. they are in the red in early trading. oil prices are down below $104 a barrel. we get some big economic data today and all this week, really, for ma that matter. home prices, consumer confident are due out today. that could really help dictate where we go. also making headlines this morning, walmart will argue today the supreme court should halt a class-action sex dprims

discrimination lawsuit, the largest one by female employees seeking billions of dollars. the court will hear the case at 10:00 eastern time, so 7:00 your time. the employees will likely counter the suit and whether it should actually go to trial. the issue is whether the small group of women who filed the suit ten years ago can really accurately represent a huge nationwide class of current and former employees. the court's ruling, and this is why we are watching it, is expected by late june and could change the legal landscape for another class-action lawsuit. it will be president setting, and i'll tell you about everything else. it is a deep tease. >> we'll be joining you twice throughout the morning, so we'll find out more. >> reporter: put me on your payroll already. i mean, really. >> nicole lapin. you know who is on the payroll, christina loren. incredibly well-paid to bring us the great weather. they pay me the big bucks to

tell you about the sunshine today. it is going to be warmer than some people like before this week is finished. we are talking about the 80s. temperature that is i have not seen since i have been in the bay area. and we have not seen in this area since the summertime. 45 degrees in oakland. 47 degrees in hayward. i think some cities will actually reach 90 degrees heading into late thursday. that's going to be the warmest day. but we'll stay just about as warm as we head into your friday as well. high pressure will be at its maximum at that point. we'll see our winds driven offshore. so we have the warm down-sloping winds anticipated as we head to the latter portion of this week. as high pressure sets up right over the bay area, that is. this morning it is still out in the pacific, so we'll get more cloud cover today than yesterday. mostly high, wispy clouds. so filtered sunshine at times, but it won't keep our temperatures down. in fact, we'll be five degrees warmer than where we were yesterday. 71 degrees up in santa rosa. 68 degrees in redwood city. 71 today in los gatos. if you live in the outlying

areas, the cities that tend to get warmer, you'll see your temperatures even warmer as we head through tomorrow. like i said, possibly some 90s in the bay area as we head into your friday. if we do see the 90s i think it will be in the north bay and possibly the east bay cities, maybe gilroy, maybe morgan hill. but overall, this is what it is looking like. really nice conditions for tomorrow. 75 degrees. today, really comfortable as well, a little bit warmer than some people like as we head thursday into friday. but, hey, we'll take it. especially if you have been trying to get over to the beach. this weekend should be fantastic. we'll see more clouds on sunday as a system drops into the area. maybe light scattered showers for the north bay. only a10% shot to the that. 69 on sunday. 67 degrees on monday. finally, we get a break from the relentless rain. back to you. the giants are back home for the first time since game two of the world series. the a's were visiting.

it is an exhibition game. matt king gives up a 2-run single to derek barton. then we have two more scores. it will be 3-0. >> that was hit deep into right field. >> bottom of the fifth, audrey huff gave the giants lead. a one-run lead would hold. the giants take it 4-3. coming up, a baby's growing brain. what a new study says it needs most. and as we get through this area called the maze we'll tell you about a couple issues for 880. we have a sig alert d on.ng. and i just spotted another issue. we'll give you the updates coming up. an

it is 4:54. if you are just joining us, christina said it could be 90 degrees later this week. we'll check in with her coming up in a bit. it will be the war of minds for hundreds of east bay students competing in a chess tournament today. the oakland unified school district and berkeley chess school will hold the third annual chess tournament in oakland. 200 boys and girls will be competing. it will take place on the learning without limits campus on international boulevard from 1:00 to 4:00 this afternoon. what's coming up later,

laura? >> one bay area city is actually about to put dog owners on a short leash for not putting their dogs on a short leash. we'll explain what that's all about. and california's drought is finally over. that's good news for the water supply, but there's some concern this morning about whether the reservoirs will be able to handle all of the water. plus, this one is for you, scott. nikki taylor is joining us live onset. >> and i'm in for brent. so we divide up these interviews. so can i call this one? >> yeah, we pretty much know which one you'll be doing. >> did you hear that, mike? >> happy birthday. >> which it is not, but sure. all right. mike, we have serious super model issues and discussion coming up later at 6:00. >> i called shotgun out of reflux. it didn't work. i should have called nikki taylor. i have an accident here. a live look at oakland, it just cleared. the high street off-ramp where the headlights are to the right of the northbound side, that was

showing some flashlights up to just a few minutes ago. chp didn't have anything reported there, so we want to make sure that's clear. northbound is okay. back to the maps and i'll show you the southbound side of 880. we have a sig alert blocking one lane on 238. chp says to consider that closed for safety sake. this is going to take at least another half hour or 45 minutes to clear. a big rig is there, they ran enter the railing there and punctured the tank. we have cleanup to do there as well. back to you. a new study finds babies brain growth and development directly linked to the length of the pregnancy and how long the mother best feeds. british researchers say this explains why humans are relatively long development and nursing periods and large brains compared to mammals the same size. it depended on how long the mother lactated was linked to brain growth after birth. researchers say the findings

reinforce recommendations that mothers breastfeed infants exclusively for six months. city leaders weigh in on how the future of the east bay homes should be handled after a landslide. and the bay area city getting ready to give dog owners that -- well, that's clearly not eoright there.e. we'll find out what that is coming up in a bit. versus toyota. which is better? [ 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.

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new this morning, after an explosive day of testimony from barry bonds' former mistress, the prosecution gets ready to call a few heavy-hitters to the stand. good morning, i'm marla tellez. i'll tell you what to expect in the barry bonds perjury trial coming up. a cargo ship arrives from japan. now what? i'm bob redell, we'll tell you what the port of oakland is doing to do extra special