need a job. that's the place to be, so says a new study. i'm bob redell. i'll fill you in, coming up. plus a stop and go plan could derail a proposal to add tracks over a bay area bridge. and look at that, welcome to the holidays. this is "today in the bay." i'm laughing because only half of our yard is done. >> you have ten days to get the rest done. it's 5:00 now. i'm marla tellez. >> and i'm laura garcia-cannon.

meteorologist rob mayeda is here. >> we have rain this morning with the holiday lights. especially in san jose. let's show you the radar. this morning in morgan hill, getting a good downpour from the north over highway 101. san jose to union city. you can see light rain showers there. but really things have dried out in to north bay. we go hour by hour for you today. this is the wettest part of the morning. obviously we have rain in the morning commute being affected. >> we haven't seen any major incidents. we'll monitor 101 to morgan hill. now we just have the onramp closed until 6:00 a.m. ch

>> we'll check back with you all morning long. police are closing in on the rapist on the run since the attack of bay area woman. local authorities are really building a case for these guys. >> i spoke with a sergeant this morning. he says he believes the very vin violent rape happened over the weekend. a woman was raped, bound, gagged, threatened with a hunting knife and a gun. the victim identified her attacker as 45-year-old steven paul clark.

chp officers went to a rest stop in southern california based on the cell phone signal and saw him. he jumped a fence and was with a female companion. he didn't know what was going on. he told her to jump the fence with him and run. but she didn't. she's an ex-girlfriend who had no idea of his history. there was a search last night into this morning. he ran. she apparently cooperated with police and told them that they wanted to go to southern california to look at beaches. they think he may have been trying to get down there to get close to the border and cross over. he also has violent offenses out of texas. i have calls in this morning. as far as we know, the search is still going on this morning in southern california. as soon as i hear from local detectives i'll let you know what they had to say.

i'm christie smith. back to you in san jose. >> in the meantime a san francisco community is keeping a closer watch over itself neighborhood after several women were attacked there. two rapes over a three-week period along 24th street and the mission district. police believe the rapist is still in the area. here's a sketch of the man investigators say attacked two women. police also released a video of the person they believe is the suspect. investigators hope someone will recognize him before he strikes again. 5:04 this morning. a man is recovering after being beaten by a bat or a stick near a popular hang out. the attacker is still on the loose after beating down his victim on university avenue. this happened early wednesday morning. the victim was out drinking in

bars downtown. but so far a motive for the beating is unclear. it's not the first time an alcohol attack happened in the area. one of the suspects involved in a brutal attack will be in court today. she was in her boyfriend's car, allegedly when he was accused of running down a cal firefighter on thanksgiving day. he suffered a severe head injury during the attack. it starpted when they got into a fight in the district. a stop and go plan to run the caltrain service over the bridge is bad news for rail but good for the buses. the metropolitan transportation commission says it may give a chunk of money allocated to the rail project to ac transit instead. the $5.5 million would go to

running more buses over the bridge. the plan to run caltrain over the bridge has been in the works for decades. but it has stalled several time times. >> there's another time silicon valley is leading the nation's economic recovery. we have the latest research that shows a surge in hiring. that's pretty good news. >> good morning to you. yes. that's correct. you are correct. hiring by tech companies here in silicon valley is expected to go up by 5% this could amount to somewhere in the neighborhood of $28,000 jobs. nova surveyed 50 tech companies and they found the majority intend to hire more people in the next month. about a third plan to maintain

the status quo, only 2% are planning layoffs. three out of four companies that are hiring say it's getting hard for them to find people. in part because of the technology that are newer and fewer people are familiar with them. crowd computing and the emergence of that with social media is just one example. now, what is interesting about this study is that it does show that the tech industry is somewhat separated. diverging from other industries in the bay area. just take a look at the unemployment number. unemployment is low, 3%. in other part os it have bay area, unemployment in santa clara around 9.8%. the peninsula at south marin is lower. it shows the tech industry seems to already be on its own way towards a recovery. another thing that's interesting about the study, it's predicting 5% growth over the next 12 months. if you look at a similar study conducted in may, it was

predicting 11% growth. you know the tech industry is growing, but maybe the growth is slowing down. jon, excuse me, marla. >> thank you very much, bob. we appreciate the update. >> now we want a look at a little bit of a wet forecast with rob mayeda in for christina loren. >> good morning. the temperatures aren't quite as cold. we have clouds and rain. so it's been a while. 30s for the morning temperatures. how about 40s across the board? mainly mid-40s outside. yes, we have light rain coming down. more than light rain in the last five minutes. pretty good line of showers pushing south and east. more light rain from the bridge to mountain view, union city, you're seeing rain and some mist and drizzle around san francisco and oakland. look how quickly this line of showers is getting out of here. the system is moving through quickly. meantime, yes, much needed snow is falling. as low as 4,000 feet this morning. be bre paired for winter live

driving conditions in the high country today. through 8:00 some rain at times. mainly for the south bay. around lunchtime partly cloudy skies. showers really moving out of here. by 4:00 should see numbers in the mid-50s in the bay area. then we transition to dry and breezy conditions come tomorrow. the weekend looks fine. a little dry and breezy. we could use more rain. we're just not seeing it there. but we are seeing it out there for the morning commute, mike. >> we'll watch that. the note of the morning, wet roads. lower the speeds, especially off the freeways. the freeways are moving nicely through the approach to the bay bridge. a couple of spots i'll point out in the map. a look at westbound 580 at lake shore. the construction in the offramp should be clearing right now. no slowing there for 580 westbound in oakland. southbound 13 around 580 approaching the merge, one lane is blocked by road workers there. for maybe another half hour. no slowing because of the traffic here as well. 580 through the tri valley.

we're looking at livermore. a 14-minute drive out of the pass to the interchange. rob shows you the rain having just passed through area. slib roetds and maybe some rain as well. in the north bay, no problem. frost-free this morning. temperatures into the 40s. speeds through the 60s all the the way from highway 12 down across the golden gate bridge. back to you. thanks so much, mike. with all the recent talk of the 49 erz stadium, another bay area team is looking to score a new home. city leaders have approved them to start building a $60 million stadium. 18,000-feet stadium will be built at the international airport. some people nearby are concerned about noise plugs. they agreed to find solutions to any possible problems once the stadium is built. 5:10 now. coming up, is target on target to open in san francisco?

>> plus, more on michael jackson's doctors back in court. >> and we do have a live look at this. an empty podium at the golden globe nominations happening now in beverly hills. >> they will light up with starlets no doubt. and for the latest news, user find u o on r and good facebook at nbcbayarea.com. your home and auto policies and save. don't worry, tiny people. flo is a gentle giant. bundle home and auto at progressive.com.

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is rain coming down? rob is the guy to know. he'll help us out in just a bit.

this morning michael jackson's dermatologist is suing jackson's plastic surgeon for defamation. dermatologist arnold klein is suing the plastic surgeon for implying he had a hand in the pop star's death. klein says the surgeon told the british newspaper the dermatologist taught dr. conrad murray how to use propofol. >> all right, a little complicated case there. what about the forecast? >> we have change this is morning. it's not as cold. we have the clouds and a little bit of rain. there's the good news. the bad news in the south bay, it could be slowing your morning drive. mike will keep you posted on that in just a moment. it's been a while since we've woken up and not seen 30s. you can see the numbers. san jose, 47 degrees. and for the morning, rain at times.

temperatures mostly in the 40s. as we get to lunchtime we'll start to see clearing. in fact, later on today we'll see showers move on out. highs in the mid-50s. a bit warmer for your friday. right now, the rain you could see around union city north of san jose. we had one band go through already in morgan hill. it did route some pretty good rain. seeing rain showers in castro valley to dublin. you're seeing rain as well. as you head further north up to danville, maybe some sprinkles out there. same story to the golden gate bridge. you saw the wet roads this morning. most of the system is impacts us between now and 10:00 this morning. first half of the day the temperatures holding snow levels close to 4,000 feet. hour by hour, you notice through the morning we have the showers.

by lunchtime. and 5:00, the evening commute should not have showers. you may see a few sprinkles in the hill top around the south bay. for today, sierra snow, rain clearing out for the afternoon. tomorrow, though, we'll see breezy conditions taking shape. you'll see the offshore winds picking up. around the bay area a quick check of the temperatures. you'll find 56 in san jose. 57 in santa rosa. if you're heading up to the truckee, bring the chains with you. it shows breezy and dry coming back friday and saturday. obviously this morning in the south bay. 880 is seeing good rain. we see a little blip there. the construction crews have cleared. road work finished throughout the bay area. but then further south heading over the santa cruz mountains we still have 17 with that stretch between bear creek and the the summit with one lane in each

direction. just mild flowing at the summit. and then in the northbound direction. most viewers are heading south. and a look at 101. rain is passing through morgan hill. we haven't seen any slowing on the sensors here. we're advising you to lower the speeds because of off ramps, slick conditions. watch it coming off the freeway speeds. right here san mateo was hit with rain. 101, 92 and 280 also moving nicely on this side of the bay. the san mateo bridge is clear as well. castro valley, we're looking at slowing for 580 and 238. that's opposite your commute heading into castro valley. it's also where rain hit recently that might be playing with our sensors. i'll watch this to see how things clear up. and the bay area toll plaza where you have to stop if you're paying cash. and a smooth drive. the wet conditions, again a warning around the bay. back to you. >> we'll check back with you. thank you, mike. it's 5:17. san francisco's long awaited target store is on target to

open south of market. construction is set to start in january. scheduled to open in october. the development leaders cleared the way for a new target store to move to the second floor last year. they expect the 85,000 square foot store to create 700 construction jobs and 600 permanent jobs. retailers are getting an early christmas present this morning. tu national retail federation expects holiday sales for the november and december period to hit a record $469.1 billion. that would be an almost 4% jump compared to whaft was earlier predicted. a nationwide toy store chain is helping you shop till you drop all the way to christmas eve. for more on that, let's turn to

jackie deangeles. >> good morning, laura. futures are high this morning after fears sparked a selloff. both closed down on continued uncertainty. overseas asian markets were lower. european markets were higher. and those figures are expected to show an up tick in the number of americans out of work. on the roads a record number of vehicles earning the highest marks for safety. the insurance substitute for highway safety gave 115 vehicles the top crash test rating. every major car maker had at least one vehicle with the top grade. one reason for the marks this year, manufacturers redesigned the roofs of their cars to make vehicles more able to withstand rollover crashes. and if you still haven't finished your holiday shopping for the kids. you might be in luck. toys "r" us saying all stores will stay open for 112 straight

hours next week. the retailer also planning to offer up some special sales, deep discounts and free gift cards so watch for those. that's it at cnbc. back to you, laura. >> i get the employees are sleeping in cots. this morning california is holding onto a record it's not so proud of. the state is still second in the nation when it comes to foreclosure ls. in fact, foreclosures hit a 10-month high in november with 1 in every 211 properties filing. nationwide foreclosures were down 14% from a year ago. across the country, one in every 579 homes has a foreclosure filing. it's 5:20 now. coming up, san francisco snubbed in restaurant rankings. >> i can't believe it. why chefs in the city couldn't make the cut. plus a uniquely bay area store. the pop-up store this holiday shopping season.

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welcome back, everybody. it's 5:23. this morning a live look at the beverly hilton hotel in beverly hills. you know who she is. actor sofia vargara. let's listen in. >> matt leblanc. best original score motion picture.

trent resner. she announced the names for this year's golden globe ceremony. that will be hosted by comedian ricky gervais. he had controversy last year with his remarks. actor morgan freeman will be honored with a lifetime achievement award. >> to me, talk about chevron. sorry. san ramon based chevron may pay millions for the oil spill. prosecutors are seeking more than $10 billion in damages for an oil spill off the coast last month. 3,000 barrels of crude leaked into the shoreline. they are also being criticized for not fully sharing information at the start of the

spill. scott mcgrew is refusing to use a four-letter word. >> i'll just say it once, mall. tomorrow 2,000 websites will have free shipping day to encourage even more online buying it. hewlett-packa hewlett-packard, bed bath and beyond. bass pro shop all among free shipperses tomorrow. speaking of fun gifts, you remember these computerized blocks? the san francisco company that makes them is using a pop-up store to sell them. they will be on the shell efs of regular retailers in the mall. for now the company says selling them on the street corner is surprisingly effective and very san francisco chic. you have to work with the city. the mayor's office here has been really great to us. they're helping out getting the

permits set up for us. >> you can find the sifteo pop-up store on the plaza. it's also helpful because they get to show people and people get to play with them and understand what they can do. something they couldn't do in a wal-mart. >> there you go. >> thank you, scott. any foodie with his or her salt knowing some of the best restaurants in the world are in san francisco. some bay area restaurants are on the lynch including the french laundry in yountville and madrona manor. it is 5:26. coming up, the bay bridge shuts

down completely during a major holiday weekend. we'll tell you how to change the travel plans. officers tag team marijuana grow houses in the east bay. and i'm rob mayeda in for christina loren this morning. we could be seeing some red taillights outing on the morning drive. i have my eyes peeled for anything you need to watchr mor. check out with me coming up. i have the latest.

new this morning. after a violent rape here in contra costa county a manhunt is now under way for the suspect. i'll have details in a live report. >> and a live look outside, the rain coming down in a bit.

it should clear. this is "today in the bay." good thursday morning to you. we want to check the forecast with rob mayeda and christina loren. >> we have rain to talk about in the south bay. we'll take you on the commute from san jose up to 680 and sunol. you can see the pockets of light rain around pleasanton to dublin. the evening commute will be dry with highs in the 50s.

as he showed on your map, we'll look o the live shot. right under the street light, you can see the water kicking up. it's raining and the water is on the roadways enough to rooster tail off the trucks there. be careful. slick conditions for the morning commute. no major incidents right now. advise you to lower the speeds. especially off the freeway you can have potential for spin-outs on the on-ramp. >> to be careful. good advice. 5:31 now. the two men accused of brutally beating bryan stow will be back in court. in hours a los angeles judge will decide if there's enough evidence to bring them to trial. the men are accused of sucker punching stow and kicking him when he was down outside soldiers stadium outside the season opener. he has shown improvement in recent weeks talking with loved

on ones. three people are still at large after drug teams swarmed a marijuana club in newark and a home in danville. the search warrants were for conspiracy, possession and sale of marijuana. four people look at this danville home. agents arrested a woman they claim manages the club. they're still looking for three owners. a shotgun, rifle, ammunition, 20 pounds of pot and $40,000 in cash were found inside the home. investigators say operators were pocketing six-figure salaries off a dispensary that is supposed to be nonprofit. this morning an alameda county sheriff's deputy is out on bail after being accused of rape. police arrested him as he arrived for work at the santa rita jail. he's charged with two counts of sexual assault. the crime allegedly took place in september. he and the alleged victim reportedly knew each other.

he has worked as a deputy for more than three years. it's 5:32. a suspected serial rapist has been spotted in san diego. we have a reporter gathering information in san diego right now. we start with the story with christie smith. local authorities are certainly building a case against this guy. good morning. >> good morning to you. a really scary story. i spoke with a sergeant here by phone. he says he believes the violent rape happened here over the weekend. a woman raped, bound, gagged, threatened with a gun and huntding knives. she was pretty banged up, but she was able to identify a suspect. that man, a 45-year-old steven hall clark out of oakley. investigators were tracking his cell phone and picked it up in

the san diego area. clark ran and jumped over a fence in the area. he was with a female companion, believed to be possiblily an ex-girlfriend who told investigators she was confused by the whole thing. clark told her to run with him and hop the fence. she didn't. she has apparently been cooperating with investigators. he wanted to see beaches down in southern california, and that's why they were headed that way. investigators did spot his dodge intrepid down there at the rest stop. there is still a man hunt that went on last night. i do have calls to the sheriff's department. they're the ones handling the investigation. haven't heard from them yet this

morning. as soon as i do, i'll let you know what they had to say. that's the latest from here. reporting live, i'm christie smith. back to you in san jose. >> it sounds like this guy has been brazen in the whole attack. when did it really start? >> i spoke with one sergeant who didn't have a lot of information. this as far as he knows this whole thing started over the weekend. they picked up the ping wednesday about 6:00. that's when the investigation hited up. >> thank you very much, christi. we thurn to the man hunt for the suspect happening in san diego right now with kelly mcpherson. she joins us live. >> the police were here all

night looking for this suspect. they were at the rest stop just off the five. you can see there's a of construction. clark jumped the fence and started to run. he left behind an ex-girlfriend who he was here with. he also left behind his car. so now police have seized that car. they are running tests on it. investigating to see what sort of evidence they can get from there. and the woman who he was with is cooperating with police. and she tells them that they were down in this area from the beach on the way to a vacation. police believe it's not the real story. clark was down here on his way to mexico. where we are at the rest stop is about 30 to 35 miles for the mexican border.

as of this morning they are still looking for clark. he's still armed. he's still dangerous. he should be in the san diego area. kelly mcpherson, nbc news. >> we want the to check the little damp forecast this morning on this thursday. rob mayeda is in for christina loren. >> one thing the rain is doing is bringing temperatures up. not as chilly outside. yo may be able to go without the thick winter coat. ere here's good news. we have good air quality for the central bay, east bay valleys as the winds pick up and the rain flies. we don't have the particular matter solution like we've had in the last couple of days. lu light rain around san jose and mountain view. you are seeing the light rain

falling. if you're going to travel off to the sierra, we have snow and chain controls up now so plan on that if you're heading to the high counted. future cast shows the main event for the showers between now and 10:00 this morning as we transition to the afternoon. things will clear out. kind of a cool day. you'll see highs mostly in the mid-50s. pretty much everybody in the 50s. this time tomorrow, they'll be tracking breezy conditions with a dry start to the weekend ahead. everything but dry for the south bay commute, mike. >> we have we have our eyes on the south bay. construction crews still northbound 680.

further north in danville where rob talked about the rain having brushed through 680 and 580 as well. highway 4, your typical slowdown has kicked in. so we have your 20s. this starts about 5:30 typically. we get a live look to show you the toll plaza as well. heading over the water. a smooth drive across the bay. a little darker than last time. there might be moisture in the air, especially on the peninsula side. could be a slick one, ghis. back to you. >> still a couple of months away. drivers should plan ahead for partial slow sure of the bay bridge. >> westbound traffic will be shut down during the president's weekend -- president's day weekend in february. caltran needs to close the lanes.

. still ahead, coming home. the u.s. lowered the flag ending the war in iraq. a live report from the nation's capitol is just ahead. plus, dropping attacks on the wealthiest 1%. why some occupy protesters are left wondering if en p'tououen 'touend o enou tacght change. [ female announcer ] what would you call an ordinary breakfast pastry

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welcome back at 5:42 now. this morning the ceremony in baghdad is officially ending the war in iraq almost nine years after it began. today in the bay's tracie potts is live in washington, d.c. they have two words for the

soldiers, welcome home. >> absolutely. this morning we saw part of the ceremony early this morning, our time, as they took down the flags and marked the end of this nine year old war, nearly 4500 americans killed. this morning defense secretary leon panetta was at the ceremony. he said we'll never forget the lessons of the war. he talked about them having a new democratic ally. he also spoke directly to the iraqi people and the iraqi government. >> more importantly, thank you for your loyalty. to the future of iraq. your dream of an independent and sovereign iraq is now a reality. >> he echoed the sentiments of fo ft. bragg saying they're ending it not with a battle but with a

march home. a group of miners are out of harm's way after being trapped for several hours in one of the nation's deepest mines. it happened in northern idaho last night. seven workers were safely removed from deep inside the mine after being trapped when rocks exploded under pressure. one of the miners was taken a to a local hospital. any of the other six were treated at the scene. federal safety officials plan to investigate exactly what happened. 5:44. democratic leaders are moving to drop pans on taxing the rich in a key piece of legislation. a surtax on millionaires to help tax cuts. senate democrats are reportedly trying to get a deal done with republicans before congress adjourns for the year. the senate is now in talks about raising the fees charged to lenders by government-owned

mortgage giant. it's 5:44. shocking new census data reveals half of americans are considered poor or low-income. a record number of americans are scraping by on earnings that classify them as low-income. does this mean we're in for a boom in the bay area. they are expected to increase hiring by 5% within the next year. that's the latest finding of the study.

just released by nova. they're an economic development agency out of sunnyvale. and if you crunch the numbers, which is what the times did, you would expect to be another 28,000 jobs. that's what that translates into. nova surveyed 50 tech companies and the majority intend to hire more people. about a third plan to maintain the status quo. only 2% are talking about laying off people three quarters of the companies who are hiring say it's actually getting harder for them to find people. the technologies are new and fewer people are familiar with them as a result. the study just confirmed that tech is at least on a recovery and perhaps leading at the recovery if you compare it to other industries. when you look at the unemployment figures, unemployment in silicon valley when you just look at tech is only 3%.

when you include all the other industries and look at other parts of the bay area, your unemployment rate jumps to 9.8%. depending on the areas you are looking at. what's interesting is while the study is predicting hiring to increase by 5%, there was a similar study done in may that was predicting hiring to increase by 11%. so maybe what we are seeing is a slowing down of this growth. marla, laura? >> okay, bob. thank you. want to check the forecast with rob mayeda in for christina. >> good morning, we have rain pushing through south bay and eventually clearing skies. but right now our temperatures, thanks to the rain, not quite as cold as the last few mornings. we're waking up to 47 now. san jose, 43. 45 in santa rosa. that's 15 degrees warmer than the last few mornings. the winds generally out of the southeast. 9 miles per hour there. into heyward. the weather system is going on

by. we're getting an onshore push. but that moisture is dropping in the form of raindrops. through noon today and by 3:00 and 4:00 what's left of the showers should be south of san jose. speaking of the areas being impacted by the rain right now, you can see another band moving into san jose in mountain view over to fremont. right up to sunol. you're seeing light rain showers and around 680. alamo and danville, you're seeing light rain. and right around the golden gate bridge, you're seeing mainly light rain this morning. all the moisture up to the sierra. the area is cold enough for snow levels. close enough to 3,000 or 4,000 feet. so hour by hour, the wettest part of the day between now and lunchtime. the evening commute should be shower-free if the system is already out. the transition we'll see in the next 24 hours goes from the showers we're seeing now and the much needed sierra snow to one that we've been knowing very

well and close to the start of winter that would be gusty offshore winds. 15 to 30 miles per hour. so once we get rid of the showers today and fortunately the rest of the seven-day forecast does look pretty dpri. hour by hour, data is still seeing showers around the bay area. by lunchtime, maybe lingering showers in san jose south and by 4:00, mid-50s for a high. clearing into the afternoon. dry weekend ahead. and it looks like a dry finish to fall. winter is officially rolling around wednesday of next week. >> that's cool, two ws i'll teach my son and daughter about. we're showing you the speed sensors are close to the limit. but you do have slick roads. lower bay shore is smoouf drooth

smooth drive. novato continuing to san rafael. and we told you about the rain, but still no delays to golden gate bridge. now we'll go to the east bay. look at this, livermore valley. we do see slowing in livermore instead of into livermore. that's contributing to your 16-minute. a slightly different pattern for the drive. that may be due to the rain. further south we talked about sunol. we'll get a live look out here. right here under the street lamp, you can see the showers. as the cars pass by, you can see the water kick up on the roadway as the cars pass. slick conditions here. but no delays for sunol. northbound there's a truck off the side of the road off the offramp. watch for that. and then we'll get a look at the plaza. the wet roads seen here as well. lower the speeds getting off the

freeways j toust to be careful. the third smallest baby ever born doing well at a los angeles hospital this morning. she was actually due to be born today, but she was born four months early in august becoming the third smallest baby ever born. at birth she weighed only 270 grams. that's just more than half a pound. four months later she now weighs a little over four pounds. husky. doctors at usc medical center says the little lady is doing very well. >> she looks so healthy. >> amazing doctors and nurses. i bet. >> i bet. >> she would know. >> oh, yes. god bless them. >> time now is 5:51. a bay area city is cutting down thousands of perfectly healthy trees. we'll explain why just ahead. >> plus, ice cream trucks banned. we'll tell you where just ahead. >> andeb facook rollsut o a r major, major change this morning. we'll take a look at it coming up.

welcome back,. san francisco may rip down thousands of trees throughout the city. the city's recreation and parks department is calling for a quarter of the city's nonnative trees to be cut down. now the plan would also reroute popular hiking trails. the department is cutting down the tree to protect plants that are native to the area. critics stay plan goes too far. the department says the trees will not be cut down overnight. it's going to take place over a 20-year period. >> students in novato will no longer hear the familiar jingle, happy songs of ice cream trucks near campus anymore. city council is banning the

trucks within 1,500 feet of schools. the push was prompted by health concerns, but it was also focused on safety that led the counsel to approve the ban. it's similar to what passed in san francisco and it's much more strict than one on the books in san rafael. one of the most prestigious economic studies, the anderson forecast is taking a careful look at our hometowns this morning. scott mcgrew, a singular focus here on the bay area. >> we've depended for several years on the forecast to tell us where it was headed. this morning the business school will do something it's never done before. issue a report just about our area. northern california is special as bob redell pointed out, growing much more quickly than the rest of california. we have a copy now. among the highlights that economists will present later today, there have been no housing recovery, they will say. not getting worse, but not

getting better. no double-dip recession, they predict. but slow groutd is ahead. then san jose leading the state in growth followed by bakersfield with the most jobs available statewide in technology. okay, facebook this morning is rolling out time lines for everyone. you get a time line and you get a time line kplns once facebook turns on time line for you, you have seven days to put yours together before friends and family can see it. so call in sick. you have some facebooking to do today. revamps the way facebook is presented into a chronological order. go to nbcbayarea.com's facebook page you can turn it on early. i'll show you how. >> should we know what this is about already? >> well, it just rolled out at

4:30 this morning. so this is the first i'm telling you. >> still ahead, republicans trying to force the hands on spending. >> plus much more on the statewide man hunt happening now. and we are tracking rain from your morning commute from the south bay to the east bay and right around san francisco, which will make an impact on your morning drive. >> definitely, that rain as well as the fact that it's thursday with heavier volume than thursday. .e go swiglong see slowing. i'll track the latest coming up. .

after nine years, the iraq war is officially over. we will show you the ceremony from overnight.