it's an unbelievable deal. so why wait? act now, act now! like he said... ♪ >> reporter: new this morning, do you have your alternate route ready? the upper deck of the bay bridge shuts down tonight, won't reopen until tuesday. i'm christie smith. coming up a live look. >> president obama wraps up his bay area visit this morning with plenty of new cash for his campaign. where she hehe is headed next. >> some great police work, the man who helped catch them wasn't a police officer at the time. we'll tell you how it happened, next. >> a live look outside golden gate bridge on this friday morning, february 17th, this is "today in the bay."

>> good morning everyone. the time now is just about 4:31. >> lots to get to this morning. let's check the forecast with meteorologist christina loren. >> good morning and happy friday to you. it's kind of cold out there this morning but not that bad. in fact, san jose right now you're at 41 degrees, 36 for livermore, and we do have plenty of 30s for the interior valleys. we'll see a gorgeous day today and then things start to change this weekend. we'll take you through the changes, first let's check your drive, mike, the man in charge this morning. >> or hold on tight for the commute. a nice drive right now over the water, san mateo bridge not a problem a. clear view of the high rise. we'll get a look at the golden gate bridge over from the north bay.

southbound 101 smoothly, the headlights hanging together. no one to keep them company. the reason i show you the san mateo and the golden gate bridge, you might want to consider those over the weekend. there are changes over the bay bridge. back to you for that. >> thank you very much, mike. >> you got that right. drivers heading out to san francisco be forewarned that weekend shutdown of the bay bridge going into effect later today. >> caltrans need as long weekend to perform crucial tasks. christie smith joins us on the bay bridge with the latest on the closure. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. it seems we've been talking about this for days but tonight at 8:00 the upper deck of the bay bridge is going to be shut down for three long days. the work is basically going to happen about where we're standing this morning, at least that's where it will start between the toll plaza and the incline. what's happening is the lanes will be shifted south to make room for the new eastern span.

this morning crews are out here. we saw them taking down fences as we drove the incline this morning. leading up to this caltrans has put up electronic message boards at every entrance reminding drivers about this. there was concern that the snag might be some rain to head over the weekend which really would throw a wrench in the reopen time tuesday morning. part of the work is painting new lane stripes, caltrans believes as long as the rain is not heavy or steady, the plan will work. the paint, this is crucial, the paint needs six to seven hours to dry. during that time, though, b.a.r.t. will be running 204 hours a day, while the upper deck is closed for people who need to get in and out of the city. and the ferries will have expanded service as well. that's the latest from here. reporting live near the bay bridge, christie smith, "today

in the bay." >> president obama leaving the bay area for washington state in a few hours from now. last night he energized a crowd of supporters at the nob hill masonic center. chris cornell warming up the audience of 250 gathered for that fund-raiser. it takes time to achieve goals. the davis fans bringing the house down when president obama hit that stage. the president laying out the change he has accomplished and said he is determined to spend four more years in the white house. >> hard work and fair play and shared responsibility, that is what we're fighting for. that's what is at stake in this election. >> supporters paying from $100 to $10,000 to attend the event. but mr. obama says money is not enough. he also needs their time. obama supporters in california made 10 million phone calls back in 2008, that of course helped to win the election.

>> it is 4:34 now. while the president gathers plenty of support there is a notable bay area woman who won't be on the list of donors this year. >> i would have written a check for $35,000 for tonight's dinner because that goes directly to his campaign, to his campaign. and i've always done that in the past. >> san francisco's susie tomkins buell created espre, she believes the president is not doing enough to protect the environment, specifically climate change. some analysts say she is not alone among former supporters who are losing faith. >> the west coast swing is expected to bring in $8 million. one event hosted by will ferrell. the president will add to that when he heads north to washington for another fund-raiser there. after that he boards air force

one and will be back at the white house later tonight. complete coverage of the president's visit on our website as well, nbcbayarea.com. just search presidential visit. >> it is 4:35 now. attorneys for the woman accused of killing a hayward nursing student could set a date for her trial. 27-year-old gisele esteban has been charged with the murder of her former friend michelle le. she disappeared back in may of last year. this morning a hearing will be held to potentially set esteban's trial date for the murder. >> in southern california a federal agent is dead, another wounded after they turned their guns on each other. authorities say one immigration and customs enforcement agent shot another during an argument that wounded him. a third agent jumped in, killing the shooter. the injured agent remains hospitalized, he is in stable condition. the fbi is leading the investigation. they say at this point it appears this was merely an

isolated case of workplace violence and the shooter acted alone. >> it's 4:36 a. video camera and cadaver dogs will be brought to san joaquin county where searchers are scouring an abandoned cattle ranch. a powerful camera borrowed from the state will be lowered into a 50-foot well where more than 1,000 bone fragments have been found. cadaver dogs will be used to search for a second well where a serial killer wesley shermantine says he and lorn herzog left bodies. >> we're also going to bring those human remain dog as to that location just to confirm that there is no additional remains that may be in the piles of dirt that's on the side of the wells. >> some of the bone fragments will be analyzed at the crime lab. shermantine and herzog were arrested in 1999 ending a

15-year crime spree. herzog committed suicide last month. >> a san jose police officer has his job back after he helped catch suspected bank robbers. he was reinstated yesterday. three days ago the veteran was a civilian when he saw a robbery going down at a wells fargo bank in south san jose. that's when his instinct kicked in and he followed the robbers getting their license plate number so he could forward it to police. two hours later police arrested the three suspects. >> my initial thought was i wanted to do something, i wish i had this, i wish i had that. given the situation i was in i had nothing better to do but than to be a good witness. >> he left the police department for the palo alto department last summer because he was worried he would be laid off. when he learned he could come back to san jose, their department, he jumped at the chance.

>> all right. it's time to check the forecast now with meteorologist christina loren. how are we looking? >> we're looking good. the friday before a three-day weekend for many of you. good morning. temperatures are running cold so make sure you grab your jacket. something you can peel off as this will be the warmest day of the week. it's nice and clear throughout so far this morning. we are expecting a little fog to drift in from the central valley. that fog that creeps in through the delta. at this point we're looking pretty good. we don't have fog to report or reduced visibility. 39 in concord, 36, good morning to you in livermore. 40 in sunnyvale. and 41 degrees this morning in san jose. so we've got a good looking forecast for today. it works out like this. by noon up to 60 degrees inland. 63 as you make your way home from work getting ready to enjoy that presidents day weekend. at the bay a little bit on the cooler side but overall a nice day with plenty of sunshine. as we head through tomorrow, things start to change. a few showers in the morning

hours. we'll continue this futurecast for you, we'll tell you about another chance of rain this weekend as well coming up. first, mike's got a lot to report on a friday morning. >> we're looking at -- good morning, a lot of construction in the bay area. nothing unusual but still a lot of turf to cover. we'll take you to the tri-valley, actually 680, southbound direction. between rutger and alcosta. we have crews on the scene. the off ramp may be clearing over the next few minutes as the crew gets ready to leave there. maybe they are going to head to the bay bridge and help out. christina's talking about fog later on. nothing as far as a problem for the tri-valley area. we'll track that. 14 minutes. a live look across the peninsula, looking at 101 as you come with the headlights past sfo and rod tells me he sees flashing lights and signs warning folks about potential for the closure as the president comes through. we're not saying that's route but they are warning there may

be slowing as we talked about. >> thank you, mike. >> it is 4:40 now. coming upsh touch screens, color displays and voice activation, features that come standard in cars these days, now under fire from the federal government. why officials say they are not safe. >> the so-called underwear bomber learns his fate for the christmas day attack back in 2009. we'll learn his sentence next. >> did it work? three years after president obama's stimulus went into effect where do we stand? we'll look at the numbers. >> check us out on facebook.

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>> welcome back everyone. give you a nice picturesque look at sfo, i like this angle. got the lights reflecting off of the water t planes snug therein. president obama will be bouncing out of town. maybe a shot of him as he heads up to washington state on his fundraising tour. the time 4:44. >> the nigerian man who tried to blow up a plan in 2009 has been sentenced to life in prison without parole. umar farouk abdulmutallab pleaded guilty back in october for the bombing attempt which he said was to avenge the treatment of muslims from around the world. while the bomb aboard the flight to detroit never detonated it did cause a brief fire that

injured the 25-year-old. >> fans are paying tribute to whitney houston outside the new jersey church where her funeral will be this weekend. an impromptu memorial surrounds the church where houston sang in the choir as a child. inside family members are finalizing arrangements. oprah winfrey and houston's ex-husband bobby brown are reportedly on the list. aretha franklin tells the "today" show she will sing as well. >> it's not going to be easy. i can tell you. that it's not going to be easy. but sissy asked me to and i'm going to try to do my best. >> you can hear more of aretha franklin's interview on the "today" show this morning. >> members of congress expected to vote on the payroll tax cut extension today. lawmakers reaching a deal thursday to extend the 2% cut through 2012.

the compromise will also extend unemployment benefits along with stopping a reimbursement cut for doctors who treat medicare patients. president obama said he would sign the deal immediately. today marks the third anniversary of the stimulus president obama signed to get the economy back on track. and the question many are asking this morning, did it work? the $787 billion stimulus covered tax breaks, and job creation. here are the facts. unemployment then, 8.1%. 25-year high. today, it's 8.3%. and falling. americans lost 651,000 jobs in february 2009. last month employers created 243,000 jobs. but there are challenges. the nation's debt is at an all-time high, $15 trillion and counting and 12 million americans remain unemployed. the president definitely has his share of critics on the campaign

trail. >> this president is not going to get credit for this economy coming back. >> the money goes to washington but it never gets distributed fairly. >> this spt not interested in my opinion in providing jobs, he's interested in providing benefits. >> despite those comments experts say if the economy keeps on growing it's going to be tough to beat president obama come the november elections. >> wall street aims to end the week on a high note after big gains yesterday. for that and the rest of your news before the bell we turn brian shactman. good morning, brian. >> good morning. futures are slightly higher at this hour after the dow yesterday closed at its highest level in nearly four years, asian markets gain overnight, european shares are higher this morning. today we get data on the consumer price index and leading indicators, we get earnings from campbell soup and heinz. on thursday the dow gained 123 points to 12,904, now nearing that key symbolic level of 13,000.

the nasdaq closed up 44 points at 2959 and the s&p also higher gaining 14 to end the day at 1358. google is in hot water for violating the privacy of iphone and mac users. the giant has been quietly tr k tracking browsing history. apple's browser has a lock tear defend against that but google basically cracked the code. google has disabled the code but once that data has been unlocked a number of websites have access to use the information. twitter about to get easier. the site unveiling a self service marketing system basically means that advertisers won't have to use sales representatives to manage the account. the new money making model is an automated system targeted at small businesses, right now only available to certain companies that accept american express but twitter will role out the service to all advertisers later in the year. very interesting model. some job loss you talked about the unemployment rate. there will be job losses through

sales reps maybe but twitter will grow its business big time. >> as it continues to do. thank you, brian. >> 4:48. let's say good morning again to christina loren here to talk about what happens friday and on. >> this is going to be the warmest day for about a week so get out and enjoy it. we've got changes coming this weekend that will continue into your holiday. and tuesday and wednesday as well will be cooler as we have really, really comfortable conditions. the 70s, even warmer than yesterday. 36 for now in livermore. we have to get through this cold morning before we enjoy that sunshine and the 70s. 40 in sunnyvale right now. as we head throughout your saturday, we're going to start to see changes. by saturday morning a few showers, some pretty thick fog and a little bit of drizzle especially at the coast. also cloudy conditions last for the most part all saturday long. you can see mostly cloudy conditions over the greater bay area. limiting that sunshine.

and cooling it down. temperatures will drop off substantially between today and tomorrow. 4:00 a.m. sunday, a clear start for you but hey, things change late sunday into monday. we get another round of spotty light showers, and again the case will be mostly up in the north bay. we could see some showers spread to the south and again, that chance is late sunday into monday. so those are the two times you got to worry about the showers. we're looking toward a pretty nice weekend. 64 degrees for today. today is going to be the best day of the week. by saturday, things change. we get a few showers on sunday. then monday into tuesday a little bit of activity. we'll probably see strong onshore flow tuesday morning, some fog, then wednesday and thursday we warm back up yet again. so something for everybody on this forecast. back to you guys. >> christmas in february. thank you. >> sounds good to me. like the rest of the world, car technology has come a long way but some government officials say it's gone too far. >> the highway safety

administration says all of the touch screens and controls are not surprisingly distracting. the agency is proposing new guidelines for dashboard technology to cut down on drivers trying to multitask behind the wheel. one recommendation is for automakers to design dashboard technology so it's automatically disabled once the car is in motion. automakers are protesting the move saying the technology is built with safety in mind and meant to help drivers keep their eyes on the road. >> people still bring iphones and ipads. tough to get around. remember back in the day. way back when. it is 4:51 now. uc davis taking a vote on its chancellor. why some of the faculty say they have lost confidence in their leader. >> a survival story. how rescuers found a couple three days after they got stranded in the snow. >> as we come across the carquinez bridge, a smooth drive westbound 680.

some spots developing coming up.

>> welcome back everyone. happy friday to everybody out there. we give you a live look at san jose, that's the hp pavilion. the sharks were on the road in tampa bay, not a good night. the lightning beating the sharks in overtime, 6-5 out on the road. the sharks not feeling the magic

on this friday. it is 4:54. trying. >> faculty at uc davis will take a vote whether they have confidence in the school chancellor. she has been heavily criticized for the university's handling of the now infamous pepper spray incident. occupy protesters were holding a peaceful demonstration when campus police used pepper spray on them. the vote is nonbinding but could have an effect on her future with the uc system. >> time to check things out on the roads. let's check in with mike inouye to find the real deal on a friday. >> the real deal. let's check it out by one of the real alternates this weekend. the construction closing of the bay bridge. san mateo bridge. right now we have an accident there, southbound 880, right around jackson street t 9 two interchange. sounds like things are clearing. shouldn't be slowing. we don't see any over the last five minutes.

i'll track that till it's gone. smooth off the castro valley y, north on 880, past the coliseum, 880 there with the headlights southbound out of downtown, very light volume. and northbound to the toll plaza which is still open but 8:00 p.m. tonight that closes. oakland to san francisco. that direction, the upper deck only. >> sacramento couple has quite the story to tell after getting stranded for three days in the snow. >> this one is a wild one. last sunday they drove to an historic area deep in the forest, their porsche got stuck in the snow when they were trying to drive back. the couple says they were stuck but survived by eating trail mix and girl scout cookies. that says a lot. after three days, mark left the car, hiked up a hill in the snow six miles before he could actually get a cell phone signal. >> i started crying. i started crying. it was pretty -- then when i

heard the helicopter i started crying again. then i knew we'd be saved. >> that is very intense. he used plastic bags to cover up his running shoes to make sure he wouldn't freeze his feet more than he had. that's a true story of survival. >> girl scouts to the rescue. still ahead, school districts want to take a tougher stance on drugs with police dogs. we'll tell you where coming up. >> and environmentalists making a move to shut down one of san francisco's water sources.

>> reporter: good morning. i'm bob redell live in san francisco where the president is wrapping up what appears to have been a successful fundraising trip. details coming up. >> and new this morning, a major shake-up in the german government. plus, we'll have the latest on the deadly