is that the embarcadero? little foggy out there in san francisco. brace yourself for rain and fog. it is wednesday, february 29th. this is "today in the bay." good morning to you. thanks so much for joining us. today only happens every four years. it is leap day as well. >> that is right. >> get ready. i'm jon kelley. let's check in with meteorologist christina loren. what's jumping out there is mother nature with some of these rains. >> we've got a rough commute shaping up for all motorists getting ready to hit the highway and that will continue to be the case as we head through the next few hours. heavy downpours have relentlessly been coming down for the past four hours or so. we've still got heavy rain, the heaviest right now moving through the south bay. i zoom in to the bay bridge where oun other christie smith is live this morning. she's out there where you could get caught up in a very strong

gust from time to time. how are the winds out there this morning, christy? >> good morning. you know, it's on again/off again. but this is the toll plaza this morning. there's not a lot of water kicking up from the tires like you see in the heavy storms that are just relentless but that's what can really catch you off guard about this storm. you think it is a light rain, then suddenly you hit a cell of heavy rain and you can't see. you grab the steering wheel and hold on tight. the wind is really there sometimes, sometimes it is not. there is a wind advisory up on the bay bridge and san mateo bridge. the chp tells us they have officers out there who are really keeping a close eye on the conditions. then the south bay, our photographer rob hughes has some pictures of heavy rain in the santa cruz mountains along highway 17 near the summit. he tells me that caltrans has some warning signs up this morning, some lit-up signs that the roads are very clipr slippe.

some mud creeping down those hills. these are the kinds of conditions you're dealing with. it seems like it's been a while since we've had to deal with the wet roads but of course the same rules apply and ha is that you want to give yourself a little extra time and of course, slowdown. that's the story from here, reporting live near the bay bridge, i'm christie smith. i'll send it back to you guys in san jose. what you saw that shot of the bay bridge, wet roads, slippery conditions. oakland, if you're driving through 880 past the coliseum, you're not really driving, you're kind of sitting there. northbound at the coliseum, the red lights, the scene from 98 up to 23rd where i've been following that accident we've been telling you about at 23rd blocking 3 out of 4 lanes. 580 is the best way through oakland. let me give you the shot of the map and we'll see that the traffic jams up as are you approaching the coliseum for 880 and the 580 drive is a nice easy one past the warren freeway.

no details on this accident as chp is supposedly yet to arrive. we have a little bit of an adjustment as far as those radio reports go. i'm sure they're very busy with a lot of reports. 6:03. san jose firefighters keeping an eye out for hotspots at the scene of a house fire that broke out early this morning. "today in the bay's" bob redell joins us there live. he just talk to one of the people who actually made it out. >> reporter: there were four adults who lived in this duplex behind me. we just spoke to one of them. he doesn't know what caused the fire but he got the sense that it started in some space above the garage. the fire department still doesn't know either. they might get a better idea once the sun comes up and they have their sether out here. but from the garage space it did spread an destroyed their home. this iphone video are you looking at right now shows what greeted firefighters as they pulled up to this location a little bit after 3:00 this morning. you can see flames already bursting through the roof.

that was within seven minutes of the 911 call. the captain tells us this fire was difficult to fight because it was wind driven and the roof was shake. that's a light wood that's very flammable. those factors combined caused this structure to go up like a tinder box. >> my mom woke up to hearing the cracking of the fire so she came in and woke me up. and then there was somebody at our door banging. some neighbor was driving by and was banging on our door to tell thrust was a fire. damn-near close to tears thinking about how lucky we are. >> glad you made it out okay. >> yeah, definitely. scary situation. >> reporter: the fire department knew instantly when they arrived that they were going to have to call for a second alarm not only to get more reinforcements to fight the fire itself but to send some crews downwind to make sure any embers blowing away wouldn't catch other structures on fire and they did succeed in that. live here in south san jose, bob redell, "today in the bay." another nir to tell you

about, this one in napa may have destroyed a large collection of antiques. firefighters arrived at the two-story home on redwood road around 9:00 last night. the homeowner also owns an antique shop so it is no surprise several antiques were in that house along with a 6,000-book library. we're happy to report nobody was hurt. this video may show the arsonist wanted for setting a fire in san francisco's main library. it shows a man entering and exiting a restricted area of that building on grove street last sunday. soon after somebody set fire to pamphlets at a second floor reference desk. if you recognize and can see really his face or have information about this fire, call san francisco police. lawyers will be back in court this morning for the san francisco sheriff's domestic violence trial. the judge will hear pre-trial motions for attorneys for his wife. they are asking that the case be dismissed.

if that fails they want statements she made to a neighbor thrown out. if the case moves forward, potential jurors will start filling out questionnaires this afternoon. the sheriff is facing misdemeanor domestic abuse charges for bruising his wife's arm during a new year's eve argument. a federal judge decides today whether to send a former police officer to prison. ex-santa clara officer will be sentence dad for passing privileged law enforcement information on to the hell's angels to pay off a debt. his daughter is asking for probation calling his actions a lapse in judgment. prosecutors are asking for three years in prison saying he undermined the public's trust. 6:06. walnut creek police shifting attention for student outreach and traffic duty to focus on bad behavior in downtown bars. the police say the change in focus will be temporary until the city council votes on a new budget in june. back in january, police arrested

nine people and three police officers were injured during a series of separate fights that took place of after bars closed down. mitt romney is celebrating a pair of primary ones but rick santorum isn't singing the blues just yet either. he and santorum could split michigan's 30 delegates after romney's narrow win in his home state. according to exit polls, 1 in 10 of those who voted were democrats and of that group, half voted for santorum. new this morning, the pentagon working to confirm the arrest of a top al qaeda official. "today in the bay's" marla tellez has all the latest details. >> reporter: good morning. nbc news first reporting the man believed to have taken over for osama bin laden following his death in may is in custody in egypt. now the man's identity is being questioned. egyptian security forces saying they arrested saef aladei at an

airport this morning but a top u.s. official says it may be a case of mistaken identity. aladel is wanted by the fbi but officials say the man they have in custody is telling them they have the wrong guy. a u.s. coast guard helicopter crash leaves one dead, three others missing. this is off the coast of alabama. plenty of emergency crews on scene in mobile following the chopper crash in mobile bay last night. officials say the chopper was conducting a training mission. cause is not yet known. at least one person is dead and dozens of others injured after a strong line of storms swept through the midwest overnight. this is damage in branson, missouri. a suspected tornado damaged several buildings in the city's theater district. in nearby buffalo at least one person was killed. that death there also said to be storm related. the governor in kansas has declared a state of emergency.

>> thank you very much. let's check the forecast now with meteorologist christina loren. >> someone's got the giggles this morning. good morning to you. hopefully you're in a good mood as well. after all, we want to get you through this wednesday closer to the weekend, oh, so close, how to. we've got a warm-up on the way. let's get you through these showers first. right now the heaviest batch located right over the south bay. san jose not getting wet at this point but it is just a matter of minutes before heavy rain returns down to san jose. right now can you see fremont getting slammed, heavy downpours moving through mountain view and this looks like this cell is going to hit san jose in about 57 minutes from now. that's when we are expecting really active conditions. you want to give yourself plenty of time to reach your destination safely although it is not all that heavy down through the north bay and all the way to san francisco in fact it is rather light. it has been raining over the past few hours so it is nice an slick. areas of puddles, ponding especially through your

construction zones. at 10:00 a.m. today getting a little bit of a break if you need to get outdoors to walk the dog or do anything outside you will have limited options but a few to do so today. by 6:00 p.m. another batch of light rain develops over the greater bay area. tonight the coldest air arrives that's trailing behind the front. that's going to bring some snow to mount hamilton. looks like the coldest air will start to settle in between 4:00 and 9:00 and that's when temperatures will drop like a rock. make sure you're ready for that tomorrow morning. you'll need that heavy winter coat. we'll see a few showers for the first part of tomorrow and then the whole thing blows out of here tomorrow night and we'll be left with clean air quality and a good view of all those snowy mountain peaks and we wake up friday morning. we'll sin the testosterone in a few minutes. mpb we have wet roads, slippery and windy conditions. an accident, overturned vehicle

south of the 280 and 101 interchange has cleared. but flooding in that report, they've just closed southbound 280 highway 101 both directions for that connecter are closed. instead of getting on to 280 in the city, get on to 101 at sces chavez and you should be fine. big deal for accidents in the east bay, northbound 880 at 23rd we still have 3 out of 4 lanes blocked northbound at 23rd avenue. southbound side seeing all of that distraction and lights causing slowing along 980 as well. 98th approaching the coliseum all the way up to 23rd into downtown we do have traffic crawling like this. if you can use 580 as an alternate this morning, i would consider that up to the bay bridge. right now it is a very tough drive and slick conditions. you'll have less time to hit those brakes so slow down, guys. 6:11 right now. coming up on "today in the bay," all the rain creating a lot of

snow in the sierra. we will have a live report coming up next. plus an art thief arrested for stealing a picasso in san francisco is heading to prison but he might not be spending a lot of time there. we'll explain why. meantime, a live look we are keeping an eye on the wet roadways for you.

welcome back, everyone. take a look at the rain coming down. this is up by the summit, highway 17 this morning. allow a little extra time before you head out the door this morning because it is pretty wet out there. slick roadways. 6:14 right now. any rain you might see out your window is absolutely nothing compared to what's going on right now in soda springs.

brian hickey is there braving the elements. how you feeling, big man? >> reporter: i'm wishing i had my skis. this is awesome up here in the sierra. interstate 80 behind me, we've got some cars coming up the road. they're crawling across the interstate this morning under this heavy snow that has now been going on for hours up here in the sierra. the forecast calling for several feet. if this keeps up, i have no doubt we will realize that forecast here in the sierra. the problem right now for drivers is the wind. some of those exposed area up around cisco grove where can opens up, you are starting to see the wind blowing this very cold, light, dry powder across the roadway. that makes visibility very difficult. over here, check this out. i just dug a hole. i did a little demonstration a moment ago. dug a hole and it is already practically filled back in. i'll give you an idea how heavy the snow it. this stuff is so light, so dry and windy, it just blows away

like smoke in the sierra this morning. that's an idea of why the driving is so treacherous. so far caltrans has kept the roadway open despite a few spinouts and some big rigs that got stalled out on the roadway but so far, so good. at least as good as it can be up here in this very beautiful snowstorm. back to you guys. >> really good. because we need it. >> you are excited about it. >> you heard me say awesome! because i am very excited. just got to get through the commute and the chains and all that getting up there. taking a live look outside though, all that snow in the sierra creating so much rain right down here. want to check the forecast now with meteorologist christina loren. >> yeah, it is actually quite dangerous out there this morning. give yourself a lot of extra time. we now have the fog starting to develop in the cities where the rain is starting to subside. right now it is the south bay getting hit the hardest. you can see fremont, heavy downpours just came through. slick conditions there, showers

rolling through milpitas. the east shore getting hit pretty hard, on your way to livermore to dublin, you'll find very dangerous conditions. a very heavy cell just passed through there. it is not cold enough for snow throughout the morning hours as temperatures will be in the 40s and 50s. but as we head through the day today and that cold blast arrives trailing behind the cold front, that's going to drop our snow levels potentially to 1,500 feet. we could see a mix of rain and snow at the 17 summit where we've been showing you live pictures all morning long. right now it is straight rain but later on when the cold air arrives, we could be talking about snow. mount hamilton could pick up to two inches of snow so we should be able to vividly see that. when we wake up on friday morning, it may take a couple days for the cold air to mix out. into the weekend, warming you right back up. we're going to see another extreme swing in your temperatures, up to 70 degrees by monday. holding on to the upper 60s on

tuesday. once we get through this cold storm we are back to the beach weather. i bet there is a lot of problems out there with that rain coming down. >> the longer we go on in the commute, the more cars we go on the road. 880 this stacked up really quickly after the accident happened at 23rd. three of your four lanes still reported blocked by a big rig. then a separate car involved in the accident. no major injuries but major back-up all the way back to the coliseum. a second accident right around 16th just north of that accident causing even more problems for the northbound direction. this is high street and the off ramp. coliseum from about 90th jams up around this bend all the way into downtown. use 580 if you can through oakland if at all possible. if you're heading to the bay bridge, that's a great option. the toll plaza once you get there, this waits for you as well. good lanes coming off 580 but off of 880 and approaching the cash lanes and fastrak all backing up. wet roadways, slick conditions. east shore freeway showing as

well. we'll get you back out to the maps. across the bay, in san francisco, we just got done with this sigalert that was declared for southbound 280 at 1061. they've just opened that up. the peninsula moving pretty smoothly. south bay no major issues. 101 kicks in with the slowdown from 680 up to 880. highway 87 through downtown, speeds into the 50s from time to time. that's a pretty standard build for where the wind farms are, talking about heavy winds coming over the grad especially. back to you. 6:19 right now. south bay train commuters enjoying the ride a little more these days. a celebration will be held today to commemorate the completion of two years' worth of renovations at san jose's train stations.

mayors for both cities will attend this morning's celebration. 6:19. the bicoastal art thief caught by bay area police is heading to prison now. a new york judge sentenced him yesterday to one to three years in prison for stealing six works of art in new york. he could reportedly serve just six months before he's eligible for parole. if you recall, he was captured last year after he walk right out of a san francisco gallery wruft ki just kind of chilling with a picasso right under his arm. he served a 1138-day sent and w then sent to new york to face charges. he was also accused of stealing wine from a wine shop last april and those charges are pending. coming up, fur is out of fashion in america but worldwide sales surged last year. we'll tell you why coming up next. plus, there are as many tech jobs in san francisco right now as there were during the dotcom

boom and are set to add more. beautiful live shot of san francisco. skies are nice but it is raininb out there se b careful. grab an umbrella if you have one. back in matter of minutes. ♪

♪ twinkle toes i think i found a soul ♪ ♪ to make me happily ever after ♪ ♪ i say i love you and i'll say it more ♪ ♪ my one and only ♪ oh i can't lose ♪ so don't stop doing what you do ♪ ♪ have i paid my dues just to be with you ♪ ♪ don't stop doing what you do ♪ welcome back, everybody, on this wednesday morning. a live look at san jose at the hp pavilion. that is where the sharks got their groove back last night

beating the philadelphia flyers 1-0. they'll try to keep the good vibrations going tomorrow night taking on the buffalo sabres at the hp pavilion. it certainly became a fashion don't during the '80s and '90s but now fur is in vogue in places like china where rising incomes are making the pricey accessory accessible. this is the hong kong international fur and fashion fair. it just set a new roar for attendance. experts say fur sales reached $14.5 billion last year. that's up over 70% over the past decade. this one can become another first for the bay area and the entire country. alameda county could become the first county ever to make drug manufacturers responsible for getting rid of unused and expired pharmaceuticals. supervisors gave preliminary approval yesterday for drug companies to set up drop boxes. right now the county uses its

money to collect and dispose of unused pharmaceuticals which can contaminate drinking water when flushed. a final vote will be held in two weeks. iphone apps are taking your personal data without your permission, says a new study. this one no doubt is a serious problem for apple. >> there was a trust level there between users and apple that apps approved in the apple app store were doing what they said they did and not doing what you wouldn't expect them to. "the new york times" this morning says apps are able to upload photographs you take on your iphone or ipad without your knowledge or permission. now it is not clear apps have actually done that but the security flaw allows them to and "the new york times" hired and app developer to write an app that did just that. now of course it wasn't released to the app store. apple is just short of a half a trillion dollars in market capitalization. that is if you took the value of all the shares out there and added them up, you'd get $500

billion. if apple were a country, it would knock poe land off the list of the 20 biggest countries in the world in terms of gdp. new reports say hewlett-packard will cut yet more staff as it winds down its web os efforts. web os was born out of this, hp's $2 billion purchase of palm. never worked out. about 300 more jobs are lost, says hewlett-packard. they may all head to the city. i've said it before, san francisco's the new hotness when it comes to tech jobs. the mayor and venture capitalist ron conway said last night tech companies are ready to hire thousands of people through their joint effort called sf city. san francisco already has about as many tech jobs as it did during the dotcom boom and is set to eclipse that record. one wonders what can go possibly wrong there. if you're interested in the jobs, it is sfciti.com. it is a joint effort between technology companies and the city of san francisco to get

people jobs and it's working really well. >> thank you. is it just me or does everybody think it's cool when scott mcgrew says the new hotness. >> we saying the new hotness is the new hotness. >> in all his awesomeness. 6:27 right now. still to come on "today in the bay," we'll show you a pair of overnight fires, one that may have destroyed a number of antic tiz. neighbors jump in to help people out inside this burning duplex in the middle of the night. a live report next. and we're trashgi itracking downpours through the south bay. we'll let you know what cities may see a rare dusting of the white stuff. that rainfall current and pas past is having an effect on your commute. land o'lakes spreadable butter with canola oil

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your commute this morning and we have some wind advisories to talk about if you're heading over some bay area bridges. i'm christie smith. i'll talk about that coming up. i'm bob redell. we're live here in the south bay where the search is on for a cause of fire that destroyed a duplex and left four people without a home. that story coming up. police asking for help to find suspects in a kidnapping and torture case all over a p.i.n. number. taking a live look outside. golden gate bridge camera looks a little like a kaleidoscope this morning. wet out there on the roadways on this wednesday, february 29th, "today in the bay." good morning to you. thanks so much for joining us. leap day today. only see that every four years. 6:30. i'm laura garcia-cannon. >> i'm jon kelley. we check in with meteorologist christina loren right now. what's the weather like?

>> we've got a lot of heavy rain still coming down now. we have seen a little bit of improvement especially up in the north bay south to the golden gate bridge but take a look at this live picture from the 17 summit. yes, it is coming down heavily through here and let's show you the radar where we're seeing the heaviest rain move through the bay area at this point. radar shows you, we've got heavy downpours coming through fremont, headed towards the east bay and we zoom in to the bay bridge toll plaza. right now they're getting a little bit of a break from the rain but wind is relentless, whipping that rain around. christie smith is live out there this morning. what's it like at this point? >> reporter: good morning to you. i can tell you that it is on again, off again, and the good news though i think is that the metering lights are on which basically forces drivers to slow down which i think is a good thing and they need to do that before they hit the incline where there's a wind advisory in effect on the bay bridge and the san mateo bridge still this

morning. you get up high there on the upper deck and you can really feel that wind pulling the steering wheel. we drove it this morning and also drove 880 in oakland and we saw quite a bit of standing water there. then the santa cruz mountains this morning, some really wet conditions near the summit. caltrans has their electronic message boards lit up this morning that the roads are very slippery and the hills are soaked, mud making its way down toward the roads. these are the kinds of conditions that you're going to be facing as you head out this morning. and for a little bit more on what the roads are looking like this morning, i'll turn it over to mike inouye. >> in combination with the wet roads, slippery conditions and high winds, we have a couple of accidents in oakland making this the reality past the coliseum. those taillights are traveling northbound. believe it or not, this is better than it was ten minutes ago. traffic starting to move a little bit now after the accident at 23rd has just cleared from the northbound side. we see southbound the sol volume

of vatraffic but that's nothing. more to follow in the next report coming up. 6:32. a family in san jose just grateful to be alive this morning after a fire swept right through their deplex overnight. "today in the bay's" bob redell live in san jose, he has the latest updates. >> reporter: good morning to you, jon. this was a duplex, two families, total of four people without a home this morning. fortunately they're all okay. to give you a sense of just how fast this fire spread when it destroyed this duplex here on denise and almaden, the fire department says they arrived within seven minutes and this is what they saw. when they pulled up on the scene as you see by this iphone video taken by one of the chiefs, the fire was already bursting through the roof. it was fully involved. they had to call for a second alarm. the fire department says this fire was wind-driven.

we had a lot of gusty winds earlier. meteorologist christina loren has been warning us about. and also the fact that this roof was shake. that's a light wood. very flammable. those are the two factors that combined to unfortunately have this house go up completely being destroyed. four adults, two in each unit. they all got out okay. so did the did the next-door neighbor s whose home was threatened. >> i was asleep in the bedroom next door and my sister was pounding on the door to let us know that the fire was next door. so thank god because i was sleeping right through it. as you imagine, i just grabbed my kids and got pets and got out of the house and here we are. so everyone's safe. >> reporter: fire department doesn't know what caused this fire but we are starting to get the daylight. that means soon they'll be able to get an investigator inside to search for the source of ignition. we spoke with one of the adults who did make it out okay. his impression was that this

fire started in the ceiling above the garage. we'll hear from him coming up in about 20 minutes. reporting live here in south san jose, bob redell, "today in the bay." another huge fire still in the clean-up stages in napa. the two-story home on redwood road was engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived around 9:00 last night. it took almost two hours just to get it under control. napa valley register reports house belongs to an antique shop owner and not surprisingly several antiques were inside the house, along with a 6,000-book library. luckily no one was hurt. another hearing this morning in the domestic abuse trial of san francisco's domestic violence trial. attorneys for his wife filed motions asking to dismiss his case and throw out statements she made to a neighbor about the new year's eve argument that left bruises on her arm. the judge will rule on motions this morning. if the case goes forward, potential jurors will begin

filling out questionnaires this afternoon. santa cruz investigators are asking for your help to find three people who kidnapped, robbed and tortured a man over the weekend. sheriff investigators say the man in this surveillance footage and two friends, including a woman, beat up a victim at a motel room at the santa cruz inn. the suspects punched, choked and burned the victim's body with cigarettes all to get him to reveal his atm number. victim managed to escape and get help but the suspects took off in the victim's red nissan central. if you know anything, call the santa cruz county sheriff's department. look like clean-up is coming for a south bay property just buried under piles of trash. in an update to a story we told but last week, the santa clara county supervisors have declared a home now in east san jose a public nuisance. the yard and home on south clairmont avenue is just filled with almost anything -- furniture, mechanical parts, garbage, mattresses, all piled up to the roof. declaration clears the way for

caltrans crews to go on to that property to finally legally start up the clean-up. let's see how it is looking out there this morning with meteorologist christina loren. >> a natural clean-up for your cars, for your lawns out there. you don't have to get out there with your hose later on today which we have had to do many days this winter. we're getting a lot of rain and it is coming in quickly. south bay right now getting hammered. san jose is proetty dry right now but there is no rain on the way. it looks like probably 25 minutes away from this big heavy cell passing through san jose. get ready for treacherous driving conditions. it's been raining for the past four hours or so. but we are starting to see some improvement. we take you north. fremont starting to get a little bit more easing here. dublin getting a break. hayward you just had pretty heavy rain roll through your neck of the woods so watch out for slick driving conditions at least for the next couple of hours. temperatures are going to be on the cool side today.

47 degrees in san jose. 47 in sunnyvale. only expecting low 50s all across the board. a cold blast moves in later on. that's going to drop your temperatures significantly as we head through about 4:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. tonight. that's when the coldest air mass from this storm arrives and that means low snow levels. it all works out like this for today. 52 degrees at noon inland with some showers coming down. 51 degrees at the bay. temperatures will remain uniform because of all of the cloud cover and that cold air moving in. we're not going to see a lot of difference between inland temps versus those at the coast today. we will see improvement from these showers. i will time that out to a tee for you and talk about a warm-up headed our way for the weekend. 70-degree weather back in the seven-day forecast. it is in my next report. first, mike, it is looking rough out there this morning. >> it is a little better but definitely rough.

880, taillights moving past the coliseum up towards 23rd. back to the maps, the accident hasn't completely cleared. we have a number of issues and we have many lanes that have cleared and that's making things better. but details from championship still says we have a couple of lanes blocked at 23rd but at 16th the other steaccident nortf there has cleared from the runway. at the bottom of your screen, eastbound 580 approaching the castro valley y typically not an issue for the morning commute but it is right now because of a trar clos temporary closure because of an accident. south bay shows slowing. we end with this map. that's what you see. it is 6:39 right now. still to come on "today in the bay," pg&e has figured out how it is going to pay for billions of dollars in gas line upgrades. it is going to pass the cost on to you, the consumer. details coming up.

plus, the focus moving to super tuesday in the gop primaries. e'll have a live b rortep from shington o m mitt romney's latest victories. oh will you grab us some yoplait? sure. what flavor? mm, one of each. lemon burst, hm, cherry orchard, blackberry harvest... my daughter's grabbing some yoplait. pina colada, orange creme. i can't imagine where she is... strawberry cheesecake. [ grocery store pa ] clean up in aisle eight. found her! [ female announcer ] yoplait original.

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6:42 right now. mitt romney looking ahead to next tuesday after sweeping michigan and arizona primaries. he beat conservative rival rick santorum by just three percentage points in romney's home state of michigan. it was a close one. "today in the bay's" tracie potts is live in washington to tell us more.

good morning. >> laura, good morning. we knew it was going to be tight in michigan, not the case in arizona where he won with a spread of about 20 percentage points. but in michigan, we knew that it was going to be a tough primary for mitt romney and it was. as he put it, we didn't win by a lot but we won by enough. the thing is they divide those delegates proportionately so rick santorum will get about a dozen. mitt romney a few more than that. the exit polls show that he had trouble with conservatives, romney did, and poorer republicans, that santorum won unions and the democrats that he had urged to cross over and vote in this open primary. newt gingrich stayed in georgia which is the state he hopes to win looking forward to next week. it is the biggest prize on super tuesday. ron paul banking on virginia where only he and mitt romney are on the ballot there. that's the latest from washington. i'm tracie potts. back to you. >> always interesting to watch. 6:34 right now. our actually 6:43, i should say.

coming up, 15 minutes of uninterrupted news, including an overnight fire at a san jose deplud duplex. apple being close -- i've lost my train of thought. we'll take a look. now, that's progressive. call or click today.

welcome back, everyone. time is 6:46. meteorologist christina loren here to tell us what we should be bracing for outside. i have a feeling you might need an umbrella. >> yeah, it is one of those california weekends because of the rain that's coming through and the warm-up on the way you could comfortably hit the snow in sierra, nevada, including the beach. 70 degree weather on the way. if the cold wet start has you

feeling a little bit gloomy, we'll warm you right back up in 72 hours. down in the south bay, we told you san jose you were next to get hit and yeah, we have some heavy downpours coming down through the city of san jose, campbell getting hit pretty hard. this will be the case for the next 15 minutes or so. it is not just the green we are dealing with this morning, it is the yellow and red, heavy downpours. we'll see more activity push onshore. as we head throughout the day today, the front is pushing through as we speak. behind it is the very cold blast. that cold blast is going to make temperatures tumble later on this afternoon and we're talking about some really show snow levels. any precipitation that comes on down later tonight after the cold blast could come down in the form of snow below 1,500 feet so it is really going to get cold around here. future cast tells the story. showers slothroughout the day today, you will have some opportunities to get outside but they will be limited.

by tomorrow, showers the first part of the morning. another rough commute to work but then we'll get clearing by the second half of the day. we'll wake up friday morning with clean air quality, fresh powder in the sierra, nevada and even over mount hamilton we'll probably see a nice white cap by saturday morning. some cities in tahoe, three to four feet of powder. brian hickey was out there in soda springs this morning. it is a cold system so we will see a lot of the fluffy snow that you snowboarders love. this weekend, warming back up. you can hit the beach. santa cruz on sunday, about 67 degrees. 70 degrees on monday inland staying warm. we're going that toe you out live, we're in the weather elements this morning. christie smith is a brave girl to be out there. what's it like out there at the bay bridge toll plaza? >> reporter: good morning to you. i'm happy to say it is not too bad ot here at all, but boy, is

it gray out here this morning. what's happening is that it's been on again, off again rain. you think it is not raining, then suddenly you hit a spot where it is raining so hard that you can barely see. wind advisory still in effect this morning on the bay bridge and also the san mateo bridge. i just got off the phone with the chp. they're telling me they have officers on the bridges keeping an eye on conditions. it was really windy when we drove over this morning. also wanted to show you what it is like in the south bay this morning where, boy, it was raining cats and dogs near the summit in the santa cruz mountains we have a live picture there. caltrans signs lit up this morning just reminding you that the roads are very slippery. in between our hits this morning, i've been listening to traffic reports. sounds like there are a lot of accidents. >> you are absolutely right. you were listening well. we are looking at rain for 17 and the summit. coming up out of the santa cruz

mountains. no problems as far as speeds go but be very careful driving over the hill. gusty conditions. then as you cross there, northbound 85 shows speeds into the 40s and 20s at times, volume really kicking in. 87, 101, all slow in through san jose. a typical pattern but definitely heavier that we see at this time on any typical wednesday. lower those speeds for safety sake, of course. peninsula side moves nicely, 101 and 280 despite a lot of rain. 880 south out of fremont, newark city and fremont, slowing. earlier accidents, eastbound 580 still blocking one lane approaching the castro valley y. a lot of slowing. northbound 880 at 23rd, the earlier accident has completely cleared finally from lanes. we still have a slow drive. live look past the coliseum, still stacking up at high street but moving nicely around the bend, up through downtown then

hitting the bay bridge toll plaza where christie smith talked about those continuously changing conditions. misty conditions, rainy conditions and wind is a factor around the bay, guys. lower those speeds and just be patient. new this morning -- firefighters still mopping up after flames consume a san jose duplex. "today in the bay's" bob redell is live at the scene now and he talked with one of the people who managed to escape this fire. >> reporter: good morning, jon. four adults lived in this duplex, including a mother and son who are in the background here by the green car. they were just left back inside to try to salvage anything that they might be able to take with them. unfortunately, there's not much because you can see this is a total loss for the most part. i did speak with the son. he doesn't know what caused this. he did get the sense that it started above the garage, spread from there, destroyed their home. this iphone video shows what greeted firefighters as they pulled up to this location at denise and almaden just a little bit after 3:00 this morning.

you could see flames already bursting through the roof. the captain tells us the fire was so difficult to fight because it was wind driven and the roof was shake. that's a light wood that's very flammable. those factors combined caused the structure to go up like a tinder box. >> my mom woke up to hearing the cracking of the fire so we came in and woke me up. then there was somebody on our door banging and some neighbor was driving by and banging on our door to tell us there was a fire. damn near close to tears thinking about how lucky we are. >> nad you made it out okay. i'm glad. >> yeah. scary situation. >> the fire department tells us they knew they would need reinforcements. they had to call for a second alarm not only to fight this fire at the duplex itself but to send some firefighters downwind to make sure that any burning embers didn't drift away and catch anything else on fire. they did succeed in that. reporting live here in south san jose, bob redell, "today in the bay." still no answer this morning

on what caused a four-alarm fire at a mountain view apartment complex. investigators spent yesterday just sifting through all the ashes at the apartments. ten units were damaged or destroyed in monday's fire and dozens others, tenants were left homeless. many returned yesterday to try and gather up some of their belongings. the exact cause right now is still a mystery to firefighters. repairs cannot beginning gin until the investigation is complete. 6:53. lawyers will be back in court this morning for the san francisco sheriff's domestic violence trial. the judge will hear pre-trial motions filed by attorneys for his wife. they're asking that the case be dismissed. if that fails, they want statements she made to a neighbor thrown out. if the case moves forward, potential jurors will begin filling out questionnaires this afternoon. he is facing misdemeanor domestic abuse charges for bruising his wife's arm during a new year's eve argument.

6:53 right now. pg&e looking to pass the buck wanting customers to pick up the tab for more than $2 billion in pipeline upgrades. "the mercury news" reporting the company filed its latest plan for improvements this week. consumer groups are not too happy. they want the company and shareholders to pay for all the upgrades claiming the company already misspent rate pares' money. pg&e under the amount shareholders would have to pay to $360 million but that still leaves customers on the hook for the rest. a hearing on this plan and who should pay for it is set to begin in march. 6:54 right now. a controversial technique to extract oil in california is widespread inspite of the outcry of environmentalists. right now the state is doing nothing about the practice called fracing and in fact doesn't even know who's doing it or where. here's nbc bay area investigative unit reporter stephen stock with a preview of what he uncovered. >> reporter: steve craig and his partner moved to the remote countryside of monterey county

for its beauty more than 30 years ago. they stayed for the lifestyle and now make a living off their 50 acres of land. >> to someone who farms or ranches out here, this is -- this is the center of the universe. >> reporter: but craig now believes that lifestyle has come under siege by a practice taking place underground. >> this site was injection fractured without disclosure to the county. >> reporter: fracking, also known as hydraulic fracturing, has been going on in this state for years. >> the state has been turning a blind eye to this and even after we basically came to them and presented them with information saying, listen, there is fracking here, they subsequently told us -- >> don't worry about it. >> don't worry about it. don't worry about it and we're not planning to do anything. >> stevens spent weeks investigating this story and can you see his full report tonight on nbc bay area news at 11:00

right after law and order special victims unit. in that report you'll see what one bay area lawmaker is doing to try to change current fracking rules in california. breaking news out of washington, d.c. to tell you about. a big win for the united states' battle with north korea over its nuclear program. "today in the bay's" marla tellez is in our newsroom now with the details. >> reporter: good morning. the u.s. says north korea has agreed to suspend its nuclear activities. specifically the north says it will suspend uranium enrichment and has agreed to a moratorium on nuclear an long-range missile tests. a state department spokesperson says north korea will allow u.s. inspectors to confirm once they disable their nuclear reactor. the agreement is surprising because just on monday, two days ago, north korea was threatening an all-out war. officials there upset about the joint military drills that were under way between the u.s. and south korea. in other breaking news coming out of london, james murdoch announcing he is stepping down as executive

chairman of news insurance. murdoch, seen here alongside his father, of course, rupert murdoch during a hearing last summer regarding the hacking scandal that's plagued the elder murdoch's news of the world publication. jon, james murdoch says he now plans to focus on expanding international television businesses. you have a second chance to get a glimpse of the international space station tonight. if the clouds clear, nasa says look for bright star-like moving object moving slower than an airplane in the west sky around 7:17. you need to look quickly. it will only be visible for about 20 seconds. a brazilian man accuses of trying to open up a bank account with one of the worst fake i.d.s in the history of mankind. this is the dichld, and yes, that is jack nicholson's picture on it. police say the 41-year-old man used it and self-other forged documents -- or tried to use it.

this was yesterday. to open up the account. we are told suspect bears absolutely no resemblance whatsoever to the 74-year-old very famous jack nicholson. that's a good picture of jack -- >> i think it is a mugshot? >> that looks like one of his movie pictures. good work there, pal. apple in focus this morning on wall street. business and tech reporter scott mcgrew knows why. >> my guy spent all morning putting the balloons up in the rafters. now we can't get them to come down. but apple has crossed a half a trillion dollars in overall market capitalization. very exciting. the other thing going on is the nasdaq is this close to 3,000! we haven't been this close to 3,000 since december 11th of 2000. of course the nasdaq at that time was going the other way. some video from electronic arts. this is the katy perry version of "the sims." it comes out march 6th. katy perry's been involved with electronic arts for a good, long

time. at least i think that's katy perry. >> thank you very much. talk about the rain coming down, christina loren has the forecast. >> heavy downpours still rolling through the south bay. good morning to you. radar shows you heavy batch situated right over san jose. as we head throughout the day today, we'll get a little bit of a break by 10:00 a.m. more rain moves onshore. i'll post updates on my facebook page all day. >> that south bay rain leads to south bay slowing. heavier and slower than normal for your northbound commute. getting to the peninsula, east hillsdale boulevard at southbound 101, deadly accident just off of the freeway. the ramp is closed. we're going to o have local news updates and hit traffic and weather as