of people line up overnight at o.co coliseum in oakland for a chance at free dental and eye care. i'm christie smith. and i'll tell you how long this will last coming up in a live report. day six and still no sign of sierra lamar. her mother's plea to the people in morgan hill. that story coming up. a standoff ends overnight with the death of a gunman in france. see how it ended after more than 30 hours coming up. a live look outside, a little moisture on the roads. mike says be careful, christina says more is on the way, we're getting closer to the weekend. thursday, march 22nd, "today in the bay." good morning to you, and thanks so much for joining us. 6:00 right now, i'm laura garcia-cannon. >> good morning, everybody. glad you joined us. let's check in with christina loren to find out what's happening in the world of

weather. >> you can safely leave that umbrella at home. if you do get any showers, they are going to be very light. let me show you the impressive front. that's all that's left this morning, yeah. fizzle, fizzle. but maybe a little drizzle on your way. we do have a stronger onshore flow and fog out there. give yourself a little extra time for that, but yeah, that's it. that's our storm system. you're welcome. see how that's impacting your drive with mike. >> better warned than sorry, right? and there's stuff coming through. we're looking over here at the bridges, though, the dunbarton bridge. what's cleared is the construction that's blocking two of your eastbound lanes. we will look at the san mateo bridge a little to the north. and even though the front's not as strong as we talked about, you will have some of that drizzle, low clouds drifting through, that might be making this shot look a little darker and twinkly with the lights. it has a nice effect. >> a little different story.

hundreds of people lined up right now in the east bay desperately, excuse me, seeking health care. doctors, dentists, and optometrists are all offering their services for free. live at o.co where the line started forming overnight. good morning. >> good morning to you. the parking lot here gives you an idea of how many people are here, how many people need care. it's almost like a game is going on. the parking lot is so full here this morning, hundreds of people came out. some of them sat outside the gates here to the parking lot since yesterday afternoon. then it just opened up after midnight. what happened maybe about 5:30, they went inside, they went up the ramp and started the process of intake inside the coliseum. there are also hundreds of volunteers inside to help with dental and eye care. some basic medical for adults and children. this is a four-day clinic put on by a group called remote area medical. the volunteers come from all over the country to help out.

but the dentist and the doctors are from california. they do fillings, extractions, cleaning, even make eyeglasses onsight. on-site. >> we have care because there's a lot of people that -- and we see people who haven't seen dentists in years. >> reporter: now, of course, this is meant for people who don't have medical insurance or just can't afford it. maybe they're unemployed. again, it's all free and what they did this morning is they started handing out tickets to let people in. they're up to about 500. and what they're telling me is that each day of this four-day clinic, they cap it at about 1,000 people. so if you need help, you want to get here as early as you can. you don't need any i.d. reporting live in oakland, christie smith, "today in the bay." and new this morning, the highway patrol is trying to track down a driver who bolted from his car on foot after

leading officers on a pursuit through several east bay cities. highway patrol says the officers tried to pull over a blue saturn suv around 2:10 this morning. but the driver wouldn't pull over and led police on a pursuit all the way to oakland. the driver and passenger got out of the car and ran away. >> a perimeter was set up and we did not apprehend the driver. however, we do have information to lead us to the driver and we're going to follow up now. >> officers say they initially tried to pull the car over because officers suspected the driver may have been driving under the influence. tomorrow marks one week since the disappearance of 15-year-old sierra lamar. while her family and friends are right now desperate to find her, police, well, they appear no closer to solving this mystery. live in morgan hill where sierra's mother has a message for the community. good morning, bob. >> yeah, good morning to you, john. and in her quest to find her daughter who was supposed to

show up at the school bus stop last friday morning, marlene lamar has made a request is asking for her friends and just the community of morgan hill for help. at a prayer vigil last night, another one for her daughter, this one in fremont where sierra lamar lived before moving to morgan hill to live with her mother, marlene lamar made a plea to property owners asking them, please, search your land, especially those pieces of property that are posted with no trespassing signs. she wants them to see if there's anything on the property that could be some sort of clue, evidence to point investigators in the direction of sierra's whereabouts. the only item that has turned up so far is sierra's cell phone. that was found right off the top along the side of a road down the road from the family home here in morgan hill. the latest from the sheriff's office is that, unfortunately, that cell phone along with sierra's computer have not revealed any information about her whereabouts.

if sierra was abducted, there was one person at last night's vigil who could relate, mitsy sanchez who was 8 years old when she was kidnapped back in 2000. she escaped after being locked in her abductor's car for two days. >> it definitely brings back a lot of bad memories. i could just imagine what sierra's going through. i didn't really get too much of what was going on on the outside. i didn't know if anyone was looking or how my family felt. >> you can hear more of that one-on-one exclusive interview with mitsy sanchez tomorrow morning on "today." >> if you have any information, anything about sierra's disappearance, detectives have set up a special e-mail address. i'll take my time here. it's on your screen if you want to get that down. we've also put this e-mail address on our website, nbcbayarea.com. san leandro police are

looking for a man who sexually assaulted a female at knife point. that attack happened tuesday night on bridge road near san jose street. police say a man entered the victim's home, showed her a knife and sexually assaulted her. if you have any information about that attack, call san leandro police. brentwood police this morning investigating the discovery of two bodies. they say a teenage girl found her parents dead in their home yesterday. police say the couple was shot. at this point it is unclear if the daughter was actually at home at the time of this crime. they're right now investigating it as a homicide, but they do say they're also looking at the possibility of a murder/suicide. it could be brentwood's first homicide since 2010. 6:07 right now. a man accused of beating a man to death with a ceramic flower pot will be in court today. he'll attend a mental competency hearing this morning. he's accused of killing peter

sucor earlier this month. berkeley's chief says the initial call about a trespasser came on a non-emergency line. his wife tried to call 911, her call was answered in minutes. police deny they were distracted by an occupy protest. berkeley police also investigating a string of robberies at u.c. berkeley labs. the daily californian reporting thousands of dollars of equipment has been stolen over the past several months. thieves have smashed lab windows. campus police increasing patrols overnight and looking for ways to hopefully make the labs more secure. 6:08 right now. i want to check the forecast with christina loren. we're done with the showers, but we do have thick fog out there. if you're trying to check a flight, check ahead before picking someone up from the airport this morning, as well. as we are expecting more fog to develop. as we head through the next few

hours, we're looking good in terms of your overall visibility. you might encounter a deep pocket on your way to work. we're going to see a nice day today. slight cooling, afternoon sunshine, we'll see the clouds break away. as we head through this week and we've got a lot of rain on the way, potentially measuring 2 to 3 inches in some cities. for today, 55 degrees inland by noon, you'll be at 62 degrees as you make your way home from work after completing a successful thursday. tomorrow, guys, is friday and looks good. and the rain arrives this weekend. we'll time that out in the next report. first, let's check with mike on your drive. the maze and the approach to the bay bridge moving very smoothly right now. we'll get a live look out past the coliseum and see how things are shaping up for 880, as well. more lights, no major slowing at the speed limit through oakland. south to the san mateo bridge is a smooth ride, as well. the volume picks up here. highway 4 really kicking in as

you're coming through antioch, a standard flow there as you're heading up toward l street. we have the speed down towards 10:00 miles per hour and i'm calling this out. pittsburgh and bay point. we're now seeing speeds into the 50s. starting to lower as the volume builds there and the earlier accident and the cleanup has completely cleared from the roadway. 580, a smooth drive here, but 880 as the volume continues to build here, and past the dublin interchange, reports of a delivery truck that ran over a tire is now stuck under the car. it's over on the right-hand shoulder, it's a red bull truck, too bad they can't fly. i thought their advertisement said red bull has wings, guys. back to you. >> i could use some. hot talk on the presidential campaign trail this morning is all about an etch-o-sketch. >> that'll help the economy. the standoff in endnds ovoverninight th[ female announcer ] here in california, our schools need help.

the largest class size in the nation. 47th out of 50 in per-student funding. but right now, we can make history with a ballot measure to send every k-through-12 dollar straight to our schools. to every school and every child. not to sacramento. it's the only initiative that can say all that. check out our online calculator and find out how your school would benefit. visit ourchildrenourfuture2012.com today.

new this morning, france's president taking to the mike just moments ago talking about the 32-hour standoff with a murder suspect which has just ended. "today in the bay" is following the situation very closely. joining us from the newsroom with the developments. >> reporter: good morning, that standoff lasted well over a day as you mentioned and ended at about 4:00 this morning our time. but only after the suspect jumped to his death. i'll get to those details in a moment, but first, just about 30 minutes ago, president nicholas sarkozy acknowledging the outcome while addressing his country saying an investigation is underway to see if the suspect mohammed merah had any accomplices. he also said anyone who regularly visits, "websites which support terrorism or call for hate or violence" will be

punished by the law. here's a live look at the scene right now in france where everything came to a head this morning. french police officially entering the apartment where merah was hold up about 2:00 this morning. they say he was hiding in the bathroom. now, a shootout followed and that's when they say he jumped out of a window still firing his weapon. police say they found him dead on the ground. they also say one of the last statements merah made was he wanted to, quote, die with weapons in his hands, which he did. merah admitted to police he killed three children and a rabbi at a jewish school on monday also three paratroopers last week. officials say that the 23-year-old is a self-proclaimed member of al qaeda who wanted to avenge the death of palestinian children, wanted to protest the french army's involvement in afghanistan and "bring france to its knees." merah's death comes one day after the victims from that school shooting earlier this week were laid to rest in

israel. that was just yesterday. >> thank you very much for the update. now to some better news this morning, hopefully getting a look at that forecast. >> you know, it's good news. usually the rain is something that we complain about, but we still need that rain to replenish our water supply for the summer months. this morning, we didn't get much. that's what's left of the front right now centralized this morning. if you're headed down the central valley, you might find light showers, but our window for those showers is really starting to close quickly. we're going to close it entirely around 9:00 a.m. visibility is dropping off just about everywhere at this point by the coast, you'll find deep pockets of fog. the usual suspects, so take it easy through there. also san francisco where we have 10 miles of visibility at the airport, we also have flight delays. so some very low ceilings out there are making for dangerous conditions in the air. you want to keep that in mind, check ahead before you fly. the fog isn't right at the surface just yet, but it's

definitely hovering in a position that will interrupt flights. so keep that in mind, at least for the next couple of hours. as we head throughout the afternoon today, temperatures are going to be on the mild side in the 60s. we start to get our first shower activity as we head through saturday morning. looks like saturday afternoon you'll be able to get outdoors for limited opportunities, probably for about an hour or two between noon and 3:00 p.m. then more showers saturday and then sunday, that's your day for outdoor activities if you want to make those plans, maybe a barbecue for the first weekend of spring. 59 degrees in dublin, 60 in black hawk, so you'll probably need that jacket all day, but you can leave that umbrella at home at this point. saturday into sunday, keep that umbrella by your side. i think sunday's your day for outdoor activity. by monday, warming back up to 58 degrees and getting a nice, dry break, but then more showers on the way tuesday into wednesday, but spring showers with temps in the 60s inland. let's check your drive with mike. and foex, we'll take you to

the south bay looking at 101. so we are seeing a volume increase right up to 680. but holding steady with the -- that's unusual slowing especially on the southbound side. the rest of the south bay moves very smoothly according plan. getting down here, 680 moves nicely, as well. livermore, an 18-minute drive, typical slowing patterns coming into and through livermore in the westbound commute direction. the dublin interchange is okay, but the truck over on the shoulder ran over a tire -- got to unwedge that from under the truck. but the lanes are okay, just a distraction. as we move over to the y, 580 also holding steady, the traditional little blip off the interchange and a smooth drive south toward the san mateo bridge, the peninsula site is clear. 880 north from 238, just a 15-minute drive. the metering lights just turned on a few minutes ago, the backup is forming toward the 880

crossing nothing worse than that and the gradual typical build. san rafael, we've got a live shot up there and you can see traffic flowing smoothly around the curves but the volume starting to kick in. the 60s down through san rafael, but expect that to dip from highway 37 down to 580 is your typical gem spot later on. it's 6:18 right now. calls for more oil drills in the u.s. may not be putting a dent on drivers' wallets, however. a study done by the associated press shows u.s. production has a small influence on supply. since 1976, when adjusted for inflation, increased drilling did not translate to lower prices. analysts from several top universities are backing that study. this contradicts what several gop presidential candidates have been asking the government to do. of course, oil in the u.s., one of the hot topics out on the campaign trail as president obama continues his two-day tour

to promote his energy plan. the president expected to use his stop in oklahoma to announce a request to fasttrack permitting the use of the southern portion of the keystone pipeline. the president has opposed the section that crosses the border from canada. >> they don't know what they're talking about or they're not telling you the truth. we're drilling all over the place. >> well, the company building that keystone pipeline says it will reapply for permission to build a section coming out of canada. well, rick santorum and newt gingrich teaming up against mitt romney with etch-o-sketches. that's coming after one of romney's top aides said once romney gets the nomination, he plans to erase his conservative focus just like when you shake that classic toy. romney says the issue he's running on now will be the same

if he gets the nomination. a bay area gay couple will fight to stay together today when they attend a deportation hearing in san francisco. brian willingham is a u.s. citizen, his husband, alphonso garcia is from mexico. he had been working on his legal status when he married brian last summer in new york, then in june, garcia got a traffic ticket and now the feds want to send him back to mexico and bar him from coming to the u.s. for ten years. garcia does not have the same protection as when immigrants marry americans in heterosexual relationships. the federal government does not recognize same-sex marriage. the biggest ever cargo ship to ship into san francisco's bay will leave today. the monster-sized ship arrived yesterday and unloaded its cargo there. it will leave the terminal today on its way to china. almost as long as the empire state building is tall and as wide as a ten-lane freeway. the port says, well, this is the

biggest ship ever to come into the san francisco bay and this one is the size -- the big ones are better for the environment because they produce lower emissions per container. 6:20 right now. coming up, it's not time for last call just yet, find out why there's still hope for the gold dust lounge. and the senate considers a new law that would give you the opportunity to get in on start-ups before the ipo.? we'll take a look isdco eami? we'lp.l ke a look coming up. ♪

♪ hit the road, jack ♪ and don't you come back no more ♪ ♪ no more, no more, no more ♪ hit the road, jack ♪ and don't you come back no more ♪ [ male announcer ] want your weeds to hit the road? hit 'em with roundup extended control. one application kills weeds and puts down a barrier to stop new ones for up to four months. roundup extended control spray once. stop weeds for months.

welcome back, everyone, and good morning to you. not last call just yet for san francisco's gold dust lounge. city's preservation committee deadlocked on a vote yesterday on whether to grant landmark status to that bar. another vote will be held next month. the bar's owners are trying the historic status tactic to avoid eviction. the landlord told the owners of the bar to move out and make way for a retail store. you ever wonder just how fast the business side of the nfl moves in 2012? we'll let you know. the new york jets announced trade was official for tim tebow. six minutes later this web page popped up on nfl.com. so, yes, this morning you can order up your tim tebow jets jersey or jets t-shirt. but they don't even know what number tebow's going to wear, so nothing is delivered until that decision. but feel free to pre-order. >> amazing. well, yesterday, scott

showed us video of what appeared to be a man flying like a bird and we asked what you thought, fake or real? that certainly got a lot of responses. >> we did. we got a lot of responses and they were split down the middle. here's a brief clip out of the haig netherlands, a guy spent weeks designing these wings and look at this, he takes off. or does he? on a short flight. first time in human history it would appear. several viewers on facebook pointed out to other news agencies which were saying the video is, indeed, real. but a viewer named albert said he'd want to see this in person before he'd be convinced and viewers aaron and danny simply call it fake. now, we think those who say fake are right. artists at the bay area's industrial light and magic point out this strange thing. see the black square on the left wing but there's none on the right. watch the camera's going to pan down and pan back up again. now, wait a minute, there is a black square on the right. we think this is cg. we think the original.

there's the original. that's a real wing and this is a fake wing, or at least we think so. all right. more serious news. we could see the senate vote on the controversial jobs act by 9:30 our time today. the house has already passed a similar bill. jobs stands for jump start our business start-ups. it would rally change the way small investors could give start-ups money. it would give mom and pop investors an opportunity to get in on the ground floor of a hot new start-up and make big profits when the company ipos. but that means they'd be getting in on it with very little information and very little federal oversight, john and laura. so there's great concern as to whether small investors have the knowledge and the access they need to make those sort of decisions. >> big financial decisions. >> yeah. >> very nice. thank you very much, scott. it is 6:26 right now. people started lining up yesterday for free medical clinics opening up in oakland this morning. we have a live report from there coming up. it's day seven of the serge

f search for sierra lamar in morgan hill. and a lot of rain on the way to the bay area. mother nature slated to help you with your cleaning for the first weekend of spring. we'll time out this system and another one, complete forecast coming up. and we're looking at your 580 commute westbound through the tri-valley. we have one, maybe two incidents that's going to make it even u brier thi'te out bring you the latest coming up. ♪

[ male announcer ] to hold a patent that has changed the modern world...

would define you as an innovator. to hold more than one patent of this caliber... would define you as a true leader. ♪ to hold over 80,000... well that would make you... the creators of the 2012 mercedes-benz e-class... quite possibly the most advanced luxury sedan ever. starting at $50,490. sierra lamar's cell phone a dead end, unfortunately, for investigators trying to find the 15-year-old girl. we'll take you live to morgan hill for the latest on her search and investigation. ross mirkarimi has been suspended as san francisco's sheriff. find out what needs to happen next if he's going to lose that job permanently. and hundreds of people line up overnight at o.co coliseum in oakland for a chance at free dental care.

i'll tell you how it works and how long it'll last coming up. and a live look outside from the south bay this morning. clouds, what's in store for the forecast. this is "today in the bay." good morning to you. and thanks so much for joining us, 6:30 right now, i'm laura garc garcia-cannon. >> and i'm john kelly. let's see what's in store for today and beyond. >> today looks good, tomorrow looks good, not just because it's friday, but temperatures are expected to be in the 60s. we have a strong system on the way. we'll time that out for you and rain in the forecast for next week, as well. a lot to talk about. first, though, mike has an incident that could slow you down in the east bay. >> slowing you down more in what is already a slow commute. we know about this westbound 580 commute through livermore.

we have a new accident, maybe two. one reported westbound involving a motorcycle. one coming into the same area. looks like both of them have the same details. i'm going to say somewhere between greenville and vasco there's an accident between a truck and a motorcycle in the center divide. doesn't sound like any major injuries. that could make things a little easier through livermore and i've got two incidents to check up on the bay bridge. >> perfect. we'll check back with you. 6:31 right now, there's another vigil scheduled for tomorrow for 15-year-old sierra lamar. she's a morgan hill teen who hasn't been seen since she left for school last friday. "today in the bay" live in morgan hill where sierra's family not surprisingly becoming more and more worried each and every day. bob, good morning. >> good morning. while the sheriff's office is still trying to figure out why sierra lamar never made it here to her bus stop for school last friday. her family and friends, the

people who love the 15-year-old girl hope to find that answer in prayer. >> i pray that she would be assured of the fact that her family and her friends, they love her and they miss her. >> last night, it was another prayer vigil. this one in fremont where sierra lived before moving to morgan hill last fall to live with her mother. marlene lamar made a plea last night at that vigil. the property owners in morgan hill asking them to please search their land especially for those pieces of property posted with no trespassing signs. to see if anything turns up. the only item that has turned up so far is sierra's cell phone that was found alongside a road down from her home here in morgan hill. the sheriff's office is now saying that that, unfortunately, that cell phone along with her computer have not revealed any information about her whereabouts. in another development, sierra's biological father steve lamar released a statement after it became known he is a registered

sex offender. and this is what he says, quote, i ask you please not shift the focus away from the investigation and from finding sierra. i also ask you please not let my past shape your opinion of sierra and my family. please understand i'm a dad and want nothing more than to find my missing daughter. the sheriff's office says that steve lamar is not a person of interest. and has been cooperating fly in this investigation. reporting live, today in the bay. >> and if you have information, anything about sierra's disappearance, detectives have set up a special e-mail address for you to write in, take a moment here if you want to write this down. we have it up on the screen. we've also put this e-mail address on our website. you can check this out again if you need to on nbcbayarea.com. more on the search for sierra, you will hear from a former kidnapping victim. what she thinks lamar and her family are going through at this point. we'll have that coming up in about 15 minutes and coverage

will continue later on today, today on the "today" show at 7:00. 6:33 right now. walnut creek police say they have a sketch of a man that appears to be stalking a young girl. the 13-year-old says the man offered her a ride, she ran away. the next day she spotted him waving at her near the iron horse trail. she ran away again. she tells police the man speaks with an accent and has a disabled placard hanging from the rearview mirror of a faded red older model sedan. well, suspended san francisco sheriff ross mirkarimi starts serving his sentence today in his domestic case. he will attend a year-long program for batterers after pleading guilty to false imprisonment. ed lee officially suspended mirkarimi and appointed an interim sheriff. she becomes the first woman to lead that department. san francisco's ethic commission will review the

mayor's charge of misconduct and advise the board of supervisors of whether to permanently remove him from office. 9 of 11 must vote against mirkarimi to have him removed. crews will start work on a temporary center divide for a dangerous stretch of highway 17. the bay area will be put in plac along the laurel curve where the current divider ends. last friday, a brentwood man became the latest victim to die in a head-on crash at the spot. the work on the temporary divide should be complete by the weekend weather permitting. hundreds of people braving the overnight chill, some standing in line for hours all waiting for a shot at some free health care. "today in the bay" christie smith is live where a lot of people have finally made their way inside straight to the doctors. christie, good morning. >> good morning to you, john. this is really meant for people who might not otherwise get dental care, maybe you don't have insurance or you're unemployed, but it's a great opportunity. it's all for free, they're offering fillings and

extractions and cleanings. and i want to give you a look at the parking lot. it's almost like a game is going on. that's how many people are out here. some of them lined up yesterday afternoon for this. even though the gates to the coliseum didn't open up until midnight and the clinic opened up at 5:30 this morning. we did get a look inside a little while ago. one room they have set up has 95 dental chairs ready to go. this is a four-day clinic, but remote area medical. this is a group that provides the free clinic for adults and kids. the volunteers come from all over the country. but the medical professionals are from california. kaiser is providing 200 volunteers. they offer the dental but also things like eye exams and even glasses on-site and patients are excited to be seen. >> it's going to help me. i need some major dental work done and perhaps i can get a new pair of glasses and perhaps a physical. >> reporter: it is first come, first serve, but you want to get

here early. each day they cap it to about 1,000 patients and right now, we're already nearing the 500. last year, they saw about 3,000 people. if you come down, you don't even need i.d. christie smith, today in the bay. >> helping out a lot of people. >> that's a great program. it's 6:07 right now. we'll check in with christina loren to see what our friday eve looks like. >> always looks a little bit better when you've got the rose-colored glasses of friday eve going. this morning, it's mild, we had light showers roll through earlier at this point. we are drying out nicely, in fact, i just took a peek outside and you can see clear skies. a mix of sun and clouds as the sun starts to make its first appearance. 51 in livermore, we're in the 50s just about everywhere except in santa rosa. weak front pass through the area, it's going to be cooler today and cloudy, limited sunshine for the first part of

the day. few a.m. showers, probably a few light, pesky showers, especially at the coast before about 10:00 a.m. and then tomorrow, we get our stronger front. that's going to potentially bring inches of rain to places even right here in san jose, the south bay expecting quite a bit of moisture that rides into the bay area early saturday morning. it all works out like this for today, locking good, 55 degrees by noon inland, 55 by the water, not much of a difference in your temperatures inland versus those by the water because of that cloud cover. 62 degrees by 4:00 p.m., tomorrow, even warmer and then the rain arrives. we'll time out that system and another one that moves in early next week. we'll look at the bay bridge approach for our friends coming down the east shore freeway. first thing to report, we do have a disabled vehicle that was originally reported at westbound 880 at powell. coming into berkeley and emeryville. then an accident reported at the same scene involving what sounded like one of those cars. we may have an accident scene right now or two separate

incidents very close proximity. this should cause slowing out of berkeley. we've seen a 23-minute drive with 30s as you approach. the toll plaza metering lights have been on since 6:30 last night. and that will just add to the slowdown as you approach from that portion of the east bay. the rest of the approaches, though, move smoothly through the area. antioch shows continued slowing and highway 4 through bay point and approaching concord where we see the 40s developing. plan on that for the morning commute, as well. we'll get a live look and see how things are shaping up. northbound 280 picking up the volume and i'll show you what else is going on because we have some slow spots coming up, back to you. >> thank you very much, mike. it is 6:39 right now. coming up on "today in the bay" police on the scene in the standoff in france that lasted more than 30 hours with a man accused of killing seven people. we'll have the latest update coming up. gas prices, the economy, and etch-o-sketch, the hot topics on the campaign trail.

a live report . w

president obama is jumping into the middle of the debate of high oil prices. part of that controversial oil pipeline running from texas to canada. it's a project republicans support, but they're not convinced the president is sincere. "today in the bay" has more on this, tracie potts live from washington. good morning. >> good morning, everyone. well, the republican reaction to

this announcement that's coming today is this. that the part of the keystone oil pipeline that the president wants to now fast track is not the controversial part. not the part that even needs his approval. it's the southern part of that pipeline that does not cross the border, it only crosses state borders and would need state approval, they say, but that northern part that would go through nebraska, that's the route that's been controversial. that's the part that the federal government said slow down, and that's not what the president will be talking about today. this is all part of his western tour to promote his energy plan. in the meantime, on the campaign trail, mitt romney is dealing with etch-o-sketch. remember that toy we had when we were kids? it popped up on the campaign trail because an aide to mitt romney said in the fall the campaign will be -- everything will change sort of like an etch-o-sketch. his rivals really jumped on that, rick santorum went to a romney campaign event, had his aides go and pass out the toy.

newt gingrich waved one in a news conference essentially trying to make the point that romney is going to erase what he's now saying or change his positions in the fall. romney came back in defense saying that is not the case and that's not what we meant. i'm not moving to the left, i'm a conservative candidate, nevertheless, we saw that etch-o-sketch all over the campaign trail today. >> they'll jump on anything, won't they, tracie. >> big fan of the etch-o-sketch and the slinky. coming up, including the latest on the search for the missing girl sierra lamar. a live report coming up. plus, aonus cur monyo ra.igadheht your car does a lot for you. do something for it. show it some love. chevron with techron. care for your car.

chocolate lemonade ? susie's lemonade... the movie. or... we make it pink ! with these 4g lte tablets, you can do business at lightning-fast speeds. we'll take all the strawberries, dave. you got it, kid. we have a winner. we're definitely gonna need another one. small businesses that want to grow use 4g lte technology from verizon. i wonder how she does it.

that's why she's the boss. because the small business with the best technology rules. contact the verizon center for customers with disabilities at 1-800-974-6006.

it is 6:46 right now. we want to check on your weather, so we bring in christina loren. >> nice and sweet, friday eve, we've got a weekend just around the corner, and it is going to rain this weekend. stay tuned, i'll let you know when you can get outdoors. future cast coming up in moments. right now, we're watching fog develop. we have those delays, 45 minutes due to low ceilings out of sfo. if you're trying to catch a flight, that could be problematic at least through about 9:00 a.m. as we progress throughout the day today, those clouds will clear, temperatures this morning are nice and mild, and because we're starting out so warm, we're going to hit the mid-60s today. our next storm system arrives as we head through tomorrow night. and we actually do have a slight window for showers, very light, pesky showers until about 10:00 a.m. today. after that, we'll see those clouds clear out. by 4:00 p.m., mostly sunny conditions over the bay area. we stop the clock for you once again at 6:00 p.m. tomorrow, mostly cloudy conditions, that says that front starts to approach. bringing our first showers early saturday morning and we're

talking about a quick punch of rain potentially measuring 2 to 3 inches. santa cruz mountains will get hammered yet again. by noon saturday, showers start to lighten up. you can start to get outdoors without the heavy, steady rain coming down. we continue that future cast into sunday, 3:00 a.m., starting to see a nice break, the pacific ocean becoming nice and clear and you'll be able to get outdoors all day sunday. you'll have those opportunities. for today, great opportunities to do so. 63 morgan hill, about 65 degrees today in evergreen, 60 in black hawk and san francisco with a fair amount of cloud cover. limited sunshine, just 56 degrees. another strong system late monday into tuesday. light shower wednesday, as well, we need the rain, though, but nothing like the system that's going to come through this weekend. let's talk to mike right now about your drive. >> all right. right now we are seeing a slower drive for the east shore freeway, we have that accident scene that is at powell. and that alone will be enough to cause more slowing. now we're at 25 minutes coming

off the bridge slowing there at powell street because of at least one incident, maybe two incidents, flashing lights. coming up from oakland -- a look at the south bay with the map. and the slow down for north 101 past the airport. look at that 280 northbound coming off the 680. early start and sticking around. really slow coming up, all the way into downtown, 85, showing this slow down north of 17. a little blip here and there right around the truck scales. we're looking at the 23-minute drive for westbound 580 through livermore. despite that accident, it's over on the southbound drive. and we still have 40s into and through the area approaching that dublin interchange. a live look outside, show you what it's like crossing the bay. look at these lights coming over from the peninsula side glowing. low clouds hover around the area. traffic flowing in your

westbound commute direction moving just fine. just be careful, that fog may present slick roadways. >> thank you very much, mike. it's 6:49 right now. tomorrow marks a week since the disappearance of 15-year-old sierra lamar while her family and friends are desperate to find her -- the sheriff's office appears no closer to solving the mystery so far. "today in the bay" is live in morgan hill where sierra's mother has a message for the community. >> good morning. well, in her quest to find out why her 15-year-old daughter did not make it here to her school bus stop last friday, marlene lamar is turning to the people of morgan hill for help. this was a scene last night at another prayer vigil. this one in fremont where sierra lamar used to live before moving to morgan hill. and at this vigil, marlene lamar made a plea to please search your land, especially those pieces of property posted with no trespassing signs to see if

there are any clues, any sort of evidence that might direct investigators to the whereabouts of sierra lamar. the only item that has turned up so far is sierra's cell phone. that was found several days ago alongside a road, down the street from the family's home here in morgan hill, and the latest from the sheriff's office is that, unfortunately, that cell phone along with sierra's computer have not revealed any information about her whereabouts. if sierra was abducted, there was one person at last night's vigil who could relate, mitsy sanchez who was 8 years old when she was kidnapped back in 2000. she escaped after being locked in her abductor's car for two days. >> it definitely brings back a lot of bad memories. i could just imagine what sierra's going through. i didn't really get too much of what was going on on the outside and i didn't know if anyone was looking or how my family felt. >> you can hear more of that

exclusive one-on-one interview with mitsy sanchez tomorrow morning on "today." reporting live, "today in the bay." "today" show will have much more on the search for sierra coming up at 7:00. unfortunately, a very sad ending to the search for a missing san francisco cyclist. 67-year-old kohler disappeared ten days ago. he was last seen heading for his tent at the campgrounds, but the next morning, there was no evidence of where he was. his body was found late tuesday dead, foul play not suspected here. an autopsy will determine the exact cause of death. could be one of the worst kinds of fever. a bandits making off with donations. they're getting calls from donors about their bags being swiped off the sidewalks. hopes processing center on alfred street has also been

targeted by thieves. a number of items have been stolen including surveillance cameras installed to protect the building from break-ins. there are hundreds of people lined up right now for free health care. the lines started forming overnight at o.co in oakland where doctors and optometrists are waiting to search the public. christie smith live there with a growing crowd apparently. good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you. we're only 90 minutes into this clinic this morning and already hundreds of people are inside the coliseum waiting to be seen. i spoke with a volunteer this morning and she shade that for a lot of people, this would be the first time they'd seen a dentist in about ten years. so it's a great opportunity for a cleaning, filling, or tooth extraction. they've got about 95 chairs set up in one room alone for a four-day free clinic for a group called remote area medical. this is all volunteers and the professionals are volunteers from here in california with dental care, eye exams, even

glasses made right on-site. they offer physicals. i spoke with one woman who told her whole church group about it. >> that's not good for me. i really appreciate it. >> this is meant for people who don't have health insurance, maybe they're unemployed or can't afford the dental care. but one thing you really want to do is get here early. we're at about 500 people inside the four-day clinic again. but they cap it each day at about 1,000 patients. that's the latest here reporting live in oakland, i'm christie smith, "today in the bay." the high-speed rail project could be decades away but the peninsula could reap benefits sooner. state and local leaders want to take $700 million of the bullet train money to electrify caltrain tracks. the project could be completed in just six years. supporters say it would lead to quieter, more efficient trains

and help caltrain become more solvent. the agreement calls for the state to spend $706 million in bond funds, money already set aside for the high speed rail. local counties would have to kick in $180 million in sales tax revenues and $500 million in federal grants. well, things could look a little different the next time you park in downtown walnut creek. the city will install 1,000 new parking meters. the meters will accept credit card payments and eventually payments from mobile devices. installation could take several weeks to complete and will cost around $900,000. the city will also install parking sensors later on this year that will give realtime information on free spaces. 6:55 right now, new this morning, more than 30-hour standoff with a gunman in france is over. "today in the bay" with a look at the suspect and how the country's president is reacting to this morning's developments. good morning. >> good morning. the image we have of mohammed

merah is disturbing because it shows him looking very happy. here he is smiling for the camera. well, this morning he's dead and we are just learning a prosecutor in france says merah did, in fact, videotape himself killing all seven of his victims. now, the standoff ended after 32 hours in a neighborhood. police deciding to storm the apartment where merah -- this is a look at the neighborhood. where merah was hold up only after he told police he did not want to surrender. and if he was attacked, he would kill plifrs. police made their way inside, they found him hiding in a bathroom. they say he came out "guns blazing" and he jumped out of a window while firing his weapon. now, over the course of the standoff, merah admitting to police he killed those three children and three paratroopers last week. the 23-year-old is described as an islamic extremist with ties

to al qaeda who boasted killing seven people. now, in response to today's outcome, french president nicholas sarkozy promising a crackdown on anyone who goes abroad, quote, for the purposes of indoctrination and terrorist ideology. the president is also saying an investigation is underway now to see if merah had any accomplices. john? >> thank you very much. well, we're hearing love and marriage don't necessarily go together anymore. sadly a new report from the cdc shows us the number of unmarried couples living together has jumped from about 10% in the 1960s to 60% today. kind of a test run i would imagine. and living together first wasn't necessarily an indication of a strong marriage later on. researchers found couples who live together without being married or engaged first were actually more likely to get a divorce within ten to 15 years. >> sad. 6:57. right now, "today" show coming up next, ann curry shows us

what's coming up. >> good morning. coming up here on a thursday morning on "today," new fallout. the police chief handling the case receives a vote of no confidence. will the public outcry lead to charges against the shooter? also ahead, "today" investigates the rise in violent robberies targeting cell phones. authorities say there's a way to stop it but claim the wireless companies aren't doing their part to help. an exclusive update from the indiana mother who lost parts of her legs protecting her kids from a tornado as it destroyed their home. all that plus hollywood's baby boom trend and the oscar winner who has added her name to the list. we'll get started on a thursday morning here on "today." >> ann, thank you very much. and we managed to get scott to stop playing angry birds in space to check out those markets. what's up? >> well, good morning to you. the dow industrials are down about 51 points this morning. you were talking about games. zinga is up better than 2% as we

take a look at -- forget it. we'll take a look at angry birds instead. this has become a very popular game. and the latest one called angry birds in space is out this morning. it involves no gravity in some of the levels, which makes it extra challenging. now, watch this. i am going to -- oh, man, it gets in the way, hold on, done. i was going to play it, but hold on, if i do this, i can expense it. $2.99, free, expensed on my nbc account. you like that? watch for my report on the south of france and technology there coming up next week. >> scott mcgrew is slick. >> it's on tape, huh? okay. 6:59 right now. want to check in with meteorologist christina loren quickly. >> cloudy today, 62 degrees by 4:00 p.m., the clouds will decrease, your drive with mike. >> tough drive down the east shore freeway. the earlier accident