down. we'll have details coming up in a live report. >> and i'm bob redell, we're live here in morgan hill where we spoke to the parents of sierra lamar. new information about the personal belongings that were found. that story coming up. and the u.s. soldier accused in the death of 17 afghan civilians gets ready for his first official day in military court. the latest overnight developments coming up. and a live look outside. golden gate bridge, change coming to the forecast. you need to know about on this friday, march 23rd. this is "today in the bay." good morning to you. and thanks so much for joining us on this friday morning, 5:00 right now, i'm laura garcia-cannon. >> i'm john kelly. let's get to christina loren, a cool start to the day before a wild and wet weekend. >> wild weekend, you want to make those indoor plans probably

both days because we've got a lot of rain on the way, especially for the south bay where we didn't get all that much from the past systems. temperatures be climb into the 60s just about as warm as where we ended up yesterday. the sun will be out, we'll see more sunshine, but because we're starting out so cold, the sun's going to have to work harder to bring temps up into the 60s. stay tuned, we've got that full forecast coming up. first, let's check your drive at 5:01. >> it'll slow you down if you're taking 238, christina. if you're heading down to the "y," we have an emergency lane closure. there was an accident just before 3:00. the car basically, there was yellow barrels off to the side and they busted them up, they have to repair those before the morning commute takes effect, actually the afternoon commute because that would be that direction. southbound 238 to 580, one lane is blocked. now, over on the other side of the bay, they continue to follow this accident, approaching.

christie smith is live on the scene. and this sounds like a dramatic situation. i hear they were thrown out of the car after this accident? what did you hear? you're right there? >> yeah, it was a very violent accident. i just got off the phone with san francisco police and they're telling me that this car was traveling at a very high rate of speed. i want to show you the skid marks because that tells the story of what went on here. they start right about where that police car is parked at the intersection. as steve can pan around, goes all the way the distance there and you can see the car spun around completely smashed up. i spoke with police this morning, they tell me that three men were injured. now, they don't know if their ages -- what their ages were yet. this was on brotherhood way westbound lanes. about 2:45 this morning, investigators say the driver was speeding but not racing. one with nonlife threatening

injuries, two with life-threatening injuries ranging from back trauma to head trauma. this is right near san francisco state. i asked if any of these men might be students, but the sergeant i spoke with told me they just don't know yet. too soon, they're still investigating. but what they're saying now is that you want to avoid the area certainly, but that the car will be removed as soon as the tow truck gets here. so certainly we'll keep an eye on this for you, and if anything changes, we'll bring you that update as soon as possible. reporting live in san francisco, christie smith, "today in the bay." today marks a full week since 15-year-old sierra lamar disappeared. and this morning, the family appealing to a national audience for help. "today in the bay" live in morgan hill where he spoke with sierra's mother. bob, good morning. >> yeah, and her biological father. good morning to you, john, we're just outside the lamar home here in morgan hill where they just did a live interview on the "today" show trying to get the word out, trying to get anything

out there to help find their 15-year-old daughter sierra lamar. and a little new bit of information coming out from the interview we just had with marlene lamar. you know, there's been questions about whether or not sierra lamar was wearing those clothes that had been found in the field last sunday. that was new information released yesterday by the sheriff's office. well, her mother tells us this morning that she believes that sierra lamar was wearing a sharks jersey when she left home because they found a picture of her wearing it on her home computer and they tell us it's not unusual for her before she went to school to take pictures of herself with what she was wearing and leaving it on the home computer and she believes that's the same jersey found sunday in a field not far from her home by search and rescue personnels. they found the jersey in her pink juicy purse along with a pair of pants, both neatly folded. the sheriff department tells us there was some undergarments in there, as well, even though the sheriff's office has found no

evidence of foul play. marlene lamar, sierra's mother is concerned for the worst. >> very convicting that there's something not right about this whole situation, you know, as far as her being gone this long and finding the items. it's terrifying, you know. i try not to think bad things and just, you know, please, you know, keep your strength, baby. i know you have it in you to survive this. >> reporter: the lamar family was kind enough to release this home video of sierra, her sister, and mother bouncing about on their trampoline here at their home in morgan hill. from the investigation standpoint, the sheriff's offices yesterday conducted a more intensive extensive search, a 3-mile radius of the home here now that they have confirmation that those clothes did belong to the 15-year-old sophomore from

sabrato high. they're going to set up a road block where she normally would've caught her school bus which was supposed to happen a week ago friday morning. they're going to set up a road block to check with people driving through that area. hey, do you remember a week ago? did you see anything unusual. bob redell, "today in the bay." >> and the "today" show continues to follow this story. they'll have much more from the lamar family and mitsy sanchez all that coming up at 7:00. it is 5:06 right now. some closure this morning for friends and family of a missing gilroy mother. police found the body of 52-year-old martha gutierrez yesterday in a rural area outside of hollister. gutierrez had been missing for more than a week since her son, iraq war veteran abel gutierrez killed his 11-year-old sister and himself in a murder/suicide. they suspected that he also killed his mother in his car and dumped the body somewhere.

last night, family and friends held a prayer vigil. >> just gives you a little bit of peace, you know. just -- everyone getting together and really supporting each other. >> the family says 27-year-old abel gutierrez suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder after several tours in iraq. antioch police trying to figure out what led up to a deadly shooting involving one of its officers. the officer tried to pull the parolee over yesterday afternoon, several shots were fired, but it's still unclear at this point why or if gunfire was being exchanged. the parolee ended up dying at the hospital. a passenger in the car was not injured. the soldier being held for a shooting rampage that left more than a dozen afghan civilians dead is expected to be formally charged today. following the latest overnight development, she joins us from our newsroom this morning.

good morning, marla. >> good morning. robert bales is expected to be hit with a long list of charges today in a military courtroom. this is all happening in kansas where he is being held. senior u.s. defense official telling nbc news bales will be charged with 17 counts of murder, six counts of aggravated assault, and six counts of attempted murder. the charges come 12 days after bales allegedly went on that killing spree near his military base in southern afghanistan. up until yesterday, the murder count stood at 16, the deaths of nine children and seven adults, but yesterday out explanation, they upped the count to 17. it is an historic day for pope benedict xvi. he boarded a plane in rome bound for mexico. mexican president felipe calderon is expected to greet him a little bit later this morning upon his arrival. this is the first visit by a pope to mexico in more than a decade. about 300,000 people are

expected to gather for his mass on sunday before he leaves for cuba monday. well, how about a look at an early morning blastoff. a rocket carrying supplies for the international space station lifted off early this morning. the rocket lighting up the night skies, such a pretty sight. carrying fuel, food, clothing, and oxygen to the iss crew. it's scheduled to dock next wednesday and will remain attached until august. john? >> thank you very much. well, the oakland man accused of bludgeoning a berkeley hills man to death with a ceramic pot will not face a jury. a judge says 23-year-old daniel dewitt is not competent to stand trial. doctors say dewitt is not able to understand the legal proceedings that would be happening. dewitt, accused of killing 67-year-old peter sucor outside of his home just last month. his wife says her husband confronted dewitt when he wandered on to their property in

search of a woman his family says does not exist. police are warning about a rash of car burglaries on the u.c. berkeley campus. happening in the lawrence hall of science parking lot. police have been called to that lot numerous times in recent eonths, investigating whether th burglaries are related. and they've stepped up patrols. and it's not just car thefts on the rise, but gas theft, as well. police say incidents like this one caught on tape in sacramento have risen by nearly 50% since january. officers think while some people are siphoning off tanks, others are simply punching holes in them to steal that gas. as gas prices continue to rise as summer approaches, experts worry gas thefts will also rise. 5:10 right now, meteorologist christina loren says maybe you want to make it a blockbuster weekend. chill out on the sofa. >> good morning to you. we've got a great-looking

weekend for indoor activity. a lot of rain on the way. we still need that moisture. we are not unhappy with the rain showers that we're expecting. if you live in the south bay where we did not get all that much from the recent storms that pass, we've got a lot of rain on the way, especially san jose, morgan hill, and gilroy. 41 degrees in oakland, we're going to see a lot of sunshine, mostly sunny conditions, 55 degrees at the bay and inland, you'll be at 53 by the water and at 4:00 p.m. after you make your way home from work after completing a successful friday, getting ready to kick off the weekend, the you ares will be in the 60s. area of low pressure starts to track to the south as we head throughout the day today. in fact, that front will start to produce light showers right along the north bay coastline marin county at about 9:00 p.m. tonight. today, mainly sunny, this weekend, the activity really ramps up. let me show you what we're expecting in terms of your total. take a look, we let this thing keep running. stop the clock for you on monday at 2:00 a.m.

look at morgan hill, over 2 1/4 inches of rain for you. it is the first weekend of spring. that's coming up in my next report. first, let's check your drive with mike. >> we do spring-ish cleaning. over here on highway 4, a little slowdown here, you see it says 53 for that l street sensor. now it's a typical pattern and on fridays we see slowing coming up before 5:30. and we're on schedule for your 14-minute drive. without incident without accident for 580 there. getting on to 580 from southbound 238 to westbound 580, told you about that barrel repair. someone ran into the yellow barrels and that's causing the cleanup work. there's one lane closed maybe until 7:00 and now we're seeing the slowdown at the merge itself. heading to the san mateo bridge, a smooth drive off of 880 and the bridge itself.

traffic flowing smoothly with the headlights. back to you. >> thank you very much, mike. it is 5:12 right now. bank of america has a way to help homeowners on the reclosure. details coming up in a live report. -allegra is fast. [ female announcer ] only allegra combines fast, non-drowsy, 24-hour relief. -gotta go. - [ female announcer ] allegra. fast and non-drowsy relief.

welcome back, everyone. 5:15 right now. some amazing pictures this morning of spring in japan. check out the cherry blossoms. the western part of the country. the first ten buds bloomed on wednesday and they're already drawing visitors. cherry blossoms are so significant in japan that private weather agencies actually predict when they will bloom in different cities. >> this might be a silly question, but do cherry blossoms actually smell like cherry? >> you know, they create

potentially a lot of allergies for people. a high pollen count today. i heard it could be one of the worst pollen years yet because of the mild winter we've had and all that early bloom. so, yeah, that could be possible. but what's happening is, we're noticing a really active spring pattern setting up. and this weekend, we are going to get slammed with heavy rain in the south bay, but we do have a high pollen count, not only is it windy out there, blowing all that pollen around, we also have been very dry, especially down in the south bay. so keep that allegra handy today. once we get the showers this weekend, all that matter will lay down at the surface and that's the good news. 43 degrees in livermore, 41 in oakland, 45 in san francisco. on our way to the 60s today, just as warm as yesterday. you can see winds are starting to pick up out of the south. 6 miles per hour in concord, speaking of that allergy forecast. take a look at how high your

pollen count is with the predominant offenders, mold, grass, and juniper. we'll see a much better scenario with rain in the forecast. a lot of rain on the way. gusty winds, we are watching for potential for down trees, areas of flooding, especially in the south bay santa cruz mountains yet again. going to get slammed. we stop the clock on your future cast at 3:00 a.m. starting to get our showers up at the coast in the north bay. by noon, steady rain continues on saturday, we continue that future cast to 10:00 p.m. saturday getting a little bit of a break up at the north bay at that point, but still, talking about a rainy pattern that does not let up until 5:00 p.m. on sunday. and a lot of rain concentrated right over the south bay. so we could be measuring this rain in inches. in fact, looks like we will be doing so in places like morgan hill. let that total keep on climbing, we stop the clock on monday, over 2 1/4 inches, that's a lot of rain, be ready for that in

the south bay. 60 degrees by monday, few pesky showers tuesday into wednesday and wednesday, up to 66 degrees. >> we'll take you out to antioch again. highway 4 where i showed you the earlier 50s, now we're down to the 40s. this maybe an early start to the friday rush. i say rush, it's milder as compared to the other four days of the week, commute days. we're looking at a slower drive and this may be the early start. the shift, a couple weeks after the time change, we're still sorting that out. we'll move down past the highway 24 interchange with 680 and lafayette. still just an 18-minute drive approaching the bay bridge. toll plaza metering lights are off, of course, and the rest of the approach, no problem. 880, a live look out there past the coliseum and the volume holding steady, speeds at the limit, northbound here, southbound side, as well, these flashing lights are off of high street. high street is open and has been open since 4:30 this morning. get back out to the maps and we'll show you what's going on

in the south bay for 880. construction crews on the southbound side that cleared, but northbound, you might find some road work going on as you're heading up toward the great mall and 237. meanwhile, the rest of the south bay moves smoothly. 87 a few blips, back to you. well, no doubt investors hoping to end the week on a high note after three straight days of losses. how a look for futures of trading and the rest of the news before the bell, let's turn it to jackie deangelos. good morning. >> good morning to you, john. the futures were higher, now they're around the flat line as these markets are trying to break that three-day losing streak. the stocks lost ground on thursday with traders pointing to the weaker manufacturing data out of china and europe. that offset positive news on unemployment as fewer americans filed for jobless benefits last week. we saw the asian markets falling overnight, the european markets were attached higher. we're going to get data on new home sales and saw the dow

falling 78 points to 13,046. meantime, mortgage rates have jumped back above 4% for the first time since october. freddie mac saying that the average rate on a 30-year fixed loan rose to 4.08% from 3.92% last week. analysts saying rates are playing catch-up in government bond yields. say typically link bond rates with the yield on the treasury. and bank of america is testing a pilot program, offering a limited number of customers facing foreclosure to remain in their homes as renters. they will take over the property title and forgive the remaining debt on the mortgage in return. they can rent their home at or below current market rates. for now it's an invite-only program being tested with less than 1,000 customers in arizona, nevada, and new york. john, back over to you. >> that's creative and could be a win-win for all sides. gas prices meantime could hit $8 a gallon.

if successful -- there are fears that iran could price underwater mines in the strait of hormuz some time next year and that would disrupt supplies iffer three months as other countries work to remove those mines. about 17 million barrels of oil a day pass through the strait. 20% of the global market. well, we are just days into spring and this one has all the hype of a monster summer blockbuster. what are we talking about? well, the first installment of the best-selling trilogy "the hunger games" opened in theaters at midnight. >> this is the time to show them everything so they'll remember you. >> on the eve of that opening, hundreds of tweens waited in between lines for hours to see the "hunger games." the film revolving around a deadly reality show held in post apocalypse america.

>> i love these books and i heard the movie was coming out and i was just like, yes. >> and this one time at band camp -- and fandango predicts the hunger games will be huge. they're estimating it could rake in $140 million this weekend alone. >> amazing. there are tweens, i don't know want to know what we're called. the new move to make state colleges free for california students. the ballot measure you could soon be voting oncoming up next. never in my lifetime did i think i could walk 60 miles in 3 days. 60 miles in 3 days is-- is huge. if my mom can fight and beat breast cancer, i can walk 60 miles. you just put one foot in front of the other, and you know that you're walking for such a great cause

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5:24 right now, an innovative plan to provide free tuition to california students

may be destined for the ballot. the plan would make state university tuition free for full-time in-state students. in exchange for 70 hours of community service per year, or by maintaining a 2.7 grade point average. >> wow. >> pretty amazing, isn't it? >> yeah. >> the sponsors say it would be paid for on an increase of income tax on high-wage earners. it needs more than 800,000 signatures to put it on the june ballot. it's interesting. the senate has passed its version of the jobs act. >> yeah, this is a change to the way that finance works, laura. if it creates jobs, it's kind of a side benefit. high-tech has been pushing for this law, which would undo some of sarbanes-oxley passed after the disaster of enron. it does part of the barely dry ink law dodd/frank act which

gave investors a say in the way laws are paid. this allows small investors like you and me to fund companies like internet start-ups at a much earlier stage and says those companies need to provide far less factual information. okay, technically there are two laws, they both have great names. there there's the house bill called the jobs act. it means jump start our business start-ups. the senate version is called the crowd fund act, or, capital raising online while deterring fraud and unethical nondisclosure act of 2012. >> you can't fit 2012 in there. >> the two have to be reconciled, we have one more pass through the house and the president presumably will sign it. will this create jobs? certainly more money flowing into small business, probably going to create jobs, certainly better than less money flowing in. one of my guests this weekend, he's raised $100 million in

venture capital, he's grown his company box from 100 employees and he's on his way to 600 and he's hiring. >> it's actually really exciting the kind of companies emerging, but absolutely, we're trying to build the next generation enterprise software company and it's going to take a lot of people and technology to do that. >> now, of course, he didn't need to set up private financing, he got all his from venture capital. but we'll continue to watch this as the president will presumably sign it some time maybe as soon as monday or tuesday. >> very interesting, thank you very much. >> thanks, scott. 5:27 right now. still to m coon "today in the bay" the plan to close the bay area bridge on memorial weekend. and developing news where a driver loses control on a high-speed wreck, hits a tree -- coming up in a live report. and finally, a friday you made it to the weekend. i'll let you know why you want to make indoor plans, a lot of rain headed our way, your full forecast in moments. and we're looking at 880

traveling out of the construction zone in the south bay, a new pop-up construction po e unexpected for many i a popular east bay commute spot, we'll tell you where coming up.

good morning. this is bob redell, we're live in morgan hill with sierra lamar's parents' reaction. coming up. plus the move that could relieve the president of the fish and game commission from his duties because of a recent hunting trip. and despite protests, a judge says pg & e will have to pay a hefty fine for what it's failed to do in contra costa county. and a live look outside this morning. san francisco, what is in store for the forecast when you can get out, when you should stay in. you'll find it all out today, friday, march 23rd, this is "today in the bay." good morning to you.

and thanks so much for joining us this morning. it's 5:30, i'm laura garcia-cannon. >> and i'm john kelly, we jump right into it. everybody wants to know what's happening for the weekend, sounds like wet umbrella weather. >> you can jump in the puddles come saturday morning. muddy puddles is right. if you do want to get the little ones out this weekend, make sure they've got the galoshes. temperatures this morning are cold, grab a jacket, you can leave the umbrella at home for today. i'll let you know when you want to break it out and how long you'll have to keep it out over the course of the weekend. mike's still following an area that could slow you down in the east bay. >> this could be an issue for your morning commute. i'll let you know why. here's the emergency repair work we're talking about, southbound 238 at 580. now, southbound 238, that's opposite your main commute connecting you from 880 to 580. car went into the barrels, they had to fix that barrel set there. but this also affects westbound 580. and from time to time over the last half hour, i've seen a good

deal of slowing coming off of 580 at caster valley. it could last until 7:00 a.m. and it could tie things up at the "y." we'll let you know as things progress. >> so it's an update, three people taken to the hospital, after the car they were riding in crashed into a tree. it happened early this morning on westbound brotherhood way. "today in the bay's" christie smith joins us with the latest. christie, not a good scene. >> reporter: no, it was really a violent accident, but the tow truck just arrived and the car was removed from the scene. but i want to show you the tree that that car smashed into. you can see some of the damage there on the bottom. and there are skid marks on the ground about 200 feet along, three people in that car, all of them taken to san francisco general this morning, two with

life-threatening injuries, one nonlife-threatening injuries. i spoke with officers a little while ago, and they're telling me they may have been thrown from from the car. this is at brotherhood way. about 2:45 this morning, i spoke with a sergeant who says the driver was speeding and lost control, but wasn't racing another car. the impact so hard that the front of the car was completely smashed. when we got here, the front bumper was in the middle of the roadway. the three injured are men. i asked if they might be students at san francisco state because the campus is so close. but at this point, investigators say they don't know yet. also, too soon to say if alcohol was a factor. now, they told us that brotherhood westbound would be closed for quite some time, but it looks like they pretty much got things cleaned up. there was a patrol car blocking the roadway. that's gone and we saw a couple of cars go by. so looks like brotherhood westbound is now back open.

reporting live in san francisco, christie smith, "today in the bay." it is 5:33 right now. a controversial picture could fish and game commission his job. dan richards has been criticized for killing a mountain lion in idaho. a picture of him with the big cat drew outrage and demands he be fired. the commission board members will vote today to change the way the board president is selected. and that could lead to his ouster. mountain lions are protected here in california, but not in idaho. he says he did nothing wrong and will not resign. today marks one full week since 15-year-old sierra lamar disappeared without a trace. as the search intensifies, the family right now making a national appeal for help. "today in the bay" live in in morgan hill. >> reporter: we've also got information from the investigators. good morning to you, john. within a few hours from now, we

understand the santa clara county sheriff's office will set up a road block not far from sierra lamar's home. we're standing here in morgan hill. and this will be near where sierra was supposed to catch her school bus last friday morning. they're trying to see if drivers remember anything unusual about that morning when she disappeared. now, we just spoke with her parents who are trying to keep their hopes up, but they admit it's hard, especially after news yesterday the sheriff's office confirmed they had found some of sierra's belongings in a field not far from her home. on sunday, searchers came along her pink purse and a pair of pants folded along with undergarments. her mother believes sierra was wearing that jersey when she left the house because of a picture she took of herself last friday morning on her computer. the lamars realized that something is not right. that abduction is a strong possibility, but they tell us, they don't even want to go there. >> we love you so much and everybody loves you so much and,

you know, we -- our hearts are really aching -- aching for your safe return and we're all praying and we know that you're going to find your way back to us and if somebody's holding her, please find it in your hearts to release her. i just want her back. >> reporter: for the first time, we're able to see the kind of fun personality that sierra's family has spoken about their 15-year-old daughter. as you can see in this home video the family released to us of sierra bouncing about on the trampoline with her mom and sister. now, in spite of the announcement of the discovery of her personal belongings, the sheriff office says it's found no evidence of foul play, but it's not ruling out abduction or a run away yet. reporting live here in morgan hill, "today in the bay." another candle light vigil for sierra will be held tonight in fremont. the vigil starts at 7:30 at

washington high school, that's where sierra attended school when she was a freshman before moving down to morgan hill. it is 5:36 right now. pg&e will have to pay up again. the judge rejected a $15 million fine for failing to inspect pipes in contra costa county. the judge ruled the dangers to the community justified the penalty. issued a fine after finding more than 800 safety violations back in january. they say the utility failed to conduct inspections on 14 miles of the distribution system in eastern contra costa county. caltrans says it is closing down a bay area bridge over memorial day weekend. the dumbarton bridge will be closed so crews can make seismic repairs there. it will close at 10:00 p.m., friday, may 25th, that's tomorrow -- oh, sorry, that's in may, i'm thinking march.

may 25th. >> when i told you this week was flying, it wasn't going that fast. >> can i have a shot of your coffee? it'll close may 25th and reopen tuesday, may 29th. >> we are hitting the first week of spring, though, but spring-like temperatures? i don't know. >> almost record-breaking lows this morning. good morning to you guys. that cold air will hit you in the face on your way out the front door. make sure you're ready for it. in addition to the cold temperatures in the 30s this morning, we have a windchill factor, as well, with a little bit of a breeze. temperatures right now at 39 degrees in san jose. you're at 37 degrees in fairfie fairfield. take a look at the feels like temperature with the wind pumping through fairfield. cold conditions. we do have a windchill factor out there this morning. you can leave the umbrella at home for today as we're going to see increasing clouds. maybe tonight we'll get our first showers at about 9:00 -- between 9:00 and 11:00 up in the north bay and tomorrow, you'll want the umbrella if you're trying to go shopping, do

anything outdoors, it's not going to be all that nice, a lot of rain on the way to the bay area, potentially measuring it in inches before all is said and done, significant dip in the jet stream. we'll time out that system. i'll let you know when you can get outdoors if you do need to get any spring cleaning taken care of this weekend. i'm not trying to water my lawn this weekend. so we'll take that rain. >> i forget to water it when it's dry out. hey, good for my lawn. we're looking over here to highway 4 with a slowdown. this is typical slowdown pattern for highway 4 through antioch, but this did kick off a little earlier than we expect for a friday. typically at 5:10, we saw this start half an hour later. stretched out, easy drive through bay point and concord down towards 24, eastbound to the one, little slow approaching, we'll see that sort itself out. no problems to the bay bridge, although an overnight wind advisory still there. maybe some gusts or two. look at that northbound 101,

shows slowing and passing in 580. we saw slowing through san rafael, but that has cleared and a live shot. let's get a live shot and see smb. no delays down into the city, folks, back to you. >> thanks for the update. 5:40 right now, another primary in the gop raus for president. and could mean rolling blackouts this summer. we'll discuss all coming up. plus, tainted duis, why charges could be dropped against hundreds of people because of gealledly rancisco police dly failed to do. ♪

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welcome back, everyone, it's 5:42 right now. this weekend, the republican presidential race is once again heading south. nbc bay area's tracie potts live on capitol hill this morning. tracie, mitt romney has won nearly everywhere else, do you think he can capture the deep

south? >> well, he's certainly going to try. and the deep south has obviously been a really big challenge for him. he hasn't won a state there yet. if you don't really include florida in that in terms of the deep south and conservative voters. and so louisiana this weekend, it's a challenge. and romney is 12 points behind in the latest poll behind rick santorum who yesterday suggested that four more years of president obama would be better than having mitt romney in the general election this fall. he said that we would risk an etch-a-sketch candidate referring to comment by romney's aide that everything turns over, we start over in the general election in the fall. newt gingrich said, no, if it's obama versus romney, then there's no choice here as gingrich put it. another term for president obama would be a disaster. now, mitt romney called the comment disappointing by santorum but he wasn't on the campaign trail yesterday. he was here in d.c. raising money and trying to get support from lawmakers here on capitol

hill. laura? >> thank you very much, tracie. keeping the electricity flowing into homes is a goal of a meeting today. state energy officials are concerned about rhe potential for summer outage shortages. workers could investigate the unusual wear on recently installed allied tubing. eight tubes have failed pressure stress tests just in the past month. today the agency that operates the plant will look at ways to manage supplies before hot weather hits. more than a dozen states considering legislation that would hold employers accountable if they refuse to hire chronically unemployed workers. many jobless say they cannot find work because employers are only looking for people with jobs already. one career center director says hiring managers are worried an applicant will take any job they can and quit when better work comes along. california considering a bill that would fine companies that

violate. a lot of angry people in denmark this morning. the country's national lottery accidentally e-mailed hundreds of people congratulating them on being the winners of $1 billion lotto. over two hours, over 300 people believed they'd won the jackpot. but then came another message simply reading, "sorry, there's been an error." >> never mind. >> the private company that manages denmark's lottery has apologized. >> i'd like to see how many people spent a lot of that money in their minds within about an hour. >> never mind. >> i'd like to see how many gave up their jobs. >> kind of like our weather, we've got a really active pattern this weekend. we're going to see a nice day today and then, things start to change as of tonight into tomorrow. grab your jacket on the way out the front door this morning and keep that allergy medicine handy

today. dry conditions and whipping winds, we didn't get much moisture yesterday. they have combined to produce a really high pollen count. keep that in mind. 4:00 a.m. saturday, it starts to come in. and you can see we've got this deep green here getting heavier rain at 4:00 a.m. tomorrow morning. along the peninsula, stop the clock at noon, you might get a break at noon tomorrow if you live right by the water. that's where we're getting the lighter rain at 12:00 tomorrow. we continue that future cast off the clock at 2:00 a.m. take a look at morgan hill getting very, very heavy downpours from time to time. sunday looks to be very active down in the south bay. we stop the clock again at 11:00 a.m. if you do live in the south bay and want to get outdoors, this might be your breech opportunity to do so on sunday between the hours of about 10:00 and 2:00 because take a look at what arrives as we head through 4:00 p.m. heavy rain, yeah, you see that yellow, that orange, potentially picking upwards of 2 inches of rain before all is said and done in places like morgan hill. your future cast is actually projecting that this morning. we just let it ride.

we stop the clock for you at 2:00 a.m. monday, over 2 inches expected to accumulate in the south bay. we are expecting a lot of moisture to come through, you want to make the indoor plans this weekend. in addition to rain, it's going to be windy and cold. by monday, few showers early. tuesday and wednesday, light pesky showers and thursday, the pattern changes. cloudy conditions will make way for sunny skies thursday, 66 degrees as a result. and next weekend, if you want to make the outdoor plans, i think you'll be able to do so looking much drier and more comfortable. let's check your drive with mike. folks, we have a little bit of construction remaining for the south bay. the off-ramp is blocked for another few minutes. stick around for a few extra minutes if you can, you might want to use montague nearby if that's not a problem. and the flow northbound, nice easy drive. 17, south over the summit. yesterday we had slowing over

laurel curve as they changed the median, they closed up the center divide opening and may have continuing roadwork today. i'll let you know what their plan is for today. yesterday it started at 8:30. we're looking over here to marsh off of 101, there may be an accident closing from the northbound side. so far, we haven't seen any slowing in the last couple of minutes since the report. dumbarton bridge okay right now. that closure not until may 25th. over here brotherhood way that has reopened after christie smith told us about the accident. it's a smooth drive now toward san francisco state. a clear view of oakland. 880 moves smoothly, as well. back to you. >> sounds good, mike. thank you very much. an admitted hacker plans to plead guilty to charges of breaking into the e-mails of a-list celebrities whose nude photos eventually landed on the internet. christoph christopher cheney pleading guilty to several counts of unauthorized access to a computer.

he faces up to 60 years in prison. cheney was arrested as part of a yearlong sting operation called "operation hackeratzi" there were more than 50 victims. hundreds of dui convictions in san francisco are one step closer to being tossed out. public defender has filed a legal challenge against the san francisco police department. officers are supposed to collaborate the department's preliminary alcohol screening devices every ten days. he says officers have not followed the procedure for the last seven to eight years. now he's questioning the accuracy of tests and dui convictions for hundreds of people. the san francisco police department says there is an independent investigation underway. a capitol hill lawmaker right now talking about possible criminal charges against members of the new orleans saints' management. illinois senator dick durbin wants to look at the saints' bounty system. the nfl just fined the team and

members of the management wednesday because they paid players bonuses for hits that knocked opponents out of the ball game. their head coach was suspended for all of next year. durbin wants to look at whether such a bounty system should be a crime. it's 5:50 right now. opening day getting closer and closer. but for now, the giants continue their fine-tuning in spring training. you can watch the game right here on nbc bay area coverage starts at 7:00 p.m. >> very nice. well, the big weekend ahead for the sanford women's basketball team, the lady cardinal gearing up for that sweet sixteen. they play south carolina tomorrow night at 8:32 in fresno. it's 5:50 right now. a recall every parent needs to know about. >> plus, could a pill actually help you exercise? a lot of people hoping so. the research that says it may soon become a reality. plus, an internet connected nebbrarabb th. it'd be awesome,

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because the more we do in the bay area, the more we help make opportunity possible. we have an important new recall to tell you about this morning affecting parents of young children. consumer products safety commission has recalled nearly 1 million safety first push and snap cabinet locks. you see them there on your screen. they are 4391. and in 140 cases, kids have been able to open up the locks. three kids had to be treated because they swallowed household cleaning products. working out by sitting on the couch, well, it could be possible according to some new research. scientists at harvard medical school say they pinpointed a hormone in muscle cells that

triggers the benefits of exercise. researchers say it has a powerful effect on white fat. they say that is the fat that gets stored as calories. >> when animals or people exercise, the muscle releases this hormone and it tells the fat to burn more calories. >> don't drop that gym membership just yet. scientists say it won't make your muscles stronger and there's still a couple of years away from testing it on humans. until then, exercising the normal way will have to do. >> what's next? they'll bring back that big strap that just shakes everything? one extremely lucky person in the bay area or for the entire nation for that matter could be a multi-millionaire. tonight's megamillions jackpot now up to $290 million. now if you want to break that down, what you often do because i like to fantasize, that's $11 million per year for 26 years, or the one-time cash payout of

almost $203 million, indeed. tickets must be purchased by 7:45 tonight to be eligible for tonight's drawing. >> if you don't play, you can't win. >> we talked to you about this amazing road trip. now we're getting a look at a kitten that took an 85-mile ride in the engine of a van. pretty good looking, huh? >> little shocked. >> recovering at the santa cruz animal shelter, hopped into the engine somewhere in mill valley, ended up riding to santa cruz. that's when the driver heard her meowing when he heard her stop for gas. the shelter said she was not chipped, you know, microchipped, but she had a blue-studded collar with a blue bell. so she must belong to someone and they're looking for the owner. >> warrior cat. >> yeah. all right, from cats to bunnies. scott mcgrew has a robotic rabbit? >> yeah, i do, john. good morning, and i know you're relatively new. how long have you been with us now? about a year? >> about nine months, ten months.

>> i have had some very awesome gadget fridays. >> if you don't say so yourself. >> this is not one of them. for two reasons. number one, i have discovered this morning after setting it up carefully last night that our wi-fi will not accept a robotic bunny and number two it wasn't all that great anyway. where is it? there it is. this is called carrots, and he is an internet device, and the idea is the carrots here will read you the "new york times" or tell you when you have -- >> it was going to be great because he reads pretty creepy headlines and it's weird coming out of the bunny. all you would do is press this button on the top and amazing things would happen if it would connect to the wi-fi, which it doesn't. nonetheless, it's an interesting demonstration -- when it works -- about internet connected devices and the idea that not everything has to be a laptop or ipad. you could have things, for instance, a clock on your wall that tells you the forecast by

pointing to a certain dial connected to the internet or a robotic bunny rabbit that tells you when you have a new facebook posting and reads it to you, if it worked. >> i would like to hear the -- >> i want to hear the voice. >> wouldn't that be awesome? >> if it worked. >> why did the ears go down? >> yeah, also, there's a red light on the front. maybe if i turn him off and turn him on again, something will happen. >> scott mcgrew. >> good morning, yes. >> it also looks strange because it looks like a child's toy, so if you have a professional business person -- >> that might be a bit peculiar. if you want to see the ears move, i can do that. there you go. gadget friday, maybe not the best we've ever had. >> we'll let scott play with his bunny and do whatever it does. still to come on "today in the bay," the search for sierra lamar enters a second week. we actually talked to her mother this morning. we'll tell you what she had to say in a live report. and you made it to the

weekend, but we've got a lot of rain on the way in addition to the rain gustywinds, thunderstorms, we'll give you your full forecast. i style everyone. my family, my home... my boyfriend. i can't help it. i'm a fashion stylist! at t.j.maxx, i get designer clothes... all on trend. and, everyone and everything looks good. even my bank account! fashion direct from designers. savings direct to you.

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