>> and the question is can you feel the magic? last night the g-men were. that flag waving out there in the early morning on this tuesday, october 16th. this is "today in the bay." it is 5:00 on the nose. good morning, everybody. thank you very much for joining us. always great to have everybody, i'm jon kelley. >> and i'm laura garcia-cannon. a public memorial is being held today for a u.s. ambassador and bay area native killed in the attack on the u.s. consulate in libya. christopher stevens was killed, also killed a computer expert and two ex-navy s.e.a.l.s. bob redell joins us live in san francisco where thousands of expected to turn out for today's memorial for stevens. he also has new details on the investigation into that attack.

good morning, bob. >> reporter: good morning, laura. the family of ambassador christopher stevens has invited the family to attend the memorial service. it will take place around 4:30 this afternoon in san francisco city hall in the rotunda. several hundred people are expected to attend. stevens was from the bay area, having lived in piedmont, graduated from cal and the uc hastings law school before entering the foreign service, eventually becoming the u.s. ambassador to libya. his brother and sister are supposed to speak at today's service. also in attendance, libya's ambassador to the united states, senator diane feinstein, and thomas pickering, the person who has been charged with investigating the security surrounding stevens the day he died. ambassador stevens and three other americans were killed during a september 11th attack on the u.s. consulate in benghazi and libya. yesterday his former boss,

secretary of state hillary clinton, took responsibility for the security lapse, possibly in an attempt to shield her boss, the president, from further criticism, especially since he has a second debate tonight with governor mitt romney. secretary clinton points out that security is a state department responsibility, not an issue that would fall directly under the purview of the white house. >> i don't think we want to get into any blame game. i think what we want to do is get to the bottom of what happened, figure out what we're going to do to protect people and prevent it from happening again and then track down whoever did it and bring them to justice. >> that service, memorial service for ambassador christopher stevens again starts today at 4:30 in the rotunda at san francisco city hall. the public has been invited by the family and there's also a reception afterwards that they have invited everyone to. both are free and, as i mentioned, open to the public. reporting live here in san francisco, bob redell, "today in the bay." as you touched on, what

happened in libya could play a part in tonight's presidential debate. president obama and mitt romney taking part in a town hall style debate tonight at hofstra university in new york. questions were submitted by a group of uncommitted voters and there's a didn't chance the attack on the u.s. consulate in libya will come up. president obama's camp has promised the president will be more aggressive in tonight's debate. romney trying to retain the momentum he gained from the first debate. tonight we'll have live coverage starting at 6:00. you can also tune in an hour early for your local and national news headlines and then of course again 11:00, we will have your complete debate wrap-up as well as tomorrow right here on nbc "today in the bay." new this morning, firefighters racing to put out flames pouring out of a restaurant supply store on the peninsula. it happened at the old country restaurant supply on old county road and sherri street in san carlos about 12:30 this morning. witnesses say heavy smoke was

coming out of the building. crews were able to get the flames under control in less than two hours. firefighters are now monitoring the building for hot spots. a landmark decision in how the country views medical marijuana. the u.s. court of appeals in washington, d.c., hearing arguments on how the federal government classifies that drug. christie smith is live in oakland with the decision and how the decision could affect local medical marijuana dispensaries. good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you, jon. well, medical marijuana advocates are getting their day in federal court on the east coast today. they are doing it for looser medical marijuana regulations, specifically they're challenging the classification as it stands now that medical marijuana is a seriously dangerous drug without medicinal value. americans with safe access is bringing this against the dea. this comes as the city of oakland filed a complaint recently in u.s. district court trying to stop the department of

justice from using its property seizure power to get harborside health center here in oakland evicted. that suit alleges that the justice department knew about harborside, which bills itself as the world's largest medical marijuana operation. that the justice department took too long to take action against it. now, this harbor side issue sparked outrage here in oakland and a three-judge panel will take up this case about the classification of medical marijuana. it's a key decision because the same panel oversees many federal agency decisions. right now marijuana is classified along with other drugs, like heroin. the first decision, though, is actually whether the activists even have the legal right to file this suit in the first place. the decision could come at any time, but many believe that it could take months for a final decision. reporting live in oakland, christie smith, "today in the bay." the desperate search for a pilot and his plane continues this morning. the faa says a single engine

plane took off from half moon bay just before 6:00 yesterday morning. it was supposed to land in tucson, arizona, but never did. the plane is registered to a man in florida. his wife reported him missing. we'll update you when more information is available. if opponents have their way, chick-fil-a's plans to open up a shop in mountain view will be completely shut down. marla tellez is live in mountain view with more on the details of tonight's city council meeting going on there. marla, good morning. >> reporter: jon, good morning. chick-fil-a is based in atlanta. it has more than 1600 locations nationwide. it's hoping to add to its roster, though, by turning this sizzler on a very popular west camino real in mountain view into another chick-fil-a, but a group of environmentally friendly people is hoping to prevent this from happening. you may recall chick-fil-a recently opened in san jose amid some controversy. protesters upset over the

owner's comments about gay marriage, comments he later retracted. but according to the "mercury news" opponents of this proposed mountain view location have another bone to pick. they have filed an appeal that takes issue with the drive-through that would come with the 4400 square-foot restaurant on el camino. they say the drive-through would make el camino more dangerous for bike riders. the appeal also says noise and air pollution would become a problem for people who live nearby. but the zoning administrator who approved the initial project tells the paper the drive-through would shut down at 10:00 p.m. and that would reduce the impacts to a, quote, acceptable level. if you would like to weigh in. the city council will consider this appeal. the public is invited to show up. the council will meet at 6:30 at city hall on castro street. for now we're live in mountain view, marla tellez, "today in the bay." >> thank you very much. it's time to check in with meteorologist christina loren. she's got a look at our forecast for today. how are we looking right now?

>> we're looking pretty good. it's chilly out there. we want to start with this live shot over san jose, just to show you how much clearer it is this morning. we're going to see offshore winds and that means all the fog gets pushed right out to sea. anything that does develop will be right at the immediate coast. 66 in novato, 61 in san francisco. chilly down in the south bay, 55 in gilroy and 56 right here in san jose headed towards a pretty comfortable afternoon. by tomorrow you might be turning on that air conditioner so you want to keep that in mind. warm conditions developing all across the bay area. we stop the clock on your futurecast right at 7:00 a.m. and you can see the story of the day. just a little cloud cover hugging the coastline. by 9:00 a.m. a little patch over fremont. livermore to antioch, beautiful, clear conditions. today temperatures are going to be warm. 88 in fairfield, 86 in livermore an 87 down in gilroy.

you're going to get close to the 90s bayside as we head through the next couple days. we'll take you through that forecast. it's 5:08. good morning, mike. >> good morning. a great morning for palo alto where we have some road crews starting to move. the bottom half of your screen is where the crews used to have this road work. over on the right you still see flashing lights as they start to pick up cones. some mild slowing shows up on our maps coming through the area. i have put the yellow arrow to show you the same area approaching university. dumbarton bridge, typical crews there. 237, slow downthat has completely cleared. more crews farther north as you pass up toward mission boulevard and a live look outside shows you the north bay coming in over the golden gate bridge. folks traveling south over 101 met with a much clearer drive as christina was talking about. back to you. it's 5:09. we'll find out today if the bay area is on the short list of

future super bowl sites. the list was drawn up yesterday and will be put before the nfl team owners today during their annual fall meeting in chicago. san francisco is expected to be one of the potential hosts of the 2016 or 2017 super bowls. if the city wins the bid, the super bowl will bow held at the new santa clara stadium, but many of the events would actually be held in san francisco. >> just in case you missed it -- oh, yeah. the giants get back to giving their fans something to cheer b they beat the cardinals 7-1 and evens up the best of seven series at one game apiece. game three is tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. in the afternoon at st. louis. matt cain scheduled to get the pitch going and take the lead. the giants get it going in game three. it's 5:10. a bay area politician stepping down after he's convicted of a

felony. details next. also just in time for the november election, the new steps one bay area city is taking to prevent voter fraud. and pizza hut has something to do with the debate. alright let's break it down.

mom, pop it. ♪ two inches apart, becky. two inches. t-minus nine minutes. [ ding ] [ female announcer ] pillsbury cinnamon rolls. let the making begin. ♪ too bad the guys aren't here we're clear. ok, swarm! swarm!

hello [ female announcer ] pillsbury chocolate chip cookies. let the making begin upon further review pizza hut rethinking its plan to offer free pizza for life to anyone who asks sausage or pepperoni tonight to the presidential candidate. this no doubt a marketing stunt gone bad. >> yeah, pizza hut making a mockery of the candidates and the election process didn't seem like the pest way to sell more pea pizzas. they had made a public offer to give anyone who asked that question free pizza of the it

now says it will ask the public to vote on a question in a commercial instead. now, it would not have been the first time someone threw an odd question at a presidential debate. in 1994 you'll remember a young woman asked then candidate clinton what kind of underwear he wore, boxers or briefs. amazon is hiring for the holiday season, 50,000 potential new employees to staff its massive warehouses. now, we don't have any amazon warehouses what, they call fulfillment centers in the bay area proper. the closest one is in patterson and it's not open yet. meanwhile a lot of quickly changing news and developing news in the business world. let's turn to bertha coombs who's live at cnbc. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, scott. a bombshell this morning. the ceo of citi is stepping down. he has been criticized by a lot in terms of his leadership in the bank, but it comes after the bank posted much better than expected earnings yesterday and

things are starting to look good. he says that he is stepping down, it is his choice n a statement he says the fundamentals we have in place today are solid and we are on the right path. the board accepted his resignation. he is also stepping off of the board. michael corbett, who is the ceo of the europe, middle east and africa divisions is effective immediately the new ceo of citi. that has sent shares really trading very volatily, been down as much as 2.5%. right now they have off about 1.5%. it comes off a rally we saw monday on the back of that better-than-expected earnings report from citi and better-than-expected data on retail sales. we have more data ahead, including consumer prices, which are key in setting the increase

in terms of what you will receive in social security. johnson & johnson and united health have reported better than expected results. the dow had a 19-point gain monday. the nasdaq starts at 3064 after being up 20. the government's consumer financial watchdog has received thousands of complaints from people struggling to repay their student loans. the consumer financial protection bureau says it's very similar to what we heard from homer owners who were confused with the situation that wear mortgage payments. the students are being charged extra fees and can't get a representative on the phone many times to try to get help to fix the situation. the agency has been compiling complaints since march and they are urging congress to help borrowers modify or refinance their student loan payments which amount to in total about a trillion dollars in debt now. it's a huge, huge problem moving through the economy.

>> bertha coombs, thank you for that. coming up in just a bit, randy zuckerberg speaks out about that tv show for the first time. we'll have some of the interview coming up. >> look forward to that. thank you very much. it is 5:17 right now and christina loren, we're in the middle of october so it's time to break out the pumpkins, costumes and now the sun block? what is going on with this weather? >> it's interesting. it's never boring this time of year. so mother nature giving me a little bit of double duty this week. we've got showers on the seven-day in addition to a warmup that could bring our temperatures toward the triple digits later on in the week. the warmest day i'm going to tell you right now if you're someone that gets up early with us, we appreciate that. you work outside, watch out for thursday. 57 in napa, 64 in sonoma, 61 in san francisco. take you down south, san jose is cool at 56. same for santa cruz. santa cruz today 80 degrees, closer to 90 as we head through tomorrow.

the reason why is offshore flow. we'll get some pretty good winds. an area of low pressure riding in is working against this big ridge of high pressure. you get counterclockwise flow. big ridge of high pressure will generate pretty strong winds. winds that move offshore throughout the day pushing that marine layer way back out to sea. yesterday we had to deal with really dense fog. whatever fog does develop will mostly be around the bay. 86 in livermore, 87 in gilroy today. so let's show you the seven-day forecast. we'll spend a little extra time here today because things are going to change dramatically. we'll be up to 93 growdegrees, mid-90s as we get into thursday. temperatures tumble friday, saturday, sunday and we're back in the 70s. hard to break into the mid-70s on sunday with a lot of cloud cover, so things are going to change and we might actually get some showers sunday into monday. the best bet as per usual will be up in the north bay.

mike, without all that fog what are you tracking this morning? >> we don't have the fog, we have very dense traffic expected. i do have a new accident for the south bay. 101 north just north of montague expressway, we're seeing a slowdown. look at this heading all the way up towards lawrence expressway. i just got word of an accident, a car on its side hit by another car. some minor injuries and it does look like it's visible and actually blocking one lane passing by. that's why we have the slowdown heading north of here. we'll see how long this takes to clear because it takes 10 to 15 minutes, this could cause a big disturbance to the flow for the south bay. now, a live look outside, we'll show you how things are shaping up. here's fremont. now a very clear view and clear drive past the truck scales and tesla. farther up across the bay and san mateo bridge, make out the high rise and very light flow westbound but this will change

over the next half hour to 40 minutes. the bay bridge will also change but right now an easy drive. 18 minutes from the carquinez bridge. back to you. clayton councilmembers meeting tonight to discuss what's next after yesterday's sudden resignation of medrano. this comes days after he was convicted of embezzling while works an an insurance broker. medrano denies the charges and says he is planning an appeal. the city of san francisco has established a new hotline for voters to report voter fraud. the district attorney says the phone number is a way to maintain the public's confidence. the move comes in response to several incidents during last year's city elections. there were claims of money laundering an phony voting booths set up by supporters of mayor ed lee. lee's campaign returned all contributions that appeared to skirt contribution limits. 5:20 right now. coming up, new criticism of the

oakland police department by a federal monitor. we'll have the details. plus san francisco's plans to ditch the yellow pages may have hit a snag. we'll tell you why.

welcome back, everybody. a live look from san jose. that is the hp pavilion, the home of your san jose sharks, but that nhl lockout still in effect, so no good news. a couple of weeks worth of games have been cancelled but we can tell you talks are set to resume today in toronto, so possibly -- at least they are talking so possibly some movement could be on the horizon. speaking of talking, the family of an oakland teen killed by a police officer during a confrontation is speaking out. his family will hold a news conference in response to the decision by the alameda county

district attorney not to charge the officer involved in his death. the d.a. said the officer was justified in shooting the 18-year-old. prosecutors say blueford pointed a gun at the officer during a foot chase. this press conference will be in front of the alameda county d.a.'s office. it appears the oakland police department hmay be struggling with reforms it's been ordered to put in place. one of the court-appointed monitors tasked with monitoring the police department says it's struggling to change. top police leaders have failed to provide oversight on misconduct claims. opd was ordered to implement change after a police corruption case. a federal takeover is a possibility if changes are not in place. a court ruling in washington about something in seattle could mean trouble in san francisco and a proposed ban of the yellow pages. you got all that? good. yesterday federal judges striking down a seattle law that

bans the yellow pages there. now, the justices said such a ban violates the publisher's first amendment rights. san francisco leaders say the proposed ban here would stop unwanted yellow pages, which they say litter up the city streets. now san francisco city officials were waiting for the seattle decision before proceeding with it here. >> if they ban them, what am i going to sit on to look tall? >> we'll get you a new little booster seat. >> got to keep up with jon kelley here, christina. >> he is a whole other weather scenario where he is. what, 6'5", jon kelley? >> not kwoit. >> not that we have anything against tall, dark and handsome. that goes for mike inouye as well. 80 degrees in los gatos today. now, your sunrise doesn't even happen until 7:18 in the morning and it's setting now at 6:31. so enjoy it while you can. we've got a warmup on the way. we'll show you how that looks on

your seven-day forecast. sharp turns ahead in the weather department. let's find out what we're dealing with in the traffic department. >> we're dealing with the first burst of traffic starting early here. it's a major concern this traffic tuesday as we show you the number of headlights starting to build here at 680 because of an accident farther north. i'll show you on the maps. north 101 at 680 is where we're starting to see more cars. we'll see a little slowing over the next 15 minutes and they're heading up north into this which is the backup coming into santa clara and all the way up towards the lawrence expressway where we have what at one point is all lanes plaublocked for 101. it doesn't indicate all lanes are blocked but we have more than two lanes blocked. it sounds like four cars involved in this accident that i continue to track. there's your slow drive. take 237 past the scene and join up with 101 north of there. we'll end with this map and this alert for the south bay. it's 5:26. still to come, people in one bay

area city taking matters into their own hands after a rash of home burglaries. [ woman ] dear chex cereal,

i've never written a fan letter before, but you've done what i thought was impossible: you made good-for-you, gluten-free cereals in a whole bunch of yummy flavors. cinnamon chex and honey nut chex are two of our favorites. when my husband rob found the chocolate one, we were in cereal heaven. the only problem is, with so many great flavors you're making it very hard to choose. so thanks. from your fans, the mcgregor family. 'cause we love chex. [ male announcer ] love chex? connect with us on facebook.

medical marijuana advocates are challenging the classification of medical marijuana in federal court. i'll tell you what this will mean locally coming up in a live report. the giants may have won but fans not entirely happy with yesterday's game because of the play you just saw. what the cardinal player involved had to say. and if you didn't hit the beach over the course of the summer, you'll be happy to know temperatures will rise into the mid-90s by thursday. we've got a heat wave on the way followed by showers. a lot to talk about in your full forecast. and i'm following an accident northbound 101 heading through santa clara. sounds like 4 cars and maybe the entire freeway blocked. i'm bring you the latest details coming up. right now we bring you a live look over san francisco. that is the palace of fine arts

on this fine day, a tuesday, october 16th. this is "today in the bay." good morning to you and thanks for joining us. it's 5:30. i'm laura garcia-cannon. >> and i'm jon kelly. good morning, everybody. it is history in the making today. a federal appeals court considering whether the government has improperly ignored the benefits of medical marijuana and whether or not it should be reclassified. christie smith is live in oakland right now with more on today's landmark hearing. christie, good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you, jon. i just got off the phone with an activist from the bay area who's on the east coast right now. she tells me they have been waiting for this hearing for ten years. that it has the potential to change the classification of medical marijuana from what it is now, which is basically classified as a seriously dangerous drug, category that

includes drugs like heroin. this dispute will be taken up by a three-judge panel of the u.s. court of appeals. now, this is key because it oversees many decisions of federal agencies. this comes as harborside health center which bills itself as the world's largest medical marijuana dispensary got support from the city of oakland which filed a federal lawsuit in san francisco trying to stop prosecutors from shutting it down. now, the move against harborside upset many medical marijuana advocates, and i'm told that representatives from harborside are actually on the east coast trying to monitor this hearing right now. now, the group americans for safe access is actually the one challenging the classification. this really has the potential to totally change a federal law enforcement procedures on this issue. i'm told a decision is not likely today but more likely to come in the coming months. reporting live in oakland, christie smith, "today in the

bay." a south bay mom accused of using her child to help her shoplift is expected to enter a plea today. prosecutors say last month marcy erica who also goes by marcy keelin used her 10-year-old to steal items at a grocery store in morgan hill. she then allegedly drove off, leaving her daughter and a cart full of groceries behind. she was later arrested in reno. the 38-year-old's family says she suffers from depression. the city of palo alto is fighting back right now against a surge in home burglaries. the city has seen almost a 50% increase in the number of home break-ins compared to this time last year. one man we spoke to, he says he knows what it's like to be a victim of a crime. thieves broke into stan hutching's car twice in his own driveway. neighbors are holding meetings and installing new security systems there. hutchings hoping to be proactive and hoping it will solve the

problem before it gets worse. >> it's not so much the property that we're concerned about but the possibility of violence against people. this sort of thing can escalate. >> for the record, palo alto police reporting 160 home burglaries compared to 108 at this same time last year. 5:33. chick-fil-a is looking to open another restaurant in the south bay, but this morning that plan is coming under fire and it's for a different reason than the last time its opening was met with controversy. marla tellez joins us live in mountain view with details of a special meeting that is being held tonight. good morning. >> reporter: laura, good morning. opponents of this mountain view location are more concerned with environmental and sustainability issues. first of all, they have a problem with the fact that this chick-fil-a would be built right here on el camino real, of course a very busy road in the bay area. the restaurant chain wants to turn this sizzler into a

drive-through chick-fil-a and opponents say that would lead to more accidents with bike riders. so acoring to the "mercury news" they have filed an appeal that cites noise and air pollution as potential hazards. the zoning administrator who approved the plan said a traffic signal controlled drive would be built here and would share it with the business next door. this would make the intersection safer for everyone, including bicyclists. you can weigh in tonight at the city council meeting. the council will consider the appeal at 6:30 tonight. it was just in august when chick-fil-a opened a location in san francisco with a little controversy. the owner coming under fire after comments he made over gay marriage, saying he only supports traditional marriage. he ended up retracting those comments. still, that brought out protesters in san jose and now this mountain view location has its own set of protesters. live in mountain view, marla tellez, "today in the bay."

the giants waking up feeling pretty good as they get set to head off to st. louis with that series evened at one all. the first win of the postseason -- well, the first win of this series. they beat the cardinals thanks in large part to marco scutaro who took that big hit there. he gets a single driving in two runs and the fans just could not get enough. >> we bleed orange out here. >> it was absolutely amazing. it was the best thing. >> game three is tomorrow at 1:00 in st. louis. now, back to that hit, the giants trying to turn a double play in the top of the fourth. scutaro covering second, gets the first out but plooeds just plowed into by matt holliday. one of the announcers actually called it busch league. scutaro was able to get up but

then left the game. after the game holliday admits he slid late but said he was not a dirty player and simply tried to bust up a double play. it really could have been a serious injury. time to check the forecast with meertteorologist christina loren. i can't believe you're telling us we can head to the beach today and jump in. >> i know a lot of people are pretty upset fall came on so quickly, but today, tomorrow even thursday, it's going to be pretty nice. this is san jose. not dealing with even a third as much cloud cover as we had just 24 hours ago. and your temperatures are nice and mild up in the north bay as the clouds have created a blanket up there. that's the only place you'll find that thick fog. take you down south, 65 degrees right now in places like novato, where it's 56 in san jose. we'll be at 86 inland today,

much warmer than average for this time of year. right around 79 degrees bayside and 70 degrees at the coast. closer to 90 degrees bayside and even mid-80s potentially at the coast as we head through the next couple days. i'll show you your seven-day forecast. same seven-day that shows you when showers and cold 70s return. so things are going to change dramatically. lots to talk about when it comes to the seven-day outlook. let's talk about your drive right now. >> still building on a traffic tuesday but the south bay really has a problem. this is northbound 101 at 680. that's okay, but farther north look at the red. so overall you're looking all right but watch this stretch for 101 as you're coming up past montague expressway. really jams down up towards lawrence expressway. it sounds like we actually may have all lanes of northbound 101 blocked right now. some folks say there are cars getting by on the shoulder but there's a multi-car accident there and some minor injuries reported and maybe one person in more serious condition.

use central expressway which takes you north of the airport all the way up past the scene where 101 joining up with 237 farther north. that's a good alternate for you. farther north, a live look shows you palo alto, where the traffic is still lighter up there, but big problems coming into sunnyvale and santa clara, guys. back to you. >> thanks so much. coming up, we have new developments in the investigation into the death of the u.s. ambassador to libya. >> reporter: and i'm bob redell we're live in san francisco where later today hundreds of expected to pay tribute to the late ambassador to libya, christopher stevens. that story coming up. have you heard of the new dialing procedure

for the 408 and 669 area codes? no, what is it?

starting october 20, 2012, if you have a 408 or 669 number, you'll need to dial 1 plus the area code plus the phone number for all calls. o.k., but what if i have an 408 number and i'm calling a 408 number? you'll still need to dial 1 plus the area code plus the phone number. so when in doubt, dial it out! it is 5:40. a public memorial will be held in san francisco today for the u.s. ambassador to libya killed in the september 11th terrorist attacks on the u.s. consulate in benghazi.

secretary of state hillary clinton is now taking responsibility for what some say was a lack of security. tracie potts joins us live from washington, d.c., with what clinton is saying. good morning. >> reporter: laura, good morning. in interviews in lima, pe ru, she said it was her job to keep the 60,000 people working across the world in the state department safe and that includes ambassador stevens and the other three americans who were killed in benghazi. but the question is why is she coming out saying this now on the eve of a presidential debate after the administration has received so much criticism, not only for the security around benghazi, reportedly they had asked for more security last week. vice president biden said the white house knew nothing about that. but also about take sewiing so o admit this was a terrorist attack. but secretary of state clinton said this should not be

political. there's always confusion about what happened in the fog of war. >> so what we had to do in the state department was keep focus not on why something happened, that was for the intelligence community to determine, but what was happening and what could happen, and that's what i was very much working on, you know, day and night, to try to make sure that we intervened with governments, we did everything we could to keep our people safe, which is my primary responsibility. >> reporter: now, she may be taking responsibility, but republicans here on capitol hill, including john mccain, say the buck stops at the white house. but the bottom line, there were four americans killed, including ambassador stevens, who of course is from the bay area. let's go to bob redell now outside san francisco city hall with more on today's memorial service. bob. >> reporter: good morning to you. christopher stevens family has invited the public to attend the memorial service scheduled for later this afternoon at 4:30 in

the rotunda here at san francisco city hall. as you were mentioning, yes, christopher stevens is a bay area native, having lived in piedmont. he graduated from cal and the uc hastings law school before entering the foreign service and eventually becoming the u.s. ambassador to libya. several hundred people are expected to attend this afternoon. his brother and sister are supposed to speak. libya's ambassador to the united states, snrt diane feinstein and thomas pickering, a friend of stevens and the person who has been charged with investigating the security surrounding stevens the day he died outside the u.s. consulate in benghazi. again, the service starts at 4:30. there is a reception afterwards. the family is inviting the public to both events. they are free and you do want to arrive early because this is inside city hall and you will have to go through security.

bob redell, "today in the bay." >> nbc bay area will live stream the public memorial for christopher stevens. just log on to our website. we can tell you tonight's second presidential debate will feature a different format than what we saw a couple of weeks ago. this will have more of a town hall feel with questions submitted from the audience. this is a live look at hofstra university where the debate will be. both candidates expected to push their own agendas. aides for president obama said he will hit mitt romney's tags plan and romney is expected to focus on foreign policy and bring up the deadly embassy attack in libya. >> these debates are giving us the ability to cut through the clutter and give people a very clear choice. >> there needs to be a more compelling economic argument made tomorrow night about why the obama/biden ticket is really the one that's going to keep the country moving in the right direction. >> after the debates, the campaign returns to ohio.

former president bill clinton will be stumping for president obama in the buckeye state and former secretary of state condoleezza rice will join romney in ohio for a rally. nbc bay area always your home for the debates. that will include tonight's. we'll have live coverage starting at 6:00 tonight so you can also tune in an hour early for your local and national news headlines. then at 11:00 this evening, we will have your complete debate wrap-up as well as tomorrow right here on "today in the bay." 5:45. funeral services will be held today for former senator arlen specter. vice president joe biden will attend his memorial in pennsylvania. and president obama has ordered flags at half staff at the white house and other public buildings. specter died sunday from complications from non-hodgkin's lymphoma. the 82-year-old served three decades representing pennsylvania in the u.s. senate. california governor jerry brown begins a big push for his tax initiative today. governor brown will be at ucla

talking about the effect proposition 30 will have on 30s. the measure would raise the sales tax and income taxes on california's highest earners. brown says the tax increases are necessary to fund public schools and higher education. nbc bay area political analyst larry gerston says college students are a natural target for the governor's message. >> these people will suffer directly, as will k through 12 students, if in fact prop 30 fails. if it wins, not only will the bleeding be slowed, but in fact they need get a tuition rebate for all the increases that they have paid in the last couple of years. >> proposition 30 is facing direct competition from proposition 38, which would raise income taxes on all but california's lowest income earners. the time is 5:46. christina loren is back with us. they say variety is the spice of life.

i guess that's what we've been getting in the weather. >> this seven-day will please most of the people because there's a broad spectrum ahead of changing weather. let take you outside and show you what it looks like right now. 5:47. beautiful crystal clear picture over san francisco. that was not the case as you may recall just 24 hours ago. we had really dense fog an it was widespread, all the way through livermore. this morning what we do have is hugging the coastline and will not keep you all that cool. mother nature turning off our natural coolant the next couple of days and even with limited daylight, as our sun is going down earlier and earlier. we'll still climb up into the 90s. 62 degrees to start you out in sonoma. 55 degrees down in gilroy to start. and this is our weather maker. high pressure moves in quickly today. we also have an area of low pressure that's riding to our north, so the two are working against each other. we'll ending up with pretty strong winds as the bay area is dab smack right between the two systems. coastal fog will clear quickly.

widespread afternoon sunshine and then the mid to upper 80s on the way this afternoon. temperatures are going to be comfortable. you might have to use your ac by tomorrow. 86 today in livermore, 87 down in gilroy. even along the east shore climbing towards that 80-degree mark. comfortable day in the city by the bay, 74 yeez degrees. the next three days look at the change ahead. we're going to jump, spiking your numbers wednesday into thursday, up to 93 degrees. mid-90s return only to see those temperatures tumble yet again friday into saturday. so if you want to hit the beach, unfortunately your best days are going to be during the week. but mike, you are here to help people get to work this week. not quite as bad without all that fog out there this morning, huh? >> overall not quite as bad but this accident in sunnyvale, still a huge, huge problem just for this stretch of 101 coming out of san jose and heading up into that portion of the south bay. we're looking over here toward

northbound 101 just north of 680 up to 880. your typical first burst that we talked about just before 6:00. that's kicking in. all these folks heading up here. that accident reported just shy of lawrence expressway blocking three, maybe all of your lanes. i hear that folks are getting by on the shoulder and maybe one of the lanes are squeezing by but it's a very slow drive as you're passing by great america parkway. look at all this jam. you can get onto central expressway, which is also showing some slowdown or 237 is a better bet if you can get up and join up with 101 farther north. a look over toward the build at the tri-valley, that's a pretty typical build. a typical flow here. live look outside shows you how things are shaping up over at the san mateo side of the san mateo bridge. a light, easy drive. at the bay bridge, just some cash lane backup as well. pretty standard. back to you. the port of oakland is launching an independent investigation into allegations

its maritime director misspent thousands of dollars at a strip club and then expensed it all. the investigation centers around a $4800 expense. this came back in 2008. it shows the maritime director james quan took a dozen or show shipping executives to an upscale strip club in houston. the port commission held an emergency meeting last night to take action. >> they passed a resolution authorizing the retention of outside counsel to conduct an independent, outside investigation of the alleged improper expenditures. >> now, this investigation does come at the very same time the port is involved in a labor dispute with maintenance workers over a new contract. 5:50. there's much more to come on "today in the bay." >> like a raise for social security. we'll have that in business news. [ male announcer ] pillsbury grands biscuits.

delicious. but say i press a few out flat... add some beef sloppy joe sauce... and cheese fold it all up and boom! i just made an unbeatable unsloppy joe pillsbury grands biscuits. let the making begin. that's been wrapped in a flaky crust stuffed with a gooey center toasted up all golden brown then given a delicious design? a toaster strudel. pillsbury toaster strudel. so delicious...so fun.

welcome back, everyone, on this tuesday morning. we give you a live look from out on the east coast. that is new york. new york's hofstra university. that is the location and the site of the second presidential debate featuring president obama and mitt romney taking place tonight at 6:00 local time. tune in to see it right here on nbc bay area. a northern california city is paying one of its residents not to sue. in a move it's calling the first of its kind, they are giving george louie $15,000 not to file any more lawsuits over the federal americans with disabilities act.

apparently has ehoo has filed numerous suits and settled them all out of court. randy zuckerberg is talking about her new tv show. a tv show scott mcgrew says many in silicon valley are worried. >> they are worried it will make engineers look silly. zuckerberg tells cnbc these previews are just that. they're teasers and the quote, people will be pleasantly surprised with the balance of fun and technology that they see. here's more from that interview. >> geeks are like rock stars now. you see young kids in school. they're like i want to be an nba player or i want to be mark zuckerberg. you didn't see that a few years ago. >> startup silicon valley will run on the bravo cable channel which is owned by the same company that owns cnbc and this station. the head of citi is stepping

down. just a few minutes ago the u.s. government announced social security recipients will get 1.7% more money next year in a cost of living allowance increase or cola. it is one of the smallest increases we've seen, but simply because of inflation has been relatively tame. back to you. >> thanks for the update, scott. >> the time is 5:55. let's toss it over to christina loren to take it away on our tuesday weather forecast. >> good morning to you. you want to dress the little ones and yourself for the two very different parts of the day. temperatures are cool to start but we are going to climb towards 90 degrees in some cities. 86 inland, 70 at the coast and closer to 90 bayside and at the coast later this week. 5:55. problems in sunnyvale this morning. let's check on the drive with mike. >> that's right, if you can get there. 10 one starting to build out of san jose. and on the maps let's show you what it's like.

we're slow, down to 20 miles per hour or worse north of highway 87. i've marked your alternates at around great america parkway coming out of santa clara into sunnyvale. use 237 west or central expressway taking you away from sjc where it's slow down and building. lawrence expressway should be okay to get on but that interchange looking really crowded as well. if you can get up towards 237 and 101, you're much better off. the golden state warriors getting set to meet with their brand new neighbors tonight in san francisco. team officials giving a little sneak preview of their vision for the new waterfront arena at piers 30 and 32 in san francisco. it looks gorgeous there. the areap arena includes glass and large open terraces. it was designed to preserve all of the views. the preliminary designs being unveiled early in an attempt to women over the support of any and all concerned neighbors.

5:56. still ahead, girl power. two women host this year's golden globes. >> i like the sound of it. plus parents of one south bay elementary school make it their wish. there's new developments in the fight over the plans to build a cell phone tower on campus. good morning! wow.

want to start the day with something heart healthy and delicious? you're a talking bee... honey nut cheerios has whole grain oats that can help lower cholesterol. and it tastes good? sure does! right... ♪ wow. delicious, right? yeah. it's the honey, it makes it taste so... ♪

well, would you look at the time... what's the rush? be happy. be healthy. mitt's prepared, confident. >> i'm smiling, giving a thumbs up. >> the first family and their challengers all gearing up for the debate. why the showdown tonight could be a game changer just ahead. giants take game two and even the series at one. >> indeed they do. some fireworks over san francisco as we finally see some of that home field advantage we've been hearing about. but the win was in and out without