at 94 years of able, mandela is increasingly frail. presidential spokesperson says the anti-aparthe leader around noble laureate was admitted to the hospital for a scheduled checkup. >> at his res concerns he will continue to be managed by a medical team. >> in december, mandela spent three weeks in the hospital for lung infection and gallstones. lines continue to form in the capital of venezuela as people pay their respects to their late president, hugo chavez. with the election set for next month to pick a suck stores chavez, the nation's opposition leader is now expected to jump into the race and chavez's vice president will likely run as the candidate for the socialist party. today, he also won the endorsement of venezuela's small communist party as well. president obama's reaching out to republicans again this week, though many republicans question whether the effort was sincere or just a pr move. the real question right now is how far is either side willing to bend? brian mooar has the latest. >> reporter: at washington's

exclusive gridiron dinner, president obama had another opportunity to rub elbows with congressional republicans. that is something he's been doing a lot of this month as part of a new charm offensive. >> shouldn't be news that the president is reaching out in a bipartisan fashion to try to solve problems for the country. >> reporter: oklahoma senator tom coburn was just one on an a list of republicans invited this past week to break bread with the president. it's an effort to break the partisan logjam on capitol hill. >> we exchange very different frank, candid views of one another that were very different but at least we had this conversation. >> reporter: this.coming week, the president's heading to capitol hill on tuesday, wednesday and twice on thursday to press members of both parties to get a deal on spending and spending cuts for the coming fiscal year. >> i believe we can come together on both sides of the

aisle. >> reporter: some are asking how far the president has to bend to get something done. >> we haven't had progress before because the republicans were committed to blocking initiatives of president barack obama. >> reporter: from the white house to the capitol, an effort to thaw the political cold war and get washington working again. though the president is being welcomed here to capitol hill, there's skepticism on both said by what kind of deals he can make. brian mooar, nbc news, washington. karzai accused the u.s. of cooperating with the taliban. mike taibbi reports from afghanistan. >> reporter: security concerns were listed as the reason for the cancellation, at least on the u.s. side. the presidential palace of karzai said it was a unilateral decision to kill by the u.s. in any event, it's also a factor

the cancellation was announced hours after karzai made additional critical comments aimed at the u.s., saying the u.s. and the taliban were working together against afghan interests. in nationally televised remarges earlier in the day. karzai said the u.s. was negotiating daily with the with the taliban, the two working together to show there could not be a withdrawal, total withdrawal of coalition troops by the end of 2014 he said the u.s. no longer considered the taliban an enemy and also cited those two terrible suicide bombings yesterday that claimed 18 lives. >> i told the president it was not true, that the united states was ounilaterally working with the taliban to negotiate anything. the fact is any prospect for peace or political settlements, that has to be led by the afghans.

>> reporter: one of the blasts in hearing distance where secretary hagel was undergoing a briefing at the time, as proof the two were trying to demonstrate those forces could not leave by the final draw "discovery" down date by 2014, the head of u.s. coalition forces rejected those comment unequivocally. he said they fought too hard to think violence and instability were to their advantage. mike taibbi, nbc news, kabul. tomorrow marks the second anniversary of the devastating 9.0 earthquake that crashed into japan a 200-foot ship remains stranded on an empty patch of land in northeast japan. the city wants to preserve it as a tsunami memorial. many residents oppose the idea but the city now negotiating to try to keep the vessel's owners from dismantling it. meantime, mo that aren 250 art facts hundreds of pictures from that disaster will become part of a new permanent exhibition at an art museum.

the earthquake and tsunami killed 19,000 people. and coming up next at 5:00, an east bay youth group's patience and perseverance results in a multimillion dollar payoff. >> that irnine-year-long pro -- nine-year-long project that's got the bay area proud. ♪ roundup

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♪ the weeds are gone, and they won't be back ♪ ♪ driveway, patio, i just spray once ♪ ♪ and it's adios weeds for up to four sweet months ♪ [ whip cracks ] ♪ roundup extended control [ male announcer ] roundup extended control ♪ yeha with the new one-touch wand. [ whip cracks ] hundreds of high school girls have one less thing to worry about for this year's prom. the girls had the got to choose from over 1,000 donated prom dresses, also given gift certificates for makeup session for the big night as well as discount coupons on tuxedo rentals for their dates. organizers say there's definitely a need for operation prom dress. >> i like to continue this event for many years to come. obviously, every year we have done this, it has become more successful and a huge demand for it. >> in 2009, the office of san

jose vice mayor, comerica bank and two dozen banks and organization have given out 3,000 dresses to girls through operation prom dress. one small community sits right in the heart of the east bay, tucked between san leandro and castro valley but ashland is often overlooked. >> with the helpf one lady and a group of young people, ashland is in the spotlight. nbc bay area's garvin thomas has their story in tonight's bei ay area proud. >> reporter: if there's anywhere in the world that hillary bass is most comfortable, it's squeezed into a small room surrounded by a bunch of lively teenagers it is, after all, how hillary spent much of the past ten years, talking with them, dreaming with them, and on this day, celebrating with them. >> we did this. thank you. thank you. >> reporter: their remarkable story begins in 2004 when

hillary, then just 24, took a job as a residential services coordinator at the eden house apartment complex in ashland. she quickly bombeded with a core group of about a dozen of the young people who lived there. >> this is the community room and we would meet here every wednesday. >> reporter: this is where she heard from the kids how little there was to do in ashland and how great it would be a to have a police to just play. >> kids need a police to play, something to do. with. >> reporter: they decided ashland was a community center was what they needed. for the next nine years, the group bounced from temporary home to temporary home, meeting in a portable building behind the fire station for a while and then a middle school class radio. hillary kept the group on tax, show up at every board meeting, a committee hearing where there was a chance to be heard by the

powers that be. there were no other kids doing that outside of our little unit. >> reporter: time and time again, hillary says, they were told they would never get what they wanted. until, that is, they did. ashland's new $25 million youth center opens this spring. >> it's real pleasure to be here. >> reporter: it was alameda county supervisor nate miley who first championed their cause, eventually corralling millions in redevelopment money to make the dream come true. >> you haven't seen it yet? let's go see. >> reporter: hillary, now working for the sheriff's department will oversee the youth center at new fitness center. she is still pinching herself that all this actually happened. >> it's crazy. it's mind boggling. >> thinking in my head we did that. >> reporter: but just as the youth center gets up and running, hillary's group is ending, their lives taking them

in different directions. but only after leaving behind one great legacy. garvin thomas, nbc bay area news. still ahead at 5:00, shooting birds at bay area airports. we investigate how and why it's happening. the controversial policy in place that allows airport employees to kill those birds. how and why it's happening. [ male announcer ] fact: the 100% electric nissan leaf... is more fun than ever. sees better than ever. ♪ charges faster. and will charge. cool. and heat. from your phone. fact: leaf never needs gas. ever. good for the world. built in america. now, leaf's an easier choice than ever. ♪ shop at choosenissan.com. ♪

did you know that collisions between airplanes and wildlife have prompted airports around the country to take deadly and what some call drastic action? investigative reporter steven stock uncovered a program to shoot birds at bay area airports. >> it's a program run by the faa and the u.s. department of fish and wildlife. major airports across the country, including all the big airports here in the bay area, are granted permits to use live ammunition to shoot and kill birds that you pose a hazard to

airplanes. it's supposed to be used as a last resort but there are questions about the program and its effectiveness, questions raised by the fa achlfaa's own inspector general in this report. they call him sfo, this male peregrine falcon even has his own website. and this video taken at the united airlines hanger at san francisco international airport explains his name. he and his mate have made sfo their home for more than a year now. >> it's the only time i know of where a peregrine falcon has actually gone inside a building to nest. >> reporter: glenn stewart is director of the predatory bird research group at the university of california at santa cruz. he says the once-endangered peregrine falcon helps keep the population of other knowledges of birds at bay, because as this video shows, falcons catch and eat other birds i. >> they discover the pellet in

its shoulder. >> reporter: which is why it is so shocking that this male peregrine falcon was found on january 15th with bird shot in its wing, injured on a taxiway at san francisco international airport. >> i can't imagine that 30, 40 years later, we are shooting these birds. >> reporter: we discovered programs at sfo, oak land and san jose, where airport specialists can shoot and kill birds that pose a risk of colliding with aircraft taken off and landing. >> there is going to be some sort of conflict there. >> reporter: an faa-qualified biologist who once worked at a major airport, eddie opwens wors for the u.s. fish and wildlife out of sacramento. they routinely issue permit for

airports to shoot birds that might pose a hazard but only after other things such as food and shelter removal and air guns and noisemakers failed to scare off the birds. >> he want that to be a last option. we want it to be a direct threat to human safety. >> reporter: there are have been 3211 collisions between birds and airplanes the last two years, up significant lit previous two years. at oakland international 115. mineta san jose international, just this january they began using live a mission to shoot birds, the faa officially recorded 114 collisions between birds and planes, dune from the previous two years. during the first half of the program, wildlife officers killed a dozen birds at sjc. at oakland international, where they have been shooting birds a decade, they report shooting less than 100 a month, or about 1200 bared year.

-- 1200 birds a year. >> i think there are other ways to keep birds out of the intake of jet airplanes. >> reporter: the n her general had questions of its own about this wildlife mitigation program, this report last august, the faa does not oversee wildlife adequately, does not conduct robust inspections of the program at airports and does not ensure that airports fully adhere to program requirements. for its part, the faa says it has adopted the majority of the ig's recommendations i and will continue to make improvements in the wildlife program. >> we really start by eliminating the reasons why wildlife would want to be at the airport. >> reporter: doug yakler is was as spokesman for san francisco international. he points out that airfield safety officers there have done everything from eliminating nesting area, ponds and food sources to deploying this fake

coyote decoy to scare off flocks of birds and he says, sfo actually wants the peregrine falcons around and would not want to kill one. >> their presence near an airport drives away other types of birds. >> reporter: which raises the questions, how did this falcon end up wounded with bird shot in its wing on an sfo taxi way? >> we don't really know how that falcon came to be injured. >> reporter: there are steps to ensure the live rounds don't interfere with aircraft? >> a great question and i think it comes back to the fact that this is a program that is managed and certified by the faa. so the faa's number one concern, of course is always safety. so, i have every confidence that the provision's in place, because they have been approved by the faa, don't pose any type of safety risk. >> reporter: under the rules, u.s. fish and wildlife requires each airport to track the number of time it is uses lethal force to taken a malls. several weeks ago, we asked san francisco's airport how many

times it has shot and killed birds but we have yet to hear back with any numbers. we will let you know when we do by the way, it's not just birds that you pose a problem. we found recent collisions between airplanes and skunks at all three airports and there have been collisions with bats, jack rabbits, even foxes at area airports. i'm steven stock, nbc bay area news. >> and if you have a tip for our investigative unit, give us a call at 888-996-tips or send us an e-mail to the unit at nbcbayarea.com. gentleman rig right newt pier 15, crews gathering around an enormous mechanical monster. >> that's cool. the mechanical octopus. >> it gets dark, he spits fire from his tentacles. he is helping drum up enthusiasm for the reopening of san francisco's exploratorium.

pier 15 in april. today, workers staffed fun exhibits at the city's sunday street he is festival but clearly, he is the star. >> three and a half months to build this whole thing, took it out to burning man and we did it again. here to is right here, all made out of giant scrap metal and junk. >> he called the monster junk? i wouldn't want to be him tonight. the octopus is retiring so create door begin work on a more outlandish creation. a lot of outlandish stuff there the project is top secret it will have wings and also spitfire. that is worth waiting for. >> i think so, too. but i want to go see the octopus before he leaves town. >> do it during dinner. >> i might just do that. really cool. rob, it was a gorgeous day to be out along the waterfront today.

>> the octopus tanning itself out there e bark dare row, temperatures reach the 70s in parts of the bay area. throw mid-70s. now cooling off. 62, san francisco, 67, san jose, 67, livermore, interesting blend of winds, a little bit of an offshore breeze through the trivalley but wind off the ocean into san francisco, the interbay, push include clouds in tonight, keep temperatures down in san francisco, the coast, inland spots into the 70s. mostly clear skies now, we should see mostly sunny skies this week. advice bait big deal this week, something very rare in our evening skies, look off to the west between now and i would say the next knife or six evenings, hoping we don't have any fog or low clouds off to the west. comet around the horizon after the sunset ex25 to 40 minutes after sunset. the comet swinging past the sun. a few bay area weather watchers

seeing this faintly in the sky low in the horizon, away from the mountains off to the west that could block your view, look for that, post sunset, a faint exclamation point off the coast. temperatures, seeing 30s and 40s, patches of low clouds, highs tomorrow should climb into the low 70s around san jose, low to middle 70s around the trivalley, another gorgeous afternoon, not much warming yet for san francisco and berkeley, seabreeze going to win out there, low 70s around the north bay, temperatures warming up, middle part of the week, wednesday looks to be the warmest day of the week, some spots south of san jose, by pleasanton, close to 80 the middle of the week, cooling down, seabreeze pinellas countying up, 60s, more clouds coming back next weekend. evening skies off to the west, hopefully we can see. >> past the point we are going getting the huge amounts of rainfall that come in handy. >> further we go into march, typically, it shuts down. when we come back, justin

timberlake joined an exclusive club last night on "saturday night live." . >> show you his initiation next.

justin timberlake is sporting new threads. >> last night you his fifth time hosting "saturday night live," he joins the exclusive five-timers club and mock the concept by suggesting the five timers all wear that trademark smoking jacket that you saw there paul simon and steve marten met him at the door. you see dan ackroyd and chevy chase popped in as well. >> i'm fam mishd. waiter? >> hors d'oeuvres? >> i believe it is pronounced whore devores. >> of course, sir. >> five-timers alec batted win and tom hank there is as well, along with the first female club member, candace bergen, who complained there's just no women's restroom around. very funny. thanks for watching nbc bay area news at 5:00. >> stay with us for more local

news in just a couple of minutes. we will see you then.

good evening, i'm teri. >> i'm diane von furstenberg. people are -- up 30% from last year. police are not prioritizing the crimes when the evidence is hand delivered. nbc bay area has the family's frustrati frustration. >> we are on woodley drive. four homes have been hit in the last half year. it happened a month ago. the car pulled up next to the house. it was caught on a security

camera, hard to see, but there on the neighbor's security camera on the roof. the guy broke into a side fence. $20,000 in mostly heirloom jewelry was taken. an officer lifted fingerprints off a mirror. they got excited when the find my ipad app sent a signal to his phone where he believed the thieves were. the police said they couldn't do anything and offered an alternative. >> they said go down a block away. call us and wait. my wife didn't want me to go down. >> it was completely inappropriate. when he left, i called and took the phone out in the backyard and had very choice, inappropriate words, choice words yelling and screaming for them to call him and send him home. >> reporter: police haven't gotten b