decided we'll make more progress if we get some sleep. >> hours of talks and still no deal. union leaders and b.a.r.t. lock themselves in a room and talk well into the morning but still no solution. stuck in the middle of it all, hundreds of thousands of leaders who can't rely on b.a.r.t. for a third straight day. good morning, thanks for joining us. 4:30, i'm laura garcia-cannon. >> i'm jon kelley. good wednesday morning. a bit of good news, the first time two sides have held formal meetings since sunday. right now "today in the bay's" christie smith with the latest on the ongoing and continuing conversations. >> reporter: it was 3:00 in the morning when b.a.r.t., its two

largest unions and state mediators, left the caltranss building here on grant avenue in oakland. the first time that they've been at bargaining table since sunday. now they did not announce a deal which means that the trains won't be running again this morning. but they will be back later this afternoon at caltrans building. the governor's office says labor secretary urged all parties to get back to the table with fresh, new negotiators. two of the state's top mediators, chair of the public employment relations board, and the chief of the state mediation and conciliation service were all at the table. going in, the sticking points were raises, health care contributions, and pension contributions. sciu reps say the new faces could help. >> the reason we're coming back to the table is because we have what we feel is a better working situation. so, we can maybe make some. >> reporter: when talks resumed, b.a.r.t. was offering an 8%

raise over 4 years tied to ridership goals. workers would pay into their pension fund less than 7%, paid by other public employee unions. the union's position was an annual raise of 4.5% with a cost of living increase and half percent going to pensions. one bit of good news, the union representing b.a.r.t. managers apparently reached tentative agreement. two larger union, the ones that run the trains, did not, but they are expected to be back at the negotiating table here in oakland at 1:00 this afternoon. reporting live in oakland, christie smith, "today in the bay." >> anthony is in for mike inouye. the question, how are things looking out there early? >> it's very early. traffic isn't looking too bad. one thing in the tamalpanotice empty at the bay bridge approach. starting to see stackups in the cash lane. that's one small thing we're watching. again, if you are planning to leave this morning, use the bay

bridge approach. leave early because yesterday this was stacking up to 11:00 in the morning. b.a.r.t. not running, ac transit still is. go to 511.org or nbc bbayarea.n. bay bridge approach not bad from richmond to caldecott tunnel. 580, 80 things are running smoothly. 5:30 this time yesterday things started to back up. no major accidents to report at 4:33. >> we're seeing it with b.a.r.t. trains not running. for a third straight day commuters hitting the road in cars. live at western oakland b.a.r.t. station riders are showing up early to make sure they get a ride into san francisco. >> reporter: good morning. i can tell you just one b.a.r.t. rider who was hoping to take b.a.r.t., of course, is going to hop on a charter bus, one person is in line. so really now is the time to get

out here to the west open b.a.r.t. station because no one is here. in fact, buses just pulled up. over my shoulder there are five chartered buses waiting to pick up passengers. the service starts at 5:00 this morning. and again, no one is here. after a rough first day monday, b.a.r.t. said, hey, we need more buses. they only had 18 going at the time. 36 chartered buses take anywhere from 2,000 to 4,000 commuters into san francisco each morning at 5:00 until 9:00 a.m. and then on the way home, from a stop near the sfans transbay terminal between 3:00 and 7:00 p.m. west oakland is the hub for the bus bridge system b.a.r.t. has in place. you can hop on a bus at four other east bay stations and they are free monday, el cerrito, walnut creek, duck lynn/pleas t lynn/pleasant lynn/pleasanton, funneled to west oakland and head into san francisco.

service is free. now is the time to head out to west oakland because it's a ghosttown here. five buses waiting to be filled up with b.a.r.t. passengers. live in oakland, marla tellez, "today in the bay." >> b.a.r.t. strike will of course be affecting baseball fans headed out to o.co coliseum. a lot of the people who would take b.a.r.t. will be drive together game instead. this morning the a's warning fans traffic on 880 near the coliseum could be a flat-out mess. fireworks show being planned in a near sell-out crowd of 30,000 people expected for this one. anybody heading to the ballpark and park for free at b.a.r.t.'s coliseum oakland airport station. stay with us for "today in the bay" for coverage of the b.a.r.t. strike all morning. we'll have commute alternatives running in our ticker at the bottom of the screen. we'll have updates for you to watch for that. all through the morning. also head to nbcbayarea.com.

there, you will find all the ways to be creative to get around the strike. no deal we can tell you between ac transit it its workers. two sides expected to return to the bargaining table for more talks today. ac transit workers have approved the strike but they say they will be giving riders 24 hours' notice before walking off the job. their contract expired sunday but union leaders have agreed to temporarily extend the contract while the two sides continue to negotiate. it's certainly been hot lately, too. that's why cooling centers will be open again this morning all over the bay area. excessive heat is expected to return today. san jose has ten cooling centers, livermore and pleasanton each have one. a series of cooling centers open through contra costa. visit nbc bay.com for more information and search cooling centers. the heat has caused santa clara county officials to close

alum rock park because of fire danger. >> very hot yesterday. but we felt cool off last night. christina loren, not as hot coming in this morning. in for a nicer, more manageable day? >> not by much. as usual, mr. kelly, i wanted to show you temperatures to start. yeah, we're running between two to seven degrees cooler this morning. that is great news. temperatures very balmy out there. 62 oak, 64 at 4:37 in the morning in sunnyvale. 62 here san jose. hour by hour changes today. another scorcher but not quite as hot. and i'm happy to report you made it through the hottest point of the heat wave. i know, there are fists pumping on the deck, if only you could see that. 85 at noon. mild in napa. see the low 90s up there. plenty of triple digits inland. and yes, making this the sixth consecutive day. i'm going to show you who was

the hottest yesterday. we had some pretty significant records. and we're going to talk about the fourth of july forecast. big action tomorrow night. i have the forecast. 4:38. hasn't been that nice on the roadways. he's been here helping us out. good morning. >> mike picked a good week to take off. sure he's not on strike, too? we had mudslides in california yesterday. incredible. talking about the slow down at bay bridge approach. even how to at 4:38 cars are starting to stack up. really just about a quarter of a mile. things were bad yesterday at 5:30. make sure you get out earlier. we've been telling you about the b.a.r.t. strike, third day in a row. use alternate routes. carpooling encouraged. get the caltrans and ac transits as well. keeping an eye on the bay bridge approach because things are stacking up so early. coming through the caldecott tunnel things are congested but nothing too bad. we don't have major accidents to report. that is good news in all of the

action happening. >> we'll take all of the good news we can get. 4:38. elementary school teacher in concord behind bars accused of sexually abecau ly ly lly abus students. joseph martin teaches fourth and fifth grade. he's been on administrative leave since back in april after administrators say he had inappropriately touched one student. police say they have identified a total of 12 victims all of whom were martin's students at one time. martin facing 91 felony charges. 4:39. amman brooks could face criminal charges resulting from a fight with a teammate. the mercury news reports the santa clara district attorney is considering whether to arrest brooks for assault. last month, brooks allegedly hit lamar devons in the head three times with a beer bottle, punched him in the face during an argument over car keys.

this happened in front of brooks' home in san jose. devons initially wanted to press charges but changed his mind saying two players worked things out. 4:40 now. a brand-new twist in the search for edward snowden. rumors about the nsa leaker forcing a plane carrying a bolivia president to be rerouted. caltrans working late in the night to clean up a mudslide that anthony mentioned on interstate 80 between tahoe and reason flow. we'll tell you whether the slide will affect your holiday plans. and apple turning to the fashion industry for its latest atti attire.

we continue to follow breaking news this morning. 4:43, b.a.r.t. workers are' strike entering day three. talks broke up a few hours ago with no deal. but the lines of communication at least are open. two sides expected to meet at 1:00 this afternoon to resume talks. that means b.a.r.t. trains are still in storage, most of them not moving from b.a.r.t.'s yard. though the strike is still on you may see trains moving this morning. that's b.a.r.t. making sure tracks don't rust while the track continues. the standstill expected to cause trouble on the roads. live look at bay bridge toll plaza where there's more traffic than usual for this time on a wednesday morning.

coming out, anthony slaughter will have a traffic update. until then, keep an eye on the bottom of the screen. we're placing commute alternatives on our ticker. it's no secret, apple does a lot of things. now it's dipping into the fashion industry for its new attire. the company hired a former ceo of yves st. lauren. he'll report to tim cook taking over apple's retail operations which have been without a leader since he was ousted last year. having worked in sales and marketing positions for the company in europe. 4:44. the white house is offering relief for small business owners this morning. plus starbucks venturing into new territory as it tries to find alternatives to coffee. live at cnbc world headquarters with details and a look at how futures are trading.

good morning. >> good morning. futures now lower after stocks ended in the red on tuesday. but close off lows of the session, oil surging to $100 a barrel on worries egypt could destable is and disrupt the price. unemployment filings, the trade deficit and serviceser sector. naz do nasdaq losing one. companies reacting to the obama decision to delay a key part of the president's health care reform law. the provision requires large and midsized businesses to provide affordable health coverage to full-time workers or face a huge fine supposed to take effect in january but pushed out until 2015. big. companies provide insurance to most workers but focused on the new time consumer reporting rules. smaller companies reluctant to expand and hire more people

because of the mandate. starbucks dipping its toes into soft drinks. the coffee giant quietly testing handcrafted beverages, spiced with beer, ginger allege, lemon ale in atlanta and austin, texas. the drinks are made by baristas with special carbonation machines. the move comes as starbucks tries to reduce energy drinks and a larger menu. some think the soft drinks could roll out nationwide next year but the company's mum for now. >> whatever we're drinking, to your health. in the shadow of the b.a.r.t. strike, good news here. all lanes of westbound i-80 open following a mudslide. the slide west of the california/nevada border at 4:30 yesterday afternoon. pretty rough out there. crews were forced to shut down interstate in both directions to clear out inches of mud from the roadway. westbound lanes reopened after

10:30 last flight. eastbound traffic backed to normal at an hour later. rain expected in the air for the next couple of days, caltrans will be taking a look to check things out on the hillside to make sure things are stable. >> so many people head up that way to escape the heat a bit. it was pretty warm up there as well. >> people are scratching their heads why, was it raining? why was it flooding? thunderstorms, that's what happens. you get stronger thunderstorms they can produce one inch of rain in over 15 minutes or less. that's what happened. the roads are not equipped to receive that much rainfall at that high of a rate. that's what happened there. we have a better chance for some more of the thunderstorms right here in the bay area today and then that chance gets even better for the fourth of july. today might be your final workday. you might have the rest of the week off. tomorrow's a holiday. maybe you extended that to friday. good news is you made it through the peak of the heat wave. today's not nearly as hot as it

was yesterday. pleasanton, 107. san ramon, same for you. almaden valley, 106. felt like palm springs where i grew up. it was really hot. good news, fourth of july can be cold. just depends on what kind of weather pattern we're dealing with. this year a good one for fourth of july celebrations. if you're outdoors even in san francisco, 60 degrees when the sun drops off, mainly clear. mild conditions. and yes we left the embarcadero clear. we don't flow whether or not b.a.r.t.'s running. we'll keep you posted on that as well. hopefully they'll be able to get the situation satisfied so we can all enjoy a beautiful independence day. although as we celebrate freedom we're dealing with oppressive heat. 103 in livermore. it's cooler this morning we have a hot day ahead. a peek at your noon readings. 9 degrees -- 97 in antioch. cooler but we'll turn the heat down as we get into next week.

back to you. 4:48. tensions are on the rise in egypt there is morning at president mohamed morsi's political fate is at stake today. live pictures from tahrir square where thousands have gathered. the military deadline for morsi to resolve the nation's political crisis is quickly approaching. this is violent clashes breaking out between anti-government protesters and morsi supporters across the country overnight. at least 23 people were killed, 16 pro-morsi supporters at a demonstration at cairo university alone. if morsi does not reach a solution later this morning, the army says it will step in and impose its own political plan. millions of people have been taking to the streets since sunday, many calling on morsi to step down. also new this morning, islamist militants in russia's unsettled north caucuses region

calling for followers to use maximum force to stop the winter olympic games in sochi. it's close to the volatile region. in a video post on a website, an insurgent leader says the olympic games would mock the ancestors, the muslims who are buried in the region. he also claimed responsibility for organizing numerous attacks including a suicide bombing at a moscow airport back in 2011. russian president putin has promised very tight security at the games. set to start up come february. the international drama surrounding nsa leaker edward snowden continues. rumors that snowden was on board a plane carrying bolivian president morales forcing the plane rerouted to austria. president morales on his way back from bolivia to moscow but the plane denied access to airspace over portugal and france. the bolivian government is furious, insisting snowden was

not on board and the u.s. was behind the rumors. snowden is believed to be holed up in moss koeps airport while he waits for responses to asylum requests to more than 20 countries. back here in the states, authorities in arizona they say they hope to get some kind of containment on the deadly wildfire near prescott and get that sometime today. the yarn nell hill fire killed 19 members of an elite firefighting crew sunday. the fire just blew right over the crew when the winds changed, trapping them inside that intense heat. last night thousands gathering in prescott to honor the crew. during the vigil, each member was named and read out loud after a moment of silence, 19 balloons released in their honor. among the people attending the vigil, 21-year-old brendan mcdonahue, the lone surviving member of the hotshot crew in the prescott fire department. acting as a lookout and narrowly

escaped after warning his crew of the rrapidly changing condit. fire officials say he did exactly what he was supposed to do. 4:52. joey the jaws chestnut ready for the biggest event of the year. >> the trouble with the great america's gold striker. we'll tell you why park officials say this roller coaster's just too good to be true. and traffic this morning already starting to back up at bay bridge approach. we'll get you out the door.

this guy's a real life eating machine. joey chestnut gearing up for the biggest chow down of the year. in a few hours from now, chestnut stepping on the scales at coney island to weigh in for nathan's hot dog eating contest. getting his game face and game gut on. this is video from last year's weigh-in. chestnut, as you may know, the defending champion. he's got a nice streak, won the title last six years. defending his title tomorrow in what is becoming the fourth of july tradition. ahhhhh! >> i love that. that's bob redell on the left there. imagine that times 20, too many people scream on great america's newest attraction. the gold striker.

it's got park officials worried about exceeding santa clara's noise standards. a small tunnel is being built over part of the ride to try to help muffle the sound. great america's hoping to reopen that coaster tomorrow. so that must be pretty frightening. >> we have to come up with an excuse to run bob redell screaming his lungs out. see the look on his face. >> i haven't given it a go. we should. that would be fun. >> might be hearing people screaming on the roads, frustrated. looks like it's getting locked up. >> i took a picture and put this on twitter we were going to keep you up to date once you get on the road to let you know what it's looking like when you're not at your tv. follow us. definitely help you get around the activity. bay bridge toll plaza starting to stack up. everything else approaching from richmond to caldecott tunnel down south from 880 past the oakland coliseum, no major stackups. one accident through 238 sunol

but that's not impending traffic. it's off over on the shoulder. let's show you what fremont looks like. southbound lanes, headlights facing up, moving smoothly. good news. it's early with the bay bridge approach stackups. >> we'll take the good news when we can get it. >> smooth sounds good on a day like today. 4:57. a small fire trigger an overnight fire in the mountains. we'll update you on the continued b.a.r.t. workers strike. a live look at the roads. this is san mateo bridge. we're seeing traffic pick up early across the bay area. christie smith live in oakland with the latest on the contract negotiations. when will this all be over? hopefully a better idea.

despite more than eight hour of talks the b.a.r.t. strike in full effect this morning. both sides deciding to take a break just a few hours ago with

no resolution. we have a live look now at the west open b.a.r.t. station where thousands of commuters today will be jumping on buses this morning just trying to get over to san francisco. >> trying to drive as well. looking live at bay bridge toll plaza where the commute traffic starting to build. probably the most we've seen so far this early. good morning to you. thanks for joining us. i'm laura garcia-cannon. >> and i'm cjon kelley. b.a.r.t. strike going on right now. good news at least, at least doing a little talking trying to work this out. "today in the bay's" christie smith with the latest details. they had a long one last night. >> reporter: yeah, good morning to you, jon. unfortunately you'll have to find another way to get to work this morning. and that's because the b.a.r.t. trains still aren't rolling but there is good news. there is progress. b.a.r.t. negotiations went on for hours overnight. they just left the building here in oakland before 3:00 in the