find out if you're eligible and enroll now. at coveredca.com. good morning. i'm kris sanchez. coming up, breaking news where fire crews are fighting a blaze in the hills of san leandro. smoke and flames can be seen for miles. and the worst of it may be over but there is still rain in your weekend forecast. we'll let you know when and where to expect the showers. plus the crisis in ukraine. the international community on alert after russian troops invade the country. how people here in the bay area are reacting to this developing story. this is "today in the bay." and we are looking live at a pretty picture from emeryville.

lots of gray there in the distance. the clouds squishing down low. still a little moisture coming out of those as well. thanks for joining us, i'm kris sanchez along with meteorologist rob mayeda. yesterday, rob, we got a little showers and really gusty winds in the south bay. >> yeah, not as windy but still have some moisture left over. good enough for light rain and showers at times this morning in the south bay and we're seeing a little of that spilling over from the santa cruz mountains. into san jose, a few sprinkles around downtown and this will be the trend for the first half of the day. we'll continue to see showers dropping in off the hilltops spilling from south to north across the bay area. the moisture from yesterday's system is being drawn northward out ahead of a frontal boundary that's adding extra lift to the clouds outside and that will give us light rain or drizzle at times. not a whole lot but enough to wet the ground. in san jose over towards palo

alto during the day. temperatures today in the 50s. we'll get temperatures climbing into the upper 50s to low 60s today. a lot of gray to start off the day and now actually some more rain opportunities for the first half of the week. we'll talk more about that in the full forecast coming up in a few minutes. we begin with some breaking news out of the east bay this morning. looking live at a picture out of san leandro. there on the right-hand side of your screen you can see a little smoke still billowing from a house fire that broke out just about two hours ago. it is a two-alarm fire and perhaps growing. alameda county firefighters are on the scene battling that structure fire that started at just before 5:00 this morning. the fire is burning in a three-story home at the 2000 block of altamont road, according to a fire dispatcher. while many of our viewers tell us they can see the fire and smell the smoke, so far there are no evacuations because of the fire and no injuries have been reported, but we are

following this story for you and will bring you more details as they become available. and now back to our storm coverage. as rob said, the worst is now over, but one of the places hit the hardest was the california coast. waves battered the shoreline, which you might expect at the beach, just perhaps not while you're sitting in a restaurant at the beach. as folks were enjoying brunch at the moby dick restaurant on a wharf in santa barbara, they had a much saltier and wetter meal than they were expecting. forest buchanan was filming the waves right at the time of impact. those were cries of shock, but fortunately no one was injured. those massive waves literally swallowed up the beach at santa cruz putting a high surf advisory in place. massive waves came right up to the boardwalk, drawing quite a crowd yesterday, but the crowd also was looking at this.

a sinkhole that opened up on the bluff and dropped all the way down to the ocean below. >> it's been almost impossible to stay away from it today. it's been such a powerful surf. at times frightening. at times just breath taking. >> some santa cruz residents say this is an old sinkhole that the city filled in about ten years ago but it appears the storm washed huge rocks out of the cave below causing it to collapse once again. in san luis obispo, two piers are closed because of the storms and officials shut down a pier because of safety concerns. the pier at avila beach also closed after high tide and a large swell knocked out some of the boardwalk boards. railings on the pier and a drainage pipe were also damaged. up in the sierra, though, ski resorts are celebrating this storm. a live look at kirkwood where they recorded nearly four feet of snow in just the last week.

meanwhile at borrio, nearly three feet of fresh snow fell in the past few days. chains are not required on highway 50 or interstate 80. in southern california, the weather had crews and homeowners both on alert. rescue crews searched the los angeles people for people who were caught offguard and caught in the potentially deadly swift current. there was a tornado warning for people already under evacuation orders because of the threat of mud slides. despite the warnings, though, some people did choose to stay home. >> i didn't get to sleep until after 2:45. none of this was here. >> the problem we have or the situation we deal with is that while we have these lulls in the sense of people maybe thinking it's over, it's past, that's not true. we do expect more rain. >> the mud has been flowing off

the hillside bared by a 1900-acre wildfire in january. despite the considerable rain around the bay area and that snowpack we saw in the sierra, we are still in the grips of that drought. this weekend governor jerry brown is taking action. he signed two bills that provide nearly $700 million in drought relief funding and that is mostly voter approved bond money to pay for projects to help communities manage water resources and provide cash for farm workers impacted by the drought. $1 million of that will go to a public awareness campaign to inform residents how we can all save more water. back in january, governor brown declared a drought state of emergency and directed state officials to prepare for water shortages. you can track our weather online on our website. follow our rain using the doppler radar and get the forecast using our neighborhood. we want to see weather in your neighborhood. tweet or facebook your pictures

to nbc bay area. to the developing story in ukraine. the crisis now on the brink of becoming a full-blown war with ukraine mobilizing its troops and calling in military reserves as russian troops surrounded military bases. ukraine's interim prime minister is calling the move a declaration of war. yesterday the russian parliament approved sending troops into ukraine. the troops took over crimea without firing a single shot. russian president vladimir putin called the situation in ukraine, quote, extraordinary with russian lives under threat. meanwhile ukraine's acting president says he's ordered the country's armed forces on alert. the majority of people in crimea are russian speaking and we're told welcome the russian troops. many hope to sever ties with ukraine. the u.n. secretary general said he urged the kremlin to speak directly to those in charge at

ukraine's capital. >> it is crucial to proceed to an immediate deescalation of the situation. cool heads must prevail and we must end this crisis. >> the president warneded the russian leader if he continues to violate international law there will be political and economic fallout. secretary of state john kerry will be one of the guests on today's "meet the press" so obviously a big topic of conversation. here in the bay area, ukrainians who live here urging the u.s. and the rest of the world to intervene. those ukrainians who oppose russian military intervention gathered outside the russian consulate in san francisco yesterday. protesters sang together the ukrainian national anthem and other patriotic songs in a show of support. while some russian-speaking ukrainians are welcoming

russia's presence, many are filled with dismay watches the russian military take control of crimea, which has been part of the ukraine since 1954. >> we hope very much there will be a peaceful resolution and we hope the united states government also support ukrainian independence. >> we do not want war. we are not against russians. the only problem is the regime of putin. >> russia's actions appear to violate a treaty signed by the u.s. and russia promising to respect ukraine's independence and sovereignty. many of the protesters want the u.s. to intervene and even take military action if necessary. back here in the bay area, police on the peninsula are investigating an armed robbery where the suspect thief made off with a box of high-valued jewels. it happened friday afternoon across the street from

geoffrey's diamonds. the suspect grabbed a case and hopped into a getaway car, a newer model silver honda pilot. the stolen jewels are reportedly worth a half million dollars. still ahead on "today in the bay," a popular bay area park gets a multimillion dollar facelift. we'll show you the improvements and the additions. and using twitter to track outbreaks. we'll explain how doctors are using the social media network to predict medical emergencies before they happen.

good morning to you. look at these folks getting loosened up and ready to go for the run the bay challenge of the one of the series of races that folks will try to complete in the next 12 months. doctors say twitter may help them track hiv outbreaks. researchers analyzed tweets posted between may and december of 2012 looking for phrases

associated with risky sexual and drug activity. they found a link between risky tweets and counties with the highest hiv cases. those researchers hope to use the information to predict where hiv cases may occur and set up prevention efforts in those areas. a popular bay area park is getting a $13 million makeover. on any given weekend thousands of people visit dolores park but this weekend marked the beginning of a renovation project. city leaders broke ground on the project after six years of planning. when the work is complete, the park will have new handicap accessible paths, tennis and basketball courts, better bathrooms and better irrigation and electrical systems. >> and the fact that you've got families with kids and dog owners and bike folks and tennis players and our arts advocates and our disabled advocates coming together to pull this together is an incredible testament to the spirit of community. >> at least half of the 16-acre park will remain open at all

times during this much-anticipated renovation. 42 thousand books. that's a lot of books. and that's how many were handed out in san francisco yesterday. it was the first book giveaway of its kind in san francisco and teachers lined up around the block on 15th and bryant street in the city to get books, new books for their students. a bay area union and nonprofit teamed up with books on wheels and organized this event for teachers of low income students. >> teachers know intuitively that when students have books at home that they enjoy reading, they do better in the classroom, so we're very excited about this event. >> what types of books were given out, you might be wondering? fiction, nonfiction and of course coloring books as well because they're fun. in the south bay hundreds of kids took part in science and engineering competitions. more than 600 junior high and high school students who competed are mart of the program

that's affiliated with san jose state university and its goal is to prepare low income students to graduate from four-year universities with math-based degrees. >> normally a lot of the schools we work with don't have a regular science or engineering or math lab. so we're giving them the experience that they would not normally get within the regular context of a classroom. >> students competed in a number of hands-on experiments, including designing and building prosthetic arms. still ahead on "today in the bay," a preview of what's being called one of the most competitive academy awards ever. and a northern california movie theater for the blind and deaf. we'll show you the special technology that delivers the experience to those who would otherwise miss out. and right now we're watching some drizzle and a little light rain around the santa clara valley, as we see more opportunities for rain coming up in your seven-day forecast. a look at that when we come right back.

and we still have lots of cloud cover over the bay area. this is a picture of fremont going to the south bay and continuing on to the south bay as you look at san jose and those clouds. they're just not going to be as productive as they have been the last couple of days and yet enough to mess up your hair. it's not good on oscar night. tonight is hollywood's biggest night of the year, the academy awards, and the movies top talents will gather to honor the 2013 best work. presiding over the show will be a familiar face. marc barger has a preview. >> reporter: seven years after hosting the oscars the first time, ellen degeneres is doing it again. >> every once in a while i like to just challenge myself. this year i thought i would challenge myself in front of a billion people. >> not everybody gets a statue, though. >> reporter: hosting the first time definitely left an impression. >> i guess the strongest memory is clint eastwood's breath was

surprisingly minty. >> reporter: tonight is likely to be memorable for cate blanchett. her performance in "blue jasmine" is seen as a lock for best actress. also jared letto is a no doubt winner and he seeize an fauns oe carone as best director. but the space epic is part of a very tight three-way race for the night's top prize. >> i can't recall a closer best picture race in decades. >> always take a favor over money. >> reporter: like "gravity," "american hustle" has ten nominations overall but carter thinks they both could be edged out by "12 years a slave." >> i think the voters are going to want to vote for a film that feels a little bit more, quote unquote, important. >> reporter: for oscar's nominees, tonight could become the most important night of their careers.

marc barger, nbc news. a new technology at a northern california movie theater now allows both blind and deaf people to experience the movies in a fuller way. this theater in eureka has closed captioning machine that displays the dialogue and for the blind headphones describe the action on the screen. >> my wife or kids or whoever i'm with to have to talk to me during the film. >> it has been a five-year process of trying to get those machines installed. each system comes with a price tag of $1200, but managers say it is well worth what impaired -- it is worth it because impaired customers will be able to experience movies as the rest of us. and now meteorologist rob mayeda is here with a look at the weekend forecast. we were at a swim meet yesterday, rob, and those tents just about flew away. >> it's still breezy outside but

not quite as strong, thanks to the fact of that strong area of low pressure that was sitting off the big sur coast has moved through southern california. outside you've still got cloud cover and still have the raindrops around san jose. could use a windshield wiper right now downtown. 55 degrees, light rain at times. you might notice there's more rain around the hilltops. this moisture as it's forced to rise over the mountains, we call it mountain force lifting to that moisture and that's the reason you're seeing more significant raindrops off to the east but across the board this morning low to mid-50s right now. but the south way and santa cruz mountains is where we're seeing most of the drizzle and light rain. out towards campbell and san jose. a little more down towards scots valley. in santa cruz you'll run into light rain at times. the moisture coming up from the south. you can see it being forced to rise up over the hilltops in the hills east of san jose. so you've got moisture being forced upward by this area of weak frontal boundary.

coming in from the west it's helping to add a little more lift to the moisture as the next system comes in and that moisture moves up from central california. so that's the reason why we've had to add a little drizzle and some light rain to the forecast for the first half of the day. but these rain totals not extreme. this is mainly heavy drizzle coming down at times. maybe a passing shower or two around palo alto. all locations picking up less than a tenth of an inch the next 24 hours. notice the futurecast here as we go through the day. mostly cloudy to start. there's the best opportunity for showers right around lunchtime today. then some clearing around 4:30 this afternoon. and monday for the north bay you're still seeing on and off showers for the morning and another batch swings through monday evening. tuesday turning back over to partly cloudy skies and periods of light rain, not being measured by the inch like we had last friday and earlier yesterday morning. so the next big bull's-eye for northern california will be on wednesday but by the time the system drops towards the bay area it really does begin to

fall apart so moderate to light rain. after that skies will clear out. in the seven-day forecast we go away from the chances of seeing showers for the second half of the week and this time next weekend as that high builds in, we could see temperatures into the low to mid-70s by next saturday and sunday. so today mostly cloudy to start. a lot of sun icons here on the map. we may not get much of that until this afternoon. low 60s around san jose with some spotty areas of light rain at times. san francisco, upper 50s. and into the north bay you'll see those highs close to 60 at napa, low 60s around the tri-valley and then perhaps low 70s heading toward next weekend. but off and on between now and wednesday we do need the rain. most of that will fall in the north bay and this will mean a little more snow heading to the high country through the middle part of the week. >> snow is good for fun but also that snowpack. we need it for our drinking water. still ahead on "today in the bay" building a dream with legos.

a 12-year-old from santa clara who's using them to help blind people read. it is a story that makes us bay area proud.

silicon valley is awash with stories of tech titans who started in a garage and then went on to make millions. this morning's bay area proud is a little different, though, because it starts on a kitchen table. garvin thomas shows us this future giant who is out to help others instead of cashing in. >> reporter: the roots of success can often be discovered in odd places. >> oh, yeah. >> reporter: shabom's just happened to be hiding under his bed. it's where you see he stores his old lego kits, the ones he's been playing with since about the age of 2. >> you can be creative. you can do anything. >> reporter: but as shabom has

grown, he's now a seventh grader, so have his legos, his ambition and clearly his heart. >> i think i'm actually doing something that can actually help people. >> reporter: which brings us to this $350 lego mine storm's kit and what he spent an entire month creating out of it at the kitchen table. >> i thought i could do it. i mean i didn't know if it was possible, but i really wanted to do it. >> reporter: it started with a flier on their doorstep, one asking for donations for the mind. shabom had never before thought about how blind people read, so he asked his dad. >> he said google it. so i googled it and i found out all this stuff about braille printers and braille. and then i found out how much they cost. and they cost a lot, $2,000. >> reporter: shabom decided he could do it cheaper out of lego. and after seven different failed

prototypes, late one night shabom struck on the right configuration and his printer struck out the very first letter. >> i said, mom, dad, it works. and then my mom was like yeah! >> reporter: shabom debuted his leg owe braille printer at his school's science fair. while his teachers say there were more complex entries there, there were none more compassionate. >> hello again, this is shabom here. >> reporter: his story has continued to grow. his videos on youtube have been seen by hundreds of thousands. people both sighted and blind have sent their admiration and congratulations from around the world. even the lego corporation tweeted him. just about everyone, it seems, is impressed by this 12-year-old technological whiz kid, one able to see solutions in the unlikeliest of ways.

garvin thomas, "today in the bay." >> that is impressive. still ahead on "today in the bay," we'll head back outside and let you know how long you have before the next round of rain.

these folks getting ready for the race to the road, part of the 408 race series will not need their rain gear. they'll just of to tough it out. thanks for joining us, i'm kris sanchez along with meteorologist rob mayeda. scattered showers, but if they rub fast enough, maybe run in between rain drops? >> we do have some drizzle and light rain at times moving into downtown san jose. and more on, let's say, the south-facing side of the santa cruz mountains. you can see around morgan hill, you're seeing light rain at times. this is moisture left over from

yesterday's area of low pressure, kind of being pulled up to the north as a frontal boundary comes in from the west adding more lift through the day so moisture around the bay area giving us mostly cloudy skies. and right around midday will be our best chance for seeing some showers and then a little bit of late-day clearing as we head towards 4:00 and 5:00 this evening. so rain totals really reflecting what you get when you have drizzle at times or light showers. again, those rain totals less than a tenth of an inch and temperatures today running a little cool. right now 55 degrees. you see the drizzle in san jose. heading into the afternoon we'll see highs today near 60 and more opportunities of more significant rainfall coming up in the seven-day forecast. we'll have a full look at that coming up in just a few minutes. kris. >> thanks, rob. back to the breaking news out of the east bay and that two-alarm fire in san leandro. alameda county firefighters are on the scene battling that structure fire that started about two and a half hours ago. there was a firefighter who was on the scene of the fire, fell

through the roof in that firefight. the good news is that firefight was not seriously injured. the fire is burning in the 2000 block of altamont road and started just before 5:00 this morning. many of our viewers tell us that they did see the fire and smell the smoke. there are no evacuation orders in place. again, one firefighter injured, though not seriously. as rob said in our storm coverage, the worst is now over but one of the places hardest hit was the california coast. waves battered the shoreline, which you might expect at the beach, just not while you're at the beach sitting in a restaurant. take a look. >> you okay? >> those folks thought they were going to get a mellow brunch and yet right there that wave smashed through the windows at the moby dick restaurant at a wharf in santa barbara. they had a much saltier and

soggier meal than they expected. it just so happened that forest buchanan was filming the waves right at that moment of impact. it does look and sound worse than it was. there were no injuries reported in this one. those cries were cries of shock and not pain. the massive waves literally swallowed up the beach in santa cruz as well putting a high surf advisory in place until the afternoon. massive waves came right up to the boardwalk, drawing quite a crowd, but some of the folks were not looking at the waves, they were looking at the sinkhole that opened up on the bluff. it dropped all the way down to the ocean below. >> it's been almost impossible to stay away from it today. it's been such a powerful surf. at times frightening. at times just breath-taking. >> some santa cruz residents say it is an old sinkhole that the city filled in about ten years ago but it appears the storm washed out huge rocks from underneath in a beach cave below causing that sinkhole to

collapse once again. it seems the big waves were creating problems all along the coast. in san luis obispo two piers are closed because of the storm and avila beach pier was closed after a high tide and large swell knocked out some of the boards in the boardwalk. railings on the pier and a drainage pipe were also damaged. to the sierra now where ski resorts are celebrating the outpouring from this storm. a live look at kirkwood where they recorded nearly four feet of snow in just the last week. meantime at borreo nearly three feet of fresh powder fell in the last few days. if you are off early in the week then you are in luck because chains are not required on highway 50 or interstate 80. in southern california the weather had crews and homeowners on alert. rescue crews searched the los angeles river for people who might have been caught off guard and caught in the potentially deadly current.

in the foothills east of l.a. there was a tornado warning for people already under evacuation orders because of the threat of mud slides. despite all of those warnings, some people chose to stay put. >> i didn't get to sleep until after 2:45 and none of this was here. >> the problem we have or the situation we deal with is that while we have these lulls in the sense of people maybe thinking it's over, it's past, that's not true. we do expect more rain. >> the mud has flowing off the hillsides that were bared by a 1900-acre wildfire back in january. despite the considerable rain around the bay area and that snowpack in the sierra, we are still in the grips of a drought and this weekend governor brown is taking action. he signed two bills that provide nearly $700 million in drought relief funding. most of that is voter approved bond money that will pay for projects to help communities manage their water resources and even provides cash for farm

workers impacted by the drought. $1 million will go to a public awareness campaign. back in january the governor directed a drought state emergency and directed state officials to prepare for water shortages. you can track weather online at our website. follow the rain using our doppler radar and get the forecast for your neighborhood all on nbcbayarea.com. and there you can also see some of the photos of the weather in your friends and neighbors' neighborhoods. tweet or facebook your pictures to nbc bay area. once the target of racist, an oakland city councilwoman has officially announced her campaign for mayor. she announced she wants to make the city a safer place, prioritize education. it is a plan to create local jobs and kick start manufacturing and startup activity. last month several posters with her face with a swastika drawn

on it popped up all over oakland. those fliers criticized the city's plan to build a controversial surveillance center. schaaf is one of 12 people planning to run against jean quan. a san francisco elementary school will soon be the first public school to kick off a student crossing guard program. the program which promotes pedestrian safety awareness starts tomorrow. it's a collaboration between district 7 supervisor yi, san francisco police chief greg sur and school superintendent richard coranza. two more schools will kick off student crossing guard programs in the coming weeks. and now to the developing story in ukraine. the crisis now on the brink of becoming a full-blown war with ukraine mobilizing troops and calling in military reserves as russian troops surround military bases in crimea. ukraine's interim prime minister is calling this move a declaration of war.

yesterday russian president vladimir putin approved sending troops into ukraine and the troops took over crimea without firing a shot. russian president vladimir putin called the situation in ukraine, quote, extraordinary with russian lives under threat. meanwhile ukraine's acting president says he's ordered the country's armed forces on alert. the majority of people in crimea are russian speaking and welcome the russian troops because many of them are hoping to cut ties with ukraine. the u.n.'s secretary general, however, urged the kremlin to speak directly with those in charge in ukraine's capital. >> it is crucial to restore calm and proceed to an immediate de-escalation of the situation. cool heads must prevail and we must end this crisis. >> president barack obama spoke by fwoen russian president

vladimir putin in 90 minutes this morning. the president warning the russian leader that if he continues to violate international law in a treaty dating back to the 1990s, there will be political and economic fallout. chinese authorities say terrorists are behind a brutal attack at a train station that killed dozens of people. witnesses say the attackers stormed the train station in southwestern china and started attacking people with knives as long as swords. at least 29 people were killed with another 130 injured. chinese state news agencies say police shot and killed four of the attackers and arrested one suspect. authorities this would be an organized, premed katd attack by muslim separatists. it is home to a rebellion against chinese rule. three people are lucky to be alive after an avalanche slammed into their home burying them in snow and debris. dozens of frantic residents grabbed shovels and dug looking for signs of life.

an hour into the search rescuers pulled an 8-year-old boy from the deep snow. then a retired university professor was pulled from the debris. he was able to survive in a small air pocket near a chimney. his wife was found hours later sheechlt is still in critical condition. >> i was sitting watching tv and felt the rumble. i looked outside and saw that the house was gone. >> investigators say a snowboarder in a restricted area triggered that slide. dozens of families have evacuated their homes as authorities warn the mountain snow remains unstable. by the way, that 8-year-old boy did survive. still ahead on "today in the bay," a strange circumstance causes giants pitcher matt cain to miss his first start of the spring. ♪

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and we are looking live at

the sap center this morning where one of three races, part of the run the bay challenge, is getting under way in just about 15 minutes. this one is the race to the row, 408k. we have a couple of folks from our production team out running. the spring training debut was cancelled yesterday when the giants game versus the cubs was washed out by a grounds crew mishap. the tarp that was protecting the field from the rain spilled too much water on the infield dirt, so the team says barry bonds -- also the team says barry bonds expected to arrive at scottsdale stadium to begin a week-long visit as a guest hitting structure. the a's taking on the rangers. sonny gray was making his spring debut. gray pitched two scoreless innings, striking out two. the game would end up in a tie. something you will only see in spring training. both the a's and giants are back

in action today. still ahead on "today in the bay," three former governors join forces to back a hot button issue. larry gerston joins us next to talk about what it will take to get a measure that would expedite the death penalty process onto the november ballot.

a battle is brewing between three former california governors who want to hasten the state's death penalty and reformers who argue that it's time for it to end aurgt. larry gerston joins us and we want to talk -- first of all, good morning. >> good morning. >> we want to talk about the conflict and the issues. but it is odd that three former governors would agree on anything. >> on anything, yeah. but in this case, you know, we've got a reason for all this, okay. we're talking about three former governors. of course pete wilson and gray

davis. well, they all have been historically death penalty advocates. they believe the process has been hijacked by lengthy appeals in the federal courts. while this proposal wouldn't rid california of the federal courts, it would require california to expedite the appeals process effectively reducing it to five years, instead of the 12 to 15 years we see today. that's important in itself since it's estimated the annual cost for every death row inmate is about $1 million. multiple fy that by the current 740, you're talking big bucks. >> as we look at the national picture, it seems a lot of states have been moving away from the death penalty. there is the issue that you can't get the drugs that you need to humanely administer the death penalty, but in addition to that, states are saying maybe this isn't the right course. >> it gets complicated very quickly. 32 states, by the way, still allow the death penalty. however, in the last three

years, new mexico, connecticut and maryland have all abolished it. three weeks ago washington state suspended it because of the difficulties associated with executions and things like that. states have moved away from the death penalty for a couple of reasons. first, the methods. what kind of system are you using, is it hugh main, that kind of thing. also because sometimes innocent people are executed. we know this from post-dna studies. and third, it's applied disproportionately to african-americans and latinos, leaving the distinct possibility of discrimination. in california, no one has been executed since 2006 because of those lengthy and costly appeals as well as the concern about the federal courts about the execution that we've been using in this state. >> if this ballot measure qualifies, voters will weigh in in november. what are the chances they will agree to it? >> you know, i could give you so much better an answer a decade

ago than it would be today because a decade ago, two-thirds of the states' voters routinely supported the death penalty. but then we had an election in 2012 where some folks put a proposition on the ballot to eliminate the death penalty and that was defeated. but it was defeated only by a 52-48 margin. so clearly there's change in the air, but we just don't know if the change in attitude is because of cost and lengthy delays or the moral concerns about executing innocent people as well as people of color. a lot of this will be cleared up if the ballot measure gathers enough signatures. that's just over 800,000 to qualify, because it's a constitutional amendment, it requires more. should that occur, it will be so fascinating because the largest state in the union with the largest death row population will have an opportunity to weigh in on this issue for the second time in two years. given the tendencies that we've seen, the vote in all likelihood is going to be very close.

>> one last question for you. governor jerry brown says he's running again. are you shocked? >> he's like the energizer bunny. not only did he say he's not running again but he said he's not ruling out running for mayor of oakland after his fourth term should he win. but this guy has an apund ans of energy and in that respect he's a lesson for us all. >> thank you very much, larry. we'll be right back.

good morning to you. we are waking up to some mostly cloudy skies, drizzle and some light rain at times. we've been seeing that around san jose, reporting 55 degrees. san francisco 54 and some low 50s in the north bay. all locations waking up to mostly cloudy if not completely cloudy skies. it won't be until later on this afternoon we'll see a few breaks in these clouds as the light rain continues off and on. here's a view up at kirkwood this morning, live pictures there. pretty healthy-looking snowpack thanks to 40 inches of fresh powder that's come down courtesy

of the storm system from friday, yesterday and into this morning. we're seeing the snow totals there about 171 inches of snow since february 1st. you still really need about six and a half more feet of snow to get closer to average. we'll add a little bit to those totals today but there's more opportunities for snow coming up in the forecast as we go through the next few days, especially with the system coming in around wednesday. today if you've heading to the high country, elevations above 6,000 feet will see snow at times. heavier snow as we get into monday after midnight into early tuesday morning and another system to follow as we get into wednesday. right now around the bay area, we do have drizzle and light rain around san francisco down towards the airport. oakland also seeing misty skies. you're seeing it too up towards the tri-valley and dublin grade. downtown san jose over towards campbell and los gatos, you've got light rain and more of it as this moisture is being forced to ski jump up on the santa cruz mountains, on the south-facing

side. the clouds are racing out of the south. this is the outer fringe of the same storm system that is moving through southern california. moisture coming up to the north. this frontal boundary approaching from the west giving us added lift to the atmosphere today. that's enough to wring out a little light rain at times. you can see these totals. we're not talking inches of rain but enough to wet the ground at times. then we'll see more opportunities as we go through the next few days as another system comes on in. so today mostly cloudy start. you can see these little areas of rain heading right around lunchtime. maybe a little more than just drizzle for the south bay and palo alto for the morning. then as we head into monday, you'll see the north bay picking up moderate showers at times and that batch will start to slide through the bay area monday night into tuesday, then more partly cloudy skies, mainly areas of light rain. the more significant system coming in wednesday. it looks really good on the north coast but by the time it hits the bay area, it begins to fall apart.

then you notice there the seven-day forecast, the second half of it getting into friday and saturday, high pressure begins to build in and our temperatures are really going to start to come on up. today upper 50s to low 60s but by next saturday low to mid-70s in the forecast there as we move ahead. so today close to 60 in san jose. mostly cloudy start. maybe a little sun late in the day. san francisco upper 50s, close to 60. in the north bay you'll see highs in the upper 50s and low 60s today. chance of showers off and on, especially for the north bay as we go to thursday morning and then things warm up as we head into next weekend. 70s at the end of that seven-day forecast, kris. and now to that developing story in ukraine. right now nato is holding an emergency meeting on the crisis there today. just before the meeting, nato's secretary general accused russia of threatening peace and security in europe, saying russia must stop its military activities and its threats. president obama, once again, this morning spoke for 90 minutes by phone with russian

president vladimir putin warning him of the consequences of breaking that treaty that russia signed saying that it would respect ukraine's sovereignty. "meet the press" will be discussing this topic. that comes up right after this newscast at 8:00. hundreds of people in san jose turned out for the chance to land a job. the san jose giants baseball organization held its annual jobs fair. because of the seasonal gameday positions have become so popular they had to apply online and then be invited to the job fair. >> it's a fun place to work so we're glad to have lots of people show up and beep a part of our family. >> the minor league baseball team is trying to fill about 300 gameday positions. those games are awesome fun in the summer. hundreds of readers will be visiting local schools to mark read across america day but i got an early start on friday. the event commemorates dr. seuss' birth day. the author of "cat in the hat"

would have turned 110 years today. this was in santa clara. thanks for the invitation and thank you for joining us this morning. we'll be back with you next weekend. comcast brought millions of people closer to nbcuniversal's coverage of the biggest olympic winter games ever, with the most coverage of the most events on every device. and the most hours of streaming video on the nbc sports live extra app, including the x1 platform from xfinity. comcast was honored to bring every minute of every medal of nbcuniversal's coverage to every screen. so what's next? rio 2016. welcome to what's next. comcast nbcuniversal.

from nbc news in washington, the world's longest running television program, this is "meet the press" with david gregory. >> and good sunday morning. one week later, the good will from the olympic games has been replaced by an international crisis as russia flexes its military might. how should president obama respond to a crucial test of his leadership after russia sent troops into the cry meania pensula, which is part of the ukraine? secretary of state john kerry calls it an invasion and ukraine has mobilized its army now. it is our top issue this morning. president obama spoking with president putin of russia on