few showers in the works, we will take you through final weeks of winter. little bit of one lane  blocked. look at this big backup from the coliseum heading south, counter-commute, we'll give you the update from chp coming up. sayonara to winter, live look outside right now, downtown san jose, it is monday, march 16th, you're watching "today in the bay". from nbc bay area, this is "today in the bay." and a very good monday morning to you, thanks for joining us, i'm laura garcia cannon. >> and i'm sam brock. passenger is dead after a taxi plunged off a highway in fairfield. this happened a little bit after 1:00 this morning where interstate 680 meets 80. the taxi shot off the roadway and went down some 70 feet down an embankment before landing on frontage road. another passenger was seriously hurt, but the driver is fine. the cause of the crash is still under investigation.

the chp says the taxi was going from san jose towards sacramento. this morning a plea from the south bay mother who spoke to nbc bay area about the attack on her son outside a west field valley fair mall. the 17-year-old son was attacked last week and is struggling to recover. "today in the bay's" stephanie chuang live at valley fair this morning. stephanie, police say this was a possible gang initiation. >> reporter: that's right, good morning to you, laura. it happened wednesday night here in a parking lot at valley fair mall. the thought, one thought is that the attackers may be gang members or potential ones who are trying to prove themselves to join a gang. now this attack sent the victim, this 17-year-old christian into the intensive care unit at the hospital after he was confronted and punched in the head. his mother maria says it was a random attack. two of his friends reported seeing a third man who stood and watched the beating. and that could indicate this is part of a gang initiation.

maria remembers her son right before the attack. >> he was dancing to his favorite song. and he ate something, and then huked me and kissed me and said, i love you mom, and i asked him where are you going? valley fair mall. and then that's it. and now, and now he's on a breathing tube. >> reporter: now the family says a little bit of frustration because they haven't heard from san jose police. but police say the case has been assigned to our gang investigation unit. christian's mom was laid off the day before the attack, the family launched a crowd funding page, as of this morning after one day, they have gotten more than one-third of the $10,000 goal to help pay for rising medical costs. that's go fund me and you can search for prayers for christian on that page. christian's dad saying they are overwhelmed by the love and support and people need to hug their kids and family and they need to know you love them. stephanie chuang, "today in the bay." >> how quickly things can happen. let's hope he makes a recovery,

thank you, steph. three years since sierra lamar vanished while walking to school. lamar's parents and dozens of volunteers carried out the final, formal search for sierra. organizers say they've run out of places to look. but they're hanging new signs hoping to develop any new lead and people with any information can still call the tip line. this man is charged with kidnapping and killing lamar, even though her body hasn't been found. he's expected back in court next month. 6:03, tonight ucsf students will gather for a individual until horne of a student found murdered in her east bay home. all while investigators hunt for her killer. this 35-year-old was shot to death last sunday night at her apartment. police say the body was discovered last monday. investigators say some of the belongings were found dumped in a richmond neighborhood. a homeowner described the odd find. >> comes right back in with two plastic bags and says, i found

this in your trash, and this is high end purse in here. and he said there's id in it. and i said, well bring it in, we'll have to find out if it's stolen, we can return it. >> she called police when she found bloody clothing. investigators have not made a connection, but they're asking anyone with information to call them. ucsf vigil starts tonight at 5:00. former san francisco 49er ray mcdonald is reportedly planning to file suit against the woman what that he claimed sexual assaulted her. cited quote a apparent of poor decision-making. that was a short time after a woman accused mcdonald of sexual assault at his house. mcdonald is yet to be charged, but his attorney tells the mercury news, as long as the case remains in limbo, his client cannot find work in the nfl. a statement from his lawyer to the merc calls the accusation false and malicious. part it feel reads, quote, despite the passage of three months and in the face of video footage from mr. mcdonald's

security system showing his accuser having clearly consensual sexual relations with him in his hot tub, the da's office has not acted that the time. the da's office is not commenting. surprising twist in a murder investigation involving real estate heir robert durst. the subject of an hbo documentary, durst finds himself under arrest this morning for a california murder 15 years ago. "today in the bay's" kris sanchez joins us in studio with how this is all playing out in front of a national audience, kris. >> reporter: laura, this is a national spotlight of his own doing. though he was under suspicion in his own wife's disappearance and friend's execution, he agreed to be part of the hbo series about his life. producers say they uncovered new evidence and then durst made this shocking admission. >> what the hell did i do? killed them all, of course. >> reporter: well in case you can't make that out, he says what have i done, killed them all, of course. producers say durst did not realize that his microphone was

still on while he was in the bathroom muttering to himself. it is an interview that attorneys warned him he should not do. >> they said about it, you can't help yourself. right now you're a free man, 100%, you say something inadvertently, and you'll find yourself charged in new york or charged in los angeles. >> they're going to need something substantial to hang their hat on. is the information and the testimony of inconsistent statements and some handwriting samples enough to convict a person? >> reporter: before this case, a 71-year-old was acquitted of his neighbor's murder in 2003, who he confessed killing and dismembering. he is suspected in his wife's 1982 disappearance, and then just before his best friend was to be questioned about his role in that disappearance, authorities say that robert durst shot that woman, execution-style. his brother released a statement that says in part, we are relieved and also grateful to everyone who assisted in the

arrest of robert durst. we hope he will finally be held accountable for all he has done. we are waiting for a press conference to follow. the appearance of robert durst at this courthouse in louisiana. we expect that le face a judge this morning to talk about extradition back to l.a., laura. >> such a strange and twisted case. >> he can't help it. >> right. 6:07 right now, the man arrested for shooting two police officers in ferguson, missouri, acknowledges he pulled the trigger, but he did not mean to hurt any officers, he say us. after an intense search that lasted a little more than three days, police arrested jeffrey williams. he's the person who wounded two officers in ferguson during a protest last week. william reportedly told officers he filed, but says the shots were not meant for the officers. the officers injuries are not considered to be life threatening. 6:07, monday morning, march 16th, time to look live outside. look at the bay bridge, ill lum

natoed, even without the extra lights, it's beautiful. >> still got some wattage to it. even without the led lights. christina joining us now, and we're hoping for rain here. >> we certainly need it, christina. >> we do, we're not doing that bad when it come to the average rainfall for this season. just in case you missed the progress report, i'll have that for you again coming up. let's start with what's happening right now though, 48 degrees in san martin, weather story of the day, showers in the north bay, north of the golden gate bridge as we head throughout the second half of your day. high clouds filtering in for the entire bay area. but thanks for waking up with us, happy monday morning to you, want to get you out that front door on a good note this morning. temperatures are looking comfortable for lunch plans. no umbrella at this point. 66 degrees at noon on the peninsula. 65 degrees on the north bay as you break for lunch, step outside, good air quality out there, enjoy that. then temperatures are going to

be much cooler today than over the weekend. we saw the warmest air in over five months over the course of your weekend. since october. 73 degrees for the south bay today. beautiful conditions coming your way. and then as we get into this afternoon, the jet stream stays just to our north, and for you, that means we could see light shower activity. if you're waking up with us, north of the golden gate bridge this morning, we're going to take the showers as far south as highway 92 as we head throughout the second half of the day. i'm moving forward in time, on your future cast right at 4:00, good chance for light shower activity even in palo alto at this point. the rest of the evening, back to the north, we got another chance for light shower activity on wednesday, and then a better chance getting into your all important weekend. think i could still get you outdoors if that's what you like to do on the weekend. more on that in moments, how are we looking, mike inouye? >> we're looking better than the statistics. we have still a slower drive, but duo hopefully see label the

of a recovery continuing. this is southbound from the coliseum all the way down past davis street. we'll look at your map. the reason i'm hoping for improvement, there you go for the speed, is the because of the clearing now. south 880 and davis, crash cleared all lanes and we do see recovery from red to orange now at bottom of the screen. we do have that megaphone there, marking the coliseum and of course the warriors playing tonight. that'll be post work traffic. that's counter-commute traffic, slowing slow down there. past the coliseum in towards the toll plaza. that's an easy drive. no problems at the maize, i have over on the right side, circled southbound 680 there getting in toward danville and alamo. we have a crash near the center divide. sounds like there was a traffic break over the last couple of minutes. that may be why we see the slowing. we'll get an update as soon as they're able to get us more detail. active situation there. meanwhile the tri-valley, typical pattern over here towards westbound 580 and 680

over the pleasanton. nice easy drive through sunol and fremont. south bay here in san jose shows a nice build. north 101 typical for this pattern for this time. silicon valley traveling up through sunny valley and palo alto. peninsula looks nice as well. moving over towards the bay bridge, look, metering lights are on, there's your backup. we have a little space for the cash lanes. they're filling them in. half second for a little space there. >> that's tough. that's a tough way to start your morning. >> wait at the bay bridge. >> exactly. >> thank you very much, mike. 6:11, still ahead, hope for people struggling to control high cholesterol. tesla going further than ever before. detail was a major announcement expected by ceo elon musk. live look outside right now, san jose, folks starting to stir on their monday. we'll have a look at your weather for the rest of the week as well as all the news impacting you and your community coming up right after this break.

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don't miss furious 7, in theaters april 3rd. you're watching "today in the bay." welcome back. now monday's can be a little bit difficult, we're here to help you get prepared for the week ahead. spring actually starts on friday. nonetheless, we're going to see a cooler week with a few light showers going back to winter for the final week as we head throughout the next couple days, some changes you'll want to know about. stick around, your microclimate forecast is moments away. look that the, this is the freeway, and although it looks horrible from the coliseum south past 98th, it's better than a couple seconds ago. reasons for improvement, but now

you're going to watch 680, walnut creek interchange, big alert for you, coming up. okay. let's get you caught up. here are today's top stories. one passenger dead after a taxi plunged off a highway in fairfield earl wiy this morning. the driver was not hurt. police say the brutal attack on a teen at valley fair mall parking lot may have been part of a gang initiation. 17-year-old christian razznor is in the hospital for major head trau trauma. ray mcdonald filing suit this morning against the bomb who claimed he sexual assaulted her. mcdonald has yet to be charged for the december encounter which is his attorney calls consensual. at 6:15, possible medical breakthrough for millions living with high cholesterol. research shows new experimental drugs may significantly lower bad cholesterol, reducing the risk of heart attacks and strokes. in preliminary settings, the two drugs lowered the risk of

cardiovascular problems by about 50%. the key here, that's far beyond the benefit alone. the clinical studies were small, but the results are promising. >> okay. could you have both speed and efficiency? we're just days away from what could be a major upgrade for tesla's entire model s fleet. yesterday, elon musk hinted on twitter about a software update that could end quote, range anxiety. it's in reference to the range of miles the car is travel. as of right now, they get just over 200 miles per charge. that could change on thursday when musk plans to make his announcement. tech world, mixed news for apple surrounding it's latest gadget, the apple watch. new poll shows that nearly 70% of americans are not interested in buying that watch. so they say. many don't even know about it, but a silver lining here, 13% of people who don't own an iphone say they're thinking about grabbing one of those just to get the apple watch since you need a phone for the watch to fully work. an argument that truly for

the birds makes off a proposed bridge design in its tracks. mercury news reports bird enthusiasts are shooting down the winning design selected for landmark bridge in palo alto. the pedestrian and bicycle bridge will replace the current under crossing at adobe creek. environmental groups believe the high arches will be a danger to birds at a nearby preserve. the architect calls it bird-friendly. palo alto city council meets tonight and may make a final decision. all right. 6:17 right now on your monday. lots of birds, planes, and other folks flying around the golden gate bridge trying to get a nice look of that iconic, beautiful structure there as we start off your workweek. >> yeah, expecting cooler temperatures today. >> yeah, it'll be nice out there. 6:17 is the time, happy monday, hopefully you enjoyed that warmth over the weekend. break from temperatures near 90 as we head throughout the next couple of days. but everybody's asking me how warm was it on saturday, 89 degrees was the warmest spot

that we could locate for you. that was in san jose. so it was definitely a very warm weekend. things are going to change this week with the jet stream taking a nice dip to the south and for us, that's going to translate to cooler, cloudier weather with a few showers in your forecast. now starting out though, whizzing by at 56 degrees with a full deck of clouds all across the bay area, serving as a blanket, trapping in the warmth from yesterday. and we're going to see a nice day today. temperatures in the mid-60s by lunchtime, rounding out the day at room temperature. that's 72 degrees on the peninsula. just a touch warmer out in the warmest location, the tri-valley, 75 degrees for you today. and that on-shore flow keeping it weres below 70 degrees for today in san francisco, but tomorrow, as you know, it's st. patrick's day, don't forget to wear the green. temperatures are going to be really comfortable for the st. patrick's day block party. this is in san francisco. we like to let you know about all the events happening, especially if they're free for you and the family. this is probably a better event

for the adults out there. front street throughout sacramento and california, lots of people out there, might be a good idea to avoid the area as well as you make your way home from work, going to be a traffic tieup. throughout the next couple of days, temperatures stay nice and steady, we'll be at 73 degrees on the south bay on wednesday wednesday. then thursday into friday, temperatures will rise just a touch, and another chance for showers as we get into your weekend. weekend can be split just like it was this past weekend. we'll see a little bit of shower activity and cool temperatures on saturday, sunday is going to be your better day for outdoor plans. but yeah, do count on kind of a traffic nightmare out there in san francisco. a lot of irish people like myself, living in the city. and yeah, mike inouye, might be a good idea to keep that in mind if you're trying to get home tomorrow, could be problematic. tomorrow,ly also be 100 -- i will be also 100% irish. that's what happens in the bay area. around the bay area on st. patrick's day. over here, green, fortunate for

the maize and the approach to the bay bridge. here's slowdowns right here. first i want to take you over towards 680 southbound, we hear that three lanes are now blocked. the earlier traffic break sounds like it was not successful. we have a slowdown from just south of the walnut creek interchange to the road. there's at least one possibly two crashes heading down towards the area. once you're south of danville through san ramone, you're all right. and the northbound commute away from the tri-valley, you're doing okay there. we'll show you to that in a second. meanwhile here, good recovery, southbound 880, much more smoothly, now a bunch of traffic heading south down towards the san mateo bridge. live look out here from oakland coliseum, showing you that traffic breaking up around haganburg. still around 98 and clearing towards davis where there was an earlier crash causing quite a slowdown. get back out to the maps. approaching the san mateo bridge, and build coming out of that tri-valley as we talked about. there's san ramone, easy drive. dublin interchange, typical through pleasanton and sunol.

no surprises for that portion of the tri-valley as we move over towards the south bay, just a mild build for 101 and 87 right here through san jose. and as they move out of silicon valley, typical build, around 60 miles per hour no big concerns. the peninsula all moving nicely. we'll show you the north bay, quick shot here of san rafael, southbound 101, starting with the build. you'll see a little slowing through nava toe, couple lanes there. nothing unusual for that portion, back to you. >> okay, thank you very much, mike. still ahead on "today in the bay," the first lady, michelle obama, bust a little move on ellen. >> what kind of moves do you got? live look outside, downtown san jose, it is still dark at 6:20, we feel the effects of the time change. we'll be right back after this with much more news still to come. >> we'll feel it for weeks.

you're watching "today in the bay." it is 6:24 on your monday right now as we look live outside at the bay bridge from emeryville all is calm ander is arena. but on the basketball court, oh no, quite the contrary. let the madness begin. the big dance tips off with the play-in games. all six level one division teams are looking in. stanford did not get an invite, instead the team had is to settle for a number two seed in the nic.

cardinals will be hosting uc davis in the first round tomorrow night at maples pavilion. tip you've is at -- tipoff is at 8:00. the gales will host vanderbilt wednesday at 6:00 p.m. now a strange twist here. cal declined an invitation to play in the invitational. no word why they turned down the offer, but the bears are going to miss the post season for the first time since 2007. >> always fun to watch. it's 6:25, seinfeld is about to become the master of another domain, the internet. >> reports say that sony is in talks to sell reruns of the sitcom to the online video service. which is amazon or hulu. a deal that could be worth more than $100 million, or half a million bucks per episode. netflix says it's passing. last fall is brought the exclusive streaming rights for "friends." >> that show never gets old. >> both of them.

6:25 right now. first lady michelle obama is stopping by ellen today. >> stopping and dancing as well. she's showing off moving of her own. here's in fact a sneak peek. ♪ >> yeah, too choreographed to be impromptu there. #givemefivedance. let's move anniversary. mrs. obama is asking everyone top quote, #givemefiveways they're leading a healthy life. ellen starts at 4:00 this afternoon. right before our 5:00 newscast. >> yes. great song selection. bringing the funk, uptown funk. >> that'll get you moving. 6:26, still ahead the opening bell might get you moving just moments away. early look at the numbers coming up next. >> hopefully get the markets moving. entire nation looking to

pick up the pieces this morning after a powerful cyclone destroyed most of an island. russian landmark goes up in flame. what will we're learning about the overnight fire coming up next.

good monday morning to you, winter's grip holding on tight this week for the final week of this season. we've got cloudy conditions, a few showers on the way, your microclimate forecast is coming up. and good recovery for oakland. this is 880, but bad slowing for

680. we are our chopper headed to a crash just south of the walnut creek interchange. slowing down this morning, likely those markets. its been a tough run of late. bad manufacturing numbers could put a dampened spirit on things today. this is a live look from the nasdaq as well as they ring the opening sounds there. monday, march 16th, you're watching "today in the bay." from nbc bay area, this is "today in the bay." good monday morning, thank you for joining us, i'm sam brock. >> and i'm laura garcia con non. talks of iran's nuclear program resume this morning. lawmakers are anxious to get involved. tracy potts live in washington, d.c. this morning, could that letter republicans sent directly to iran impact negotiations? >> reporter: well, that's the concern. and you said they are anxious to get involved, the white house is anxious to keep them out. they sent a letter to the senate foreign relations committee this

weekend for that very purpose and got the word back from the chair of that committee. they want their stamp on this before it's final because they think the obama administration is working on a bad deal. a sunday meeting between secretary of state john kerry and iran's foreign minister was postponed until today. they're discussing whether to lift united nations sanctions, opening financial markets and oil shipments in exchange for iran cur,ing its nuclear program. >> my hope is in the next days, it'll be possible. >> reporter: the letter 47 republicans sent to iran could impact this week's negotiations. >> the letter signed by the 47 senators weakened the president's negotiating ability. that was wrong. >> reporter: senator tom cotton wrote that letter and defends it. >> he is negotiating a deal that is going to put iran on the path to a bomb. >> reporter: lawmakers want more sanctions, not less, and they want final approval of any deal president obama signs off on. >> he clearly doesn't want congress involved in it.

at all. and we're worried about it. >> reporter: u.n. sanctions could be relaxed, but u.s. sanctions would still stand. so let's talk timeline here because they only have until the end of this month to come up with a framework, sort of an outline to what the deal is going to be, and they have until the end of june to work out the details. it's just not given at this point that they can even come up with the big picture in two weeks. >> all right. got to get things done, thanks tracy, live from washington. politics, the congress is looking ahead as the nation about to hit the debt ceiling. the temporary suspension of the debt ceiling law expired overnight. now the treasury department says starting today, it will begin taking extraordinary measures to keep the government from defaulting on its debt. it has not said what the measures will entail. officials say the plan should have been effective at least until october. we of course will be watching that very closely. the obama administration is dropping its plans to cut the number of u.s. forces in afghanistan to 5500 by the end

of the year. officials say that while no final decision on numbers has been made yet, the administration plans to slow withdrawal plans. also discussions about keeping a steady number of counterterrorism troops throughout the year. president obama's had to send troops back in iraq to help security forces there fight isis. developing story, president of the chinese south pacific island nation of vanuatu says his country must start over at a powerful cyclone destroyed much of the main island. you can see the damage cyclone pam tore through the area on saturday packing winds of nearly 170 miles per hour. six people are confirmed dead, but officials say that number could jump significantly as crews pick through the rubble. neighboring nations are sending relief. 6:33 light now, we're going to get a check of your microclimate forecast after we saw hot weather this weekend. live look at the bay bridge to kick off your monday. >> yeah, those temperatures

crest up there, christina, but cooler today. >> we broke all kinds of records on saturday. yes, it was not too bad, even cooler today. getting into this afternoon, temperatures in the low 70s, and that's room temperature. you will likely not need to use your heater later on if you have it running right now and definitely won't need to turn on that ac as some of us did over the weekend. 50 degrees to kick off the new day in livermore, good morning to you, i hope you had a great weekend getting back into the swing of things, it'll be easy weather wise for you. really calm out there right now. blanket of low clouds, drizzle reported, but not much. i don't think you need to give yourself extra time to account for fog or drizzle. you might need to later on this evening, count on a little bit of patchy fog developing between about 7:00 and 8:00. and we're also expecting light showers. future cast in just moments. three to five degrees cooler than yesterday. showers are mostly going to be north at the golden gate bridge for today. we could see a little activity as far south as the peninsula. half way through about highway

92. 73 degrees for the south bay today. 75 is the high in the tri-valley, and san francisco, you'll check in with the upper 60s for this afternoon. as promised, here is your future cast. we take you forward in time, stop that clock for the second half of the day. slight chances for showers. if you can move quickly, don't need umbrellas. a lot will be very, very light. do keep that in mind. overall though, clearing out throughout tonight, jet stream moves back up to the north, and for us, comfortable conditions for your st. patrick's day. as we head deeper into the week, we actually kick offspring, we kick offspring, hard to believe how quick lay it came in on friday. even for the first weekend of spring, we're counting on showers. i'm going to time this out for you. might help you get through the workweek knowing about what the weekend will hold. that's coming up in my next report. first, say good morning, happy monday, and you know what, we have problem areas out thereto, huh mike? we have your typical build as well as unexpectedly slow drive. we'll start with the chopper who

just made their way out there. this is southbound 680, traffic's backed up just a couple seconds ago. they were just showing you the scene of a crash blocking all but one lane southbound 680. just south of 24. this is in alamo and danville. border around the area. there's the map. you see it backed up solid from basically the northern end of danville all the way back through the walnut creek interchange where that blends in with the traffic build. that's typical south coming for 680 out of pleasant hill and concord. now the folks from highway four, they're going to continue to merge in with this traffic making it tougher and tougher south of that bridge. we'll track that, so far no major injuries, seven to possibly nine vehicles wrn originally involved. they're going to need more tow trucks out on scene. we're tracking that. meanwhile the upper east shore freeway through richmond, westbound 80 through berkeley and the bay bridge toll plaza. that's typical there. we're going to zoom into the other slower spot. down in towards a street, but

the earlier crash is cleared at marina itself. now we'll show you the stop from oakland, just top of the screen, and you see the taillights between jammed solid just a few minutes ago. that is quickly recovering closer to the speed limit, still about 50 miles per hour south of the coliseum toward 98th. back out to your maps, and speed sensors as well for the tri-valley. you see that as well as southbound 880. both typical slower spots down in towards sunol. fremont, and the south bay. northbound routes gets near the build north 101, and now 85 showing that slowing north of 17th towards the cupertino. the commute is on. >> a lot of green at least on those maps. green on the markets as well. >> good news on that well, markets opened up just a few minutes ago and they are off a shot in the arm on this monday morning. right now the dow sitting at about 17,859 and hopefully moving ahead. >> there we go, we'll take it. 6:37 right now, still ahead, russian landmark catches fire overnight. and bullets fly.

two police officers in southern california, the very latest on the search for whoever pulled the triler.

new video of a russian landmark up in flames. right now investigators are trying to figure out what sparked a fire at the bell tower of the iconic con vant in moscow. the bell tower is undergoing renovations and the fire reportedly broke out on wood scaffolding surrounding the tower. no one was hurt.

the convent built in 1524 is known for both its buildings and its cemetery where many of russia's most celebrated figures are buried. today we should learn the names of the four army national guard members who died in the military helicopter crash last week. louisiana national guard is expected to hold a news conference later in the morning. the four soldiers were aboard a black hawk helicopter that crashed into the gulf of mexico last week during a nighttime training exercise. seven marines also died in that crash. 6:41, developing story in southern california where a man hunt is under way for two people who fired shots at two plain clothes police officers. the bullets grazed the officers. each suffered minor injuries. the shooting happened last night as a pair drove on broadway in south los angeles. the officers did return fire and police detained several people, but so far, no arrests. 6:41 right now, coming up next, the taxi flies off a busy bay area freeway killing a passenger. and new evidence that may help police catch a killer.

what we're now learning about the death of a ucsf dental student. live look outside right now, downtown san jose, that day will start to break start here very soon. we're back with 15 minutes of nonstop news, traffic, and weather, right after this break.

now 15 minutes of continuous news, weather, and traffic on "today in the bay." 6:44, new this morning, a passenger is dead after a taxi plunged off a highway in fairfield. it happened a little after 1:00 this morning with interstate 680 meets 80. the taxi shot off the roadway and went some 70 feet down an embankment before landing on

frontage road. another passenger was seriously hurt, the driver is fine. the cause of that crash is under investigation. the chp says the taxi was going from san jose towards sacramento. >> what makes the story so scary here, it could happen to anyone. vicious attack is leading to new concerns about the safety surrounding san jose's popular valley fair mall. "today in the bay's" stephanie chuang joins us live at the mall this morning, and steph, that attack might have been part of a gang initiation, good morning. >> reporter: that's right, good morning, sam. you said it could be anyone. we're talking about 6:30, 7:00 last wednesday night. a lot of people and families here at valley fair. three friends walked out of a mall when two men confronted them and viciously attacked a 17-year-old boy. christian is in intensive care at hospital this morning five days after getting punched in his head. his mother maria says the two friends witnessed the beating and spotted a third man watching nearby which could indicate this is part of a gang initiation. christian's parents are

frustrated because police haven't talked about images that could have been captured on cameras and have not reached out to them with any updates at all. >> five minute call to say where they were. >> i want justice for my son. he's a good kid. he doesn't, he didn't deserve what he got. >> reporter: in a statement, san jose police said the case was assigned to the gang investigation unit and they will follow up with the family which by the way launched a go fund me to help pay for the surgeries and other medical costs after one day, 30 people have donated more than $3600 of the $10,000 goal. you can help by going to go fund me and searching for prayers for christian. meantime, i have reached out to westfield to see if maybe it will increase security here at valley fair, haven't heard back yet, it's very early. we'll have updates on nbc bay area and nbcbayarea.com. live in san jose, steph anyway chuang, "today in the bay." >> thank you very much. 6:46 right now, time to check the microclimate forecast this morning as we take a live

look outside. beautiful look at the bay bridge this morning. sun peeking through the clouds, not going to warm things up considerably today though. >> no, it's going to be really nice out there. good morning to you. hopefully you had a good weekend, back to work and business. no flight delays right now courtesy of nice weather. we have low ceilings developing. i'm going to keep an eye on that for you out of sfo. right now san jose is looking really good to kick off the new day. 54 degrees here. 50 in livermore. weather story of the day, increasing clouds as we head throughout your afternoon. few showers as well, especially to the north of the golden gate bridge. keep that in mind. that'll be towards the second half of the day. a nice, smooth evening drive could be interrupted. keep that in mind, otherwise, we're looking really, really comfortable for today. mid-60s across the board as of lunchtime, those are your average highs for this time of year. rounding out in the low 70s. laura and sam both came off of a

warm weekend. happy to see you return of the low 70s. getting into the next couple days, temperatures are going to be nice and mild with that very slight chance for showers each and every day. that is because the jet stream will sit just to the north. tomorrow's st. patrick's day, don't forget your green. we'll all have our green on here i'm sure. wednesday into thursday, temperatures level off nice and mild, 72 degrees, comfortable conditions, touch above average as we get into the first official day of spring. sop looking really good for that this weekend, looks pretty good as well. if you want to get outdoors, sunday will be the better day to do so. i want to show you the feature cast in just a moment. 70 degrees in the south bay with on and off rain activity on saturday. clearing you out by sunday and temperatures nice and warm if you want to get out to the beach. we are etting into that time of year. best chance of showers towards the weekend will be saturday morning, then we'll have a little bit of an opportunity as we head throughout next week as well. jet stream kind of stays put.

here we go, this is where we stand when it comes to the averages for this year. actually looking really good. mountainview's at 105% of average. san jose, we're at 96% of average. meanwhile, santa rosa still about 75% of average for this year. 2015 is actually been decent in terms of rainfall. it's the snow pack that we need though to get out of the drought. and looks like each system that will come through throughout the next couple of weeks will be warm. so that's what we need. we have something to watch, and we will keep you updated. mike's always watching your drive which is changing at this hour. let's check in with him. >> all right christina. don't look at me, i'm going to step out of the shot. this was taken minutes ago. southbound 680, right now only in this video, one lane open, the better news in the last couple of seconds, two lanes reopening southbound 680 at el contata. danville north towards the walnut creek interchange. let's show you the map. the crash involves seven to possibly nine vehicles around

here the border between alamo and danville. all the way back and blending in the traffic flow. it's expecting heading in towards the interchange, now creeping back to make it work, 242 here. also for folks coming off of the bridge and highway 4, you're headed into a slower drive. we still don't know which when we'll clear this up. seven to nine vehicles. we couldn't count on the total because it was dark. it's going to take quite some time to clear all of those, and we already see the backup. now the rest of the east bay looks standard. east shore freeway moving nicely. crash eastbound getting away from the bridge on 24 right around the area. it is out of lanes, not a major impact. and the earlier slowing, south down through san leandro stood back. we're back over here, look at this, this is hayward south down into unionward city. typical build, anywhere south from 58 # pushing towards fremont for both commutes. we have heading over towards the peninsula, 92 showed slowing for the san mateo bridge as you would expect in the dumbarton bridge picking up potentially a

slower drive now for the next few minutes. south bay looking at northbound routes, earlier crash for north 101 around the shoulder, and pretty typical slower drive towards capitol expressway. bogging down around 680. there is 87, 85, and 280 showing the slower drive. the crowd building for north 101 at 680. slowest spot on the map will. live look at the golden gate bridge as well. i'll say again, the north bay is a typical build. slowing through novato, just a little slowing. here's the golden gate bridge, easy into san francisco. even the visibility is great right here. back to you. >> thank you very much, mike. it is 6:51, man arrested for shooting two police officers in ferguson, missouri, says he pulled the trigger, but did not mean to hurt officers. "today in the bay's" jay gray joins us live from ferguson this morning, has this arrest done anything to ease tension in the city? >> reporter: it has in the sense, laura, that it's gotten

someone off the streets that they believed was very dangerous. there could be more gunfire, look, what we have is a man, 20-year-old who's from the area, jeffrey williams, arrested after tips from the public led officers to his residence. he has said yeah, i fired the shots, but they weren't intended to hit police officers. he was involved in another altercation just about 150 yards away from the protest, and that's when the shots were fired. and he inadvertently hit the officers. either way, he could be charged at this point with charges that could wind up leaving him in jail for the rest of his life. so, he'll be arraigned for the first time in court on these charges a bit later this morning. that while the protests here are continuing. there is some add tension as you've talked about. there's some anger, and initially protesters had thought this was an outside agitator that had been at the root of the problem with the gunfire, police are saying that he was actually a part of the march earlier in

the evening before those shots were fired. still a lot to work out. it's an investigation that continues, but again, to repeat, the suspect here, jeffrey williams should be in court a bit later this morning. sam, laura, back to you. >> yeah, they said they'd catch somebody. thank you very much. bizarre twist now in a decades old murder investigation involving real estate heir robert durst. durst under arrest this morning in new orleans in connection with a 15-year-old murder from california. "today in the bay's" kris sanchez is here now. kris, durst could be on his way back to california very soon. >> reporter: he's being held without bail on one charge of capitol murder related to the execution-style murder of his best friend as she was to be questioned in robert durst's role in his wife's disappearance. here is a live look at that courthouse where we are expecting that he will waive extradition back to california today. despite the cloud of pigs over robert durst's head, he agreed to be part of a series about his life and producers say he made a shocking admission. >> what the hell did i do?

killed them all, of course. >> reporter: in case you can't make it out, he says what have i done? killed them all, of course. durst did not realize that his microphone was still on while he was in the bathroom muttering to himself. it is an interview that is turniturn i -- that attorneys told him not to do. >> you can't help yourself. right now you're a free man, 100%. you say something inadvertently, and you'll find yourself charged in new york or charged in los angeles. >> reporter: producers of the hbo series say they uncovered letters connecting durst to the execution-style murder of his friend before she was to be questioned about his role in his wife's 1982 disappearance. the 72-year-old was also acquitted in a separate case of his neighbor's murder in 2003. he confessed to killing that man and dismembering him. dumping his body in the gulf of

mexico. his brother released a statement saying in part we are relieved and grateful to everyone who assisted in the arrest of robert durst. we hope he will finally be held accountable for all he has done. robert durst is scheduled for an hearing today, no word yet on how soon he might be back in los angeles to face the new charges. >> fascinating story, thank you very much. 6:55, three men charged with kidnapping and sexual assaulting a woman in santa rosa will be in court to hear the evidence against them today. the men are accused of kidnapping the woman back in december and holding her captive for three months. the woman managed to escape. she told officers during that time the men repeatedly beat, threatened, and raped her. today marks three years since morgan hill teenager sierra lamar vanished while walking to school. over the weekend, dozens of volunteers carried out their final, formal search for sierra. organizers say they've simply run out of places to look. they say they are hanging new signs and hoping to develop any new leads. people with information can

still contact the tip line. antolin garcia torres is charged with kidnapping and killing lamar even though her body hasn't been found. he's expected back in court this month. ucsf will gather for a individualle for a student found murdered in her home. all while investigators still hunt for her killer. this 37-year-old was shot to death last sunday night at her apartment. police say the dental student's body was discovered last monday. investigators say some of her belongings were found dumped in a richmond neighborhood. the homeowner described what he found. >> he says, i found this in your trash, and this is high end purse in here. and he said there's id in it, and i said well bring it in, we'll have to find out if it's stolen, we can return it. >> she called police once she found bloody clothing. investigators are asking anyone with information to call them. >> ucsf vigil starts tonight at

5:00. former san francisco 49er ray mcdonald is reportedly planning to file suit this morning against the woman who claimed he sexual assaulted her. the niners released mcdonald in december citing a pattern of quote, poor decision-making. short time after a woman accused mcdonald of sexual assault at his house. mcdonald has yet to be charged, but his attorney tells the mercury news, as long as this case remains in limbo, his client cannot find work in the nfl. a statement from his lawyer to the merc calls the accusations, false and malicious. part of it reads, despite the passage of three months and in the face of video footage from mr. mcdonald's security system showing his accuser having clearly consensual sexual relations with him in his hot tub, the da's office has not acted at this time. the da's office is not commenting. san jose's mayor has plans for teenagers in the south bay. he is pushing a new program to get troubled teens into summer jobs. microsoft made a financial commitment to the $1 million

program. target and lowe's have pledged to hire hundreds of teens. the program will focus on those living in gang-impacted areas. >> we know that if we have a teen whose got nothing to do in the summer time, we have trouble on our hands. we need to ensure that we can keep kids involved in school, sports, or in jobs. >> the city program is expected to go through the summer. funding for a fall program is also being proposed. time right now 6:58, final check of the day's top stories. taxi plunge off of interstate 680 this morning killing a passenger. another passenger suffered major injuries. the driver though, is okay. police say the brutal attack on a teenager in the valley fair mall parking lot may have been part of a gang initiation. 17-year-old christian razzner is in the hospital with major head trauma. san jose ballet reached its fund raising goal over the weekend. they needed to raise $550,000 to stay open, and the folks heard those calls for money.

donated more than $640,000 to keep san jose valet going. a lot of generosity there. let's check the forecast with christina. >> great news. you have a lot of high-tech people involved in that. 6 6:58, generous community we have. and a forecast worth dancing for. 69 degrees in san francisco. and 72 in the north bay, spectacular conditions for today. temperature wise, it will be a little cloudy with a few showers later on, miss the future cast, no worries, i'm with you every 15 minutes throughout the "today" show. >> dancing our way through the weekend. at least through tuesday and the holiday. >> we have trouble with the chopper, we have video, unfortunately folks will have to get through the roadway here. this is chopper taking a few minutes ago. one lane open. we have better news, two lanes at southbound are open. two are closed. two left lanes by the fire crews when which are there, and toy trucks no major injuries, but the major impact for your commute.

southbound 680 through danville is jammed. backed up in towards the walnut because of that crash. we don't fwhoe that'll clear and slow across the san mateo bridge. two spots, the rest of the community is okay. >> we'll have a local news update in half hour. >> we'll see you then. good morning. bizarre twist. real estate heir and accused murderer robert durst caught on an open microphone uttering what sounds like a confession while filming a documentary about his life. >> killed them all of course. >> he was arrested over the weekend, he is set to face a judge today. >> breaking news, russian president vladamir putin shows up at an event in st. petersburg moments ago. his first public appearance in ten days. where's he been? >> record-breaker. boston's wicked winter now officialhe