removing the redwood trees requires a permit because they're considered heritage trees. google says they'll replant trees that are native to the area, like oak and cottonwoods, to replace the redwoods. right now at 6:00, electrocuted in a swimming pool. >> just hearing about that, i want to tell all my clients to get their stuff checked immediately. >> a bay area father killed as he tried to save the life of his young daughter. what authorities are saying could have led to this deadly accident. plus, several animals found shot to death near an east bay moli moliarin marina. a search underway right now to track down the killer. and crabbers have been working nonstop since yesterday, getting ready to make money for the first time in more than four months. details coming up. "today in the bay" starts now. >> good morning and thanks for joining us. i'm kris sanchez in for laura garcia-cannon. >> and i'm sam brock, the mornings have been cold lately, but the days have been warming

up consistently. another forecast like that? >> yes, another spectacular day with some sunshine, but, yes, it is cool, as you head out. this is what to expect, as far as highs today, in the south bay, up to 68 degrees. 67 in the peninsula and san francisco, 64 degrees north bay. 71, how about the east shore at 57. and the tri-valley, 70 degrees. upper 60s, low 70s today. more of that in the forecast. i'll show it to you, coming up. let's see what's happening at the bay bridge toll plaza with anthony. >> you know, there is something going on in the fastrak lane. not really sure. maybe a stall. trying to find out. you can actually see, folks trying to avoid this scene. but i think there's some flares. i'm trying to see it from the other cameras. our emeryville camera shows the other side. we'll try to see what's going on here. but folks are piling in, with at least off towards the right. so keep in mind, the bay bridge a little slower than usual. the rest of the east bay looking

pretty good from 680 down towards 580, dublin as well. but there is an accident, the 282 connector. maybe some slowing if you're trying to go through that route, maybe through the caldecott tunnel. guys, to you. >> anthony, thank you. a hit-and-run investigation underway right now in millbrae. california highway patrol reported that that accident happened off of el camino real off of meadow glen avenue at about 11:00 last night. so far, no word of injuries, but we will update you as soon as information becomes available. happening right now, pulling up the pots four months late. crabbers are on the water right now, gathering up their cages, hoping to finally make a profit this season. >> stephanie truong is live at fisherman's wharf in san francisco. is it busy out there? last time you were out there, it was kind of dead. >> it is busy. busier than we've ever seen since we've come here. you can see a couple of crabbers getting ready to load up that

boat to the brim there with crab pots. many haven't slept. they're heading out to set those traps. now the vote finally taking off. the fishermen hoping for best case scenario. that is the case in half moon bay. we were there earlier this morning. since yesterday, fishermen have been busy dropping those crab pots. the state shut down the commercial crab season in november when high levels of toxins were found. but reopened the season saturday. buyers wanted to know how much meat was in the crab, how good that quality was before setting the price. that happened yesterday morning, kicking off a mad rush into the water. >> we want to know if we're going to be catching a lot of crab this year. we were all interested in the price. now we've got that figured out. definitely a lot of excitement. >> the price, $2.90 a pound. not as much as they've hoped for. some have pulled up their traps, but most will let their traps stay for a full day in the water

and try to get as many crabs as possible. back here live, they're getting ready to push off, haven't quite left yet. as for when we could get these new crab meats on the dinner table, that could happen as early as tonight. we'll have to see. live here in san francisco, stephanie truong, "today in the bay". >> we need to send you out for a sample at some point. new this morning, a peninsula family is dealing with an enormous tragedy. a burllingame father is dead an his 9-year-old daughter is in critical condition. all of it after a freak accident in the family's southern california swimming pool. police say jim tramel, an executive at rev jet here in silicon valley, was electrocuted when he jumped into his pool to save his daughters. it happened at the family's vacation home in palm springs on easter sunday. neighbors here in the bay area say tramel was a loving father. 6:04 right now. the search is on for the person who's been shooting wild animals with a pellet gun at the berkeley marina. a groundskeeper there discovered

three raccoons, an opossum and a feral cat dead or clinging to life along the shoreline on saturday morning. police believe that they were all targeted. >> likely, these animals were shot with the pellet and then wandered for some distance. animal cruelty is a felony in the state of california. >> this is like a wildlife sanctuary, if you're in berkeley. and they really need to be protected, the regular animals. and i just think it's wrong. this is not hunting season here at the marina. >> police right now are putting out this information, because they have nothing to act on. if you can help out, berkeley police ask that you give them a call. should sex offenders have symbols in their passports indicating that they have committed sex crimes? a judge in oakland will take on that question today pap new federal law requires registered sex offenders to have unique identifiers in their passports, but a group called california reform sex offender laws is challenging that. the group says the law violates constitutional rights.

testimony continuing today in the trial of a man accused of shooting and killing a young oakland girl. a paramedic took the stand yesterday, in the trial of darnell williams. williams is accused of opening fire into the home are 8-year-old alicia caradine was attending a sleepover back in 2014. according to the "chronicle," paramedics say the girl's last words as she was rushed to the hospital were, quote, i'm dying. williams faces two counts of first-degree murder. if he's convicted, he could receive the death penalty. a northern california school is in session once again today after an unvaccinated student contracted the measles. the entire yuba river charter school in nevada county north of sacramento is warning that only vaccinated students will be allowed back to class. the unvaccinated student contracted the virus while traveling abroad. only 77% of kindergartners are fully vaccinated in nevada county, which is the lowest rate in the state. well, today los gatos

leaders will examine the details proposed for a long-discussed retail and housing development. >> so the council members have already approved what's called the north 40 development, but questions still surround how large it's ultimately going to be. council members and residents are concerned, as well, about the potential traffic impact. that meeting is going to take place at 10:00 a.m. and a bit of concern at the chevron refinery in richmond overnight. contra costra county sent in a team to check on the air quality. the team found nothing concerning about the air, but this started after the refinery activated what's called flaring. chevron says that flares are a safety tool used to release pressure during the refining process. happening today, a critical moment for california's water supply. state water leaders will measure the sierra snowpack. and no surprise, surveyors will find more snow than they have in recent years. but even with the el nino pattern bringing more generous snowfall, it is expected to be about normal for this time of year. today's readings will likely affect new water conservation

numbers as well. so maybe it's about the historical average, but it's just cool to see them lifting up the measuring stick and plunging it deep into something that's not dirt. >> exactly. we saw mud and dirt not too long ago. meteorologist kari hall, maybe not adding much to that in the days ahead. >> no, not for the first few days, but of course, as we head into april, there could be some more snow in the sierra and more rain here in the bay area. as we take a look at some dry weather now, we have a few clouds over the north bay, but no drops falling from them. and it's 43 degrees now in the peninsula. highs today reaching the upper 60s to low 70s. we'll have 71 degrees in the north bay and tri-valley. 68 degrees today in the south bay. a nice start and we'll have a great weekend ahead. i'll show you that, coming up in a few minutes. let's get an update on the morning commute now from anthony. >> i want to start you in the south bay. earlier we were talking about that earlier than usual build coming through 101. this is in san jose. you can see, 101 northbound, moving smoothly here. but every now and again, it

starts to get held up. keep in mind, it is going to be a slower than usual go if you're going to use 101 northbound through san jose. switching over to the maps. once you get past 880, things do improve. there's another accident through 137. same deal for the east bay. there is an accident, a big rig pushed over to the shoulder near the castro valley 580 westbound. and off towards the north bay, things moving pretty smooth here. we have some fog developing near santa rosa. in san rafael, you can see a little dplglisten to the camera but nothing all that bad. 101 northbound and southbound getting into the city. back to you. >> it is 6:09 now. coming up, apple strikes a deal with major league baseball. we'll show you how the tech giant is helping out inside the dugout. and from new technology to new food a, we'll take you insi at&t park with a sneak peek how the giants are enhancing this year's fan experience. and some cool new ways to

make your commute a little shorter, coming up in business.

hot dogs and high expectations. a live look right now at mccovey

cove at at&t park. the giants are finished in arizona and they'll be back on to take on the a's friday night. you can catch the action right here on nbc bay area. and fans are also going to have the chance to join the players on the field this season, so to speak. with the help of technology. the team unveiling these new virtual reality headsets that will be available for fans in the at cafe. giants leaders say this is a whole different kind of game experience for fans. >> there was a baseball, madison bum gardner was throwing long toss. so you're going to want to check this out. >> how'd you like a 95-mile-an-hour fast ball coming right at you? of course, there's the new eats at the ball parks, as well. we're talking about things like fried brussels sprouts, shrimp sandwiches, and porchini donuts.

coming soon as well, ipads, thanks to a brand-new deal with apple. >> and major league baseball struck a deal with the bay area tech giant to provide all 30 teams with ipad pros to use during the game. this will give coaches a way to look up stats, pull up video from previous games and simulate potential matchups. data on each team's ipad belongs only to that specific organization, so, no cheating allowed. >> no hacking. >> okay. only at the plate. baseball is actually a bit late to the game for this kind of thing. >> yeah, i remember seeing tablets on other sports' sidelines for several seasons. >> most notably in football, of course. stanford was one of the first to replace their playbooks with ipads. it's a huge advantage when you have an ipad, because you can delete the content if the player loses the playbook, and coaches can tell whether the players have read new content, whether they've done their homework. now, what we've all seen in the nfl, are nfl coaches and players

using surface tablets. that's been two seasons now. microsoft actually pays the nfl -- not the other way around. one problem, tv commentators often call them ipads, even though they're not. they've had some technical problems, as well. but those have been network connections at the stadium, not the tablets themselves. two ways to make your commute shorter this morning, lift offering a system this morning where people can offer rides to other people that are going their way. let's say i drive from san francisco to google every morning. i can now offer carpool to other googlers who are going to the same place. they pay me a couple of bucks through the lift app, but of course we get to use the carpool lane. another neat one is a new app from inrix, available starting this morning. it learns your commute, it pays attention to where you go and when you leave. my favorite part is this bar at the top that tells you specifically when to leave to be there on time. it says, we need to leave for the airport in five minutes to make it on time.

and it also does turn-by-turn directions, as well. inrix is a weird word there. >> it's perfect include just predict accidents that are going to happen on its way to work. >> that we haven't mastered. >> let's get on that. a volcano in alaska going off right now as we speak. >> ash right now is coating some areas of a small village near the pavlof volcano that began erupting on sunday. that's leaving a trail of ash there. nearby villagers, all 39 of them, are being advised widely to stay indoors. >> and new video of mexico's so-called fire volcano living up to its name. this is the colima volcano in western mexico and it's spewing a column of ash and gas almost one mile into the sky. the second volcano erupted in central mexico over the weekend as well. >> you want to see something like that, but from afar.

>> we always tease my brother mercilessly, because mt. st. helens erupted on his birthday. >> is that a good sign or a bad sign? >> we call him ricardo el tornado. >> look at these temperatures. another morning starting out in the 30s. it's 39 in the peninsula, but then look at san francisco, 52 degrees. a wide range in temperatures there. also in just the east bay, we have 39 degrees in sunol. it's 46 degrees in castro valley and walnut creek starts out the morning at 40 degrees. 42 now in the north bay. we do have a few more clouds this morning. something we haven't seen the past couple of mornings. in the north bay, over towards san francisco and also the delta, this will also stay with us for a couple of more hours before it clears out. and the clouds and the fog hugging the immediate coast.

and this is a look at tonight, when those clouds start to spread back in. i think tomorrow morning at this time, we could all be seeing some fog starting out the day. that will set the trend. today's high, up to 71 in los gatos. palo alto, 69 degrees. mid-60s for parts of san francisco. the seven-day forecast at the bottom of the screen shows not a major change in these temperatures over the next few days. in fact, we keep the sunshine during the afternoon, and our above-average temperatures. looking at the trend in san jose, the average is 67 degrees, but tomorrow we're heading up to 71. won't be well above average, but nice and warm, and definitely feeling like spring over the next few days. the storm track is still well to the north of us. we have high pressure that blocks those storm systems. and it also is giving us a north-northwesterly flow. into the next few days, that will start to slowly shift, and that allow for those areas of low pressure to move in. that could bring us some scattered showers to start out next week.

not only on monday, but maybe a couple of lingering showers on tuesday. and of course, i'll keep you up to date on that. the initial reports of how much rain we could see, the initial forecast, show that we could have about a half of an inch close to the coast, and close to a quarter of an inch for those inland areas. the weekend forecast, looking nice. highs in the upper 50s to lower 70s, and much more sunshine than we will see continuing from today into the weekend. now, let's get an update on the san mateo bridge with anthony. >> yeah, i want to start you off right now with the east bay. i want to start off near the richmond bridge right now. the richmond san rafael, because there is an accident on western drive there. and also just past the toll plaza at the bay bridge, there's a stall in the fastrak lanes. keep that in mind. over towards bay point, an accident keeping some things slow over on highway 4. getting on to state route 242. so keep that in mind if you're taking 242 into concord. getting into 680. once you get past that entire location, things are mitch improving there. across the rest of the east bay, there is some slowing across the

san mateo bridge. this is what i wanted to show you here. as we take you outside. once you get past the toll plaza, things do improve. it's smooth sailing over towards the peninsula. guys, back over to you. >> anthony, thank you very much. coming up, the suspect who hijacked a passenger plane, taking hostages along the way makes his first appearance in court. plus -- >> donald trump standing by his man. i'll explain why, coming up.

new this morning, the first court appearance for a man who hijacked an egypt airplane yesterday, briefly taking hostages. this is video of seif eldin mustafa being transported. the situation ended peacefully on tarmac in cypress. prosecutors called the suspect psychologically unstable, though not a terrorist. authorities say he wore a fake explosives belt and did it the an effort to see his ex-wife. >> we have more on that story now, kris. the hijacking was maybe the wrong time to ask for a photo. one passenger onboard that hijacked plane, britain's ben ennis, posed for a picture with the hijacker during the standoff. authorities say ennis unnecessarily put lives at risk. a highly unusual move for the nation's highest court, and it has to do with a case where religious institutions are challenging part of the president's health care act that requires them to provide birth control. >> so, still only eight justices on the high court. they are asking both sides to see if they can come up with some sort of compromise.

that is because the court attended to a 4-4 stalemate on that case. the court is asking that both sides allow religious groups to deny birth control. their insurance companies would then offer a separate cost-free birth control option to the employees. both sides have until april 20th to respond. and this is the first of many deadlocks that could be coming after the death of justice antonin scalia. we've got to see what happens. if the nominee is somebody that i think is really hurting the country and dividing the country, i can't stand behind them. >> i'm not in the habit of supporting someone that attacks my wife and attacks my family. i think that is going beyond the line. >> well, a shift in stance from all the republican candidates. the final three now saying they will not necessarily throw their support behind the person who gets the gop nomination. >> "today in the bay's" edward lawrence is live in washington, d.c. and this all happened in a town hall in wisconsin where regular citizens got to ask questions.

>> reporter: a lot of heated words coming out of that town hall in wisconsin. there were accusations, there were explanations. as the candidates tried to get the voters of wisconsin to try to choose them. senator ted cruz, donald trump, and governor john kasich all tried to sway the voters in that vermont town -- or in the wisconsin town hall. this ahead of their primary, which is next tuesday. a defiant trump, though, said that he defended his campaign manager, cory lewandowski, even if he was charged, battery. he said that -- trump says that he will not fire his campaign manager, even though security video shows the campaign manager grabbing a reporter and pulling her back, during one of the events on march 8th, in southern florida. the other candidates jumped on this. senator ted cruz, who just got endorsed by wisconsin governor scott walker, says that this shows a greater problem within

the trump campaign, a problem of a culture of aggression. even the democratic front-runner hillary clinton chimed in, saying that she supported that the reporter followed through with this incident, filing the police report. police obviously agreed there was something there and did charge the campaign manager with battery there. now, wisconsin has 42 delegates, that is all or nothing in their campaign. now, there have been a few polls in wisconsin. those polls show that trump and senator ted cruz are in a dead heat. reporting live in washington, edward lawrence, back to you. sam and kris? >> thank you very much, edward. that might be the reason why marco rubio, though he's not running for president anymore, wants to keep all of the delegates that he won along the way. this might be his way to keep donald trump from getting those delegates, and force a contested convention this summer. by the way, no candidates have ever done this before. well, coming up next now, preventing professors from

walking right off of the job, up and down the state of california. the steps that cal state leaders are making today to make sure their voices are heard in sacramento. >> a silicon valley tech exec electrocuted while trying to save his young daughter inside a swimming pool. i'm bob redell, that story, coming up. and a major development in the ongoing saga involving the raiders and their future home. a new report out this morning that has the silver and black fans watching the san diego chargers' next play.

a good wednesday morning.

thank you for joining us. i'm sam brock. >> and i'm kris sanchez. laura garcia-cannon is off this morning, but kari hall is in the weather center with a chilly forecast. >> chilly this morning, but not so much this afternoon. these are the kind of mornings we can get ready for over the next few days. and we've had to start out the week. it's 39 degrees in the palo alto, 35 in napa, and 52 degrees in san francisco. but this is where we're headed. another perfect day. a lot of sunshine. a few clouds mixing in, south bay as well as the peninsula, into the upper 60s. san francisco, 64 degrees. north bay, 71, and the east bay, 67 degrees. also into the low 70s in the tri-valley. i'll show you what else to expect as we go through the rest of the week. that's coming up. let's see what's happening on the bay bridge now with anthony. >> well, nothing unusual. just want to show you this quick glimpse, because the backup is pretty extensive here. it's starting to form, metering lights have been on for an hour. it goes back towards the maize, but not all that bad from emeryville through berkeley. so good news there. i want to show you, we have an

accident on the 580 westbound side of the san rafael richmond bridge near western drive. also at the bay bridge toll plaza, where we were just at, there is a stall in the fastrak lanes in the left lanes. coming through walnut creek, some slowing because of an earlier accident, right near 4 at the 242 connector. some extra company there. also coming down through the east bay, down near hayward, slowing on 880 towards union city pinpoint picks up once you get into free month. and the south bay, 101 is slow in spots and earlier we had that slowing near the 280 interchange and it goes back towards capital express. another slow go this morning. >> anthony, thank you. a bay area family mourning the loss of a father electrocuted after he jumped into a swimming pool to rescue his daughters. now new questions surrounding pool safety. >> "today in the bay'sbay's" bo redell is live in burlingame in a neighborhood where that family lives. bob, do we know what wet wrong? >> kris and sam, the thought is it might have been faulty

electrical wiring inside this pool. people who knew the family had been leaving flowers outside their home here in burlingame in memory of jim tramel, a silicon valley tech exec who was electrocuted inside the swimming pool in palm springs, this happening this past easter sunday. he jumped in the pool to save his 9-year-old daughter who was experiencing electrical shocks and turning blue. she was taken to the hospital. last report was she was in critical condition. tramel, however, unfortunately, did not survive the electrical current. law enforcement in palm springs believes faulty wiring, possibly to the pool light, might be to blame. tramel, a former exec at facebook, was most recently the vp of sales for rev jet in san carlos. >> he was also really nice. good to the kids. you always see them jumping on their trampoline back here, yelling to my dog. it's really, really sad, especially to hear about the oldest daughter. i'm hoping she's going to pull through and be okay.

>> reporter: an adult woman and four other children were also in the pool. one of those children was taken to the hospital in stable condition. the others treated and released. it's believed they survived because they weren't as close to the faulty wiring. now, the consumer products safety commission reports that 14 people were electrocuted inside pools between 2003 and 2014. the commissioner and red cross recommend electrical inspections of pools, especially if your pool is older. reporting live here in burlingame, bob redell, "today in the bay". >> if i had a pool, i would call for an inspection today. happening today, the murder trial of a man accused of killing a 16-month-old little boy is expected to begin in san jose. alejandro benitez is accused of suffocating the child. it happened four years ago at a home in east san jose. benitez faces the death penalty. >> the santa clara cop is going to be sentenced later today after he was convicted of indecent exposure. toms leepeld, a police sergeant,

is facing jail time. a store manager says that leepeld exposed himself and then propositioned her. leepeld was found guilty on monday. the 24-year veteran of the force will likely lose his job and be forced to register as a sex offender. >> alameda county sheriff's department is taking a hard, long look at itself. three deputies might be on the wrong side of the law, all stemming from the beating of a suspected car thief. attorneys for stanislaus petrov filed a civil claim against the deputies yesterday. they say their use of force was excessive and unjustified during this arrest last november. the attorneys also claim that a third deputy stole his necklace and gave it to a homeless couple, who witnessed that beating. >> we believe that they were trying to bribe these witnesses into silence. >> while our policies don't include excessive beating, they don't include taking jewelry, they don't include bribing witnesses. >> alameda county sheriff greg ahern is promising a thorough investigation.

more details now. we already know that the sheriff is making changes in his department related to body cameras. ten of the 11 deputies involved in the suspects' arrest said they did not have their cameras on, and the one who did have his camera rolling says it happened by accident. now the sheriff says everyone will use them and it will be mandatory. it's 6:35 right now. today, members of all 23 cal state universities are going to meet to air their grievances with lawmakers in sacramento. meantime, the clock is ticking on the two-day walkout by faculty members two weeks from now. they're involved in a bitter labor dispute. a march and a rally at the state capitol also planned for today. and santa clarita leaders are holding a meeting on a proposed homeless shelter on evans lane today. that's right near popular communications hill. the homeless shelter is going to be more like a village, with prefabricated or modular homes. today's meeting is at santa clara university school of law at 4:00. new developments right now emerging out of southern california that may put the

raiders' move to los angeles back on the front burner. >> so follow this one here. the "san diego union-tribune" reporting new plans for a $2 billion downtown stadium. right now the chargers are supposed to move to l.a. with the rams. the raiders, though, can take their place if the chargers decide to stay in san diego. san diego voters this november will weigh in on the stadium initiative, decide whether they want to help pay for it. also, crab fishermen are out right now, pulling up pots of crab four months late. a live look at the docks near fisherman's wharf in san francisco. dungeness crab was deemed unsafe to eat back in november when the season was supposed to start, but that crab embargo is now over. yesterday, buyers set the wholesale price at $2.90 per pound. that sent fishermen into a frenzy, sending out to drop their pots and pulling them up as we speak. the busting dock is a concern for some fisherman, because last year, there was too much crab at once and that stopped sales for

a short period. >> we're not quite sure what the market's going to bear when the crab starts coming across the dock and there's a lot of it. >> the season opened saturday, but fishermen wanted to get a price before they headed out. bad weather also kept them on the dock. we're keeping a close eye on the south bay this morning after a swarm of earthquakes overnight. did you feel them? >> i didn't. maybe it didn't wake you up, maybe it did. kris' alerts woke her up. in a matter of three hours, starting at 7:20, there were at least ten earthquakes. they were all centered in the alum rock area of san jose. the largest was just 3.1. the usgs says that swarms are not unusual for the area. there was also a quake swarm a few miles north of santa rosa. in all, there have been 48 small quakes, just in the past 24 hours. >> yeah, i did sign up for that nbc bay area app, seriously, and i did get the alert. i was glad to hear it. my dad got it out of state and that's who woke me up.

>> doing his job. it's 6:37 right now. nice day in store again. kari hall, colder to start. but that will change. >> that will change as our temperatures warm up today. make sure you have something nice and warm to where, as you head out the door. take a look at these temperatures now. it is 39 degrees in the peninsula. and we have some clouds moving into the north bay. so temperatures haven't dipped below 42 degrees. it's 52 degrees in san francisco. into the day, we'll have some sunshine, and more of that sun later today. it will take a while for those clouds to clear out. but we're up to 71 degrees in the north bay. 70 in the tri-valley. east bay, peninsula, and the south bay, in the upper 60s, a light wind today. i'll show you what to expect as we go into the weekend, even some rain that will follow. that's coming up in a few minutes. but let's get an update on the morning commute now from anthony. >> i want to start you off in the south bay right now. 101 northbound is really slow. earlier, we talked about how the build was starting earlier than usually, and now we've got an accident in this route. so we'll take you to the maps and you can see what i'm talking

about. it's right near yerba buena, that's where our camera was, about a mile down. all right starting to see that backup there. get passed 880, the interchange there, starting to improve headed over towards santa clarita and the peninsula. 680, slow in spots. and also for 84, the sunol grade. over the berkeley curve, we've got an accident near richmond. that's keeping things slow approaching the maze. take you outside, you can see what i'm talking about. we've got full traffic here, as folks are trying to get over towards the bay bridge toll plaza, but the good news is at least it is moving here on this wednesday, guys. back on over to you. >> not a standstill is a positive. thank you. coming up next, the u.s. plan to send thousands of troops to eastern europe. the new information surrounding the initial announcement expected this morning. the markets doing quite well this morning after the head of the fed said she would move cautiously on interest rates. the dow industrials up 127 points. good morning. coming up on a wednesday, donald trump is standing by his

campaign manager, who's now been charged with assaulting a female reporter. we'll talk to mr. trump, live. then, it's not just for games. we'll test out the hottest new gear in virtual reality and show you five ways it can change your life. and the sketches that define a candidate. "snl" creator lauren michaels opens up about finding humor in politics, for more than 40 years. we have those stories and much more ahead as we get started on a wednesday morning with, right on "today." (scal): good day, m'lady!

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all new this morning, a new pentagon plan for boots on the ground in eastern europe. u.s. allies are growing increasingly concerned about aggression from russia. today the pentagon is going to unveil plans to send 4,500 troops to nato's eastern borders. that also includes dozens of heavy vehicles, tanks, and other equipment. and this marks the first such deployment since the end of the cold war. well, a roaring fire is spreading to four row houses overnight in new york city and dramatic drone video shows just how high those flames laeeapt.

11 people were injured and many more were injured and left homeless. in less than an hour, four residential buildings ignited, sending massive flames erupting into the sky. investigators are still not clear on what caused that fire. well, nothing of that scale, but firefighters in oakland were pretty busy with house fires as well. >> yesterday, they battled three different house fires within hours of each other, taxing the system there, two fires near the oakland zoo, a third was in maxwell park, in that neighborhood there, and the first fire was reported at 9:00 in the morning. then at 1:00 in the afternoon, that second fire came in. finally, the third fire broke out around 5:00 last night. all homes suffered a lot of damage, but no one was hurt. now, the investigation continues to see if these fires are related. well, the world "grinch," kris, usually comes to mind with christmas, but in this case, grinch would be a compliment for these two easter rats. a security camera showing two people taking easter eggs right off the lawn of a southern

california home. here's the interesting part about this. the eggs were for a 2-year-old boy with down syndrome. his parents left them for an egg hunt after church. there is a silver lining. community members stepped up in a big way. >> the childress police department had our courtyard decorated this morning with eggs all throughout, had a big box of sidewalk chalk for him and a sweet note. sfr it has not stopped there. the boy's parents say that people from other states are also responding. so many people that a big easter egg hunt is now planned for the neighborhood this friday, turning a negative thing into a huge positive the whole community. >> what cutie ppt. well, americans are drinking less and less soda. >> sales for the sugary drinks have fallen for a 30-year low. >> sales for carbonated soft drinks dropped for the 11th consecutive year, last year. sales of pepsi down more than 3%. and diet coke, diet pepsi saw the biggest drop in sales, more than 5%. so who's still doing well?

sales were up for coke's fanta drink. and bottled water sales are up nearly 11%. all right, kris, what's in a word, or two? wall street trying to figure out what the fed is going to do next. >> parsing it all up for us this morning, very subtle. >> well, raise rates or leave them? that's the big question. the head of the fed, janet yellin, spoke to the economic club of new york tuesday, sam and kris, and said central bankers should, quote, proceed cautiously when it comes to interest rates. now, what does that mean? it depends on which word you pay attention to. proceed cautiously sounds like you're going to raise rates. proceed cautiously sounds like you're not going to raise rates. the markets really haven't moved all weekend. i kind of thought that was because yellin, everybody waiting. but that's not it. maybe they're waiting on the big jobs number. an early peek of private payroll numbers leave us to think we're going to get a strong number on friday. happening tomorrow, elon musk

takes the wraps off the tesla 3. here we see him debuting the tesla "x," the crossover. the tesla 3 will be the so-called low-cost tesla. technically, tesla 3 is the fourth tesla. because, remember, they had that sports car to start, then the "s," then the "x," and now the 3. a wayward sea lion caused quite a stir last night near the berkeley pier. >> that animal was seen wandering in the middle of the street. they called the marine mammal center to come pick the little guy up. before they arrived, he was back in the water. turns out the young seal is tagged and even has a name. it's school days. and it's been to berkeley before. it seems like -- he seems to like it, because he may be back sooner rather than later. it's back to school, school

days. >> okay, okay, i'm going, all right? i'm going. leave me alone. getting dressed for school this morning at 6:47, some parents you probably know here. >> kari, this is the time of year we lose sweaters and fleeces and jackets because it's cold in the morning and it warms up in the afternoon. >> yes, you have to keep reminding the kids, bring home your jacket and make sure your name is written on the tag on the inside. we are starting off with some very chilly temperatures this morning. a look at san francisco. a few clouds starting out, but overall, a great way to start out the day. but take a look at this spread and these temperatures. we have 39 degrees in palo alto. and then you head up to oakland, it's 53 degrees. napa, it's 35 degrees. so, it's very chilly in a few spots. and we also have started out with some clouds in parts of the north bay over towards san francisco, that you can see on the camera and oakland. and we will see these clouds with us for a couple of more hours. then as we go into tonight, the fog starts to roll back in, and i think by tomorrow morning, at this time, we'll have some widespread fog, all across the

bay area. we can expect that for the next several mornings, with some fog to start and then sunshine in the afternoon. as we break it down in palo alto today, we will be at 56 degrees at 10:00 and then rising into the low 60s. eventually making entite ing it mid- to upper 60s today. and a high of 70 can be expected in los gatos and half moon bay. 65 in vernal heights. seven-day forecast at the bottom of the screen, you'll see our temperatures really don't change that much over the next few days. but we will have a chance of rain in the forecast, early next week. so let's take a look at our transporter trend in dublin. the average high is 66 degrees there. we'll be up to 71 degrees by tomorrow. friday, even a little bit warmer. saturday, the warmest day, more clouds on sunday will knock us back a couple of degrees and that chance of rain on monday brings it up to 68 degrees. we will have a shift in our pattern. we've been so dry, recently, and it's all because of this, this stubborn area of high pressure. also bringing us a nice

north-northwesterly wind. into the rest of the weekend, we will slowly see this shifting, and that will bring in a chance of some scattered showers, starting on monday, they ma linger into tuesday as well. some of the first runs of the computer model will show we will have the potential of half of an inch of rain along the coast in parts of the north bay, maybe a quarter of an inch for those inland areas and looking into the weekend, we'll still have this dry weather. highs in the upper 60s to lower 70s. looking beautiful. let's check in with anthony to see what's happening on the roadways. >> let's start you at the bay bridge approach of the maze. starting to see the traffic build just a little bit. it's not all that bad. you can see some of the faster lanes are some of the hov lanes there coming through. but keep in mind, the build is starting. the metering lights have been on now for about an hour and a half. it's slow going here, but not all that bad. at least things are still moving. even approaching the maze. let's get over to the maps. you can see, we had an earlier accident near the berkeley curve. that's keeping things slow, back towards el cerrito.

also coming back towards walnut creek, slowing there because of an earlier accident. coming through the east bay, 880 is slow in spots. same deal for 680 through the sunol grade and 84 slowing down towards livermore. down in the south bay, 101 is really slow in spots, especially near montehugh expressway. and an accident further south near the yorba buena accident. keep in mind, 101 will be very slow this morning coming through san jose. back to you, sam and kris. >> speaking of the commute, service slowly getting back to normal on b.a.r.t. this morning, the bus bridges are gone between the north concord and pittsburgh bay point station, but passengers still have to change trains a to the north concord station. the transit agency is still fixing damaged trains from that mysterious power surge last week. no word on when full service will be restored. new this morning, the city

of san bruno is reportedly trying to shut down two massage parlors. in the wake of recent prostitution arrests. the "mercury news" reporting that police arrested one woman at a place called sunrise massage and another at the go healthy spa. in the wake of each arrest and other minor violations, the city is working to make sure that each location is permanently closed. well, uk berkeley leaders say they are among those hit this week by a wave of racist and bigoted flyers. a well-known computer hacker claims to be behind those flyers, which appeared at major colleges and universities, including cal and princeton. cal's chancellor sent out a letter informing students and teachers that the flyers also landed on a network of cal printers. the investigation is ongoing. it is an emotional and controversial decision following that deadly balcony collapse in berkeley last year. the alameda county district attorney ruled the incident a tragedy, but not a crime. six people died, seven others were injured when a balcony

buckled and plunged 40 feet last june. the d.a. says that there is insufficient evidence to file criminal charges against any individual or company. >> it makes me really angry and it's just really depressing. you know, these kids came here thinking that they were going to have the time of their life. >> i'm not surprised about the fact that you couldn't find a standard to bring a criminal case. >> the decision comes after a nine-month-long investigation. coming up, tragedy strikes a bay area family, as a father is electrocuted in a swimming pool, trying to save the lives of his young daughters. plus, there could soon be more homes for sale in the south bay, but not everybody is pleased about it. what leaders in los gatos are doing today to try to ease the concern of neighbors. and i'm stephanie truong live at fisherman's wharf in san francisco, where you can see the rush is on to get into the water for crabbers. these guys loading up, getting ready to set their traps, as well. more on that, coming up. good luck to them. and happening now, people in the

south bay talking about being rattled by a series of small earthquakes. the usgs is putting last night's quake swarm into a larger perspective and you can find a link to that story in our twitter feed. and it is time for giants fans to put on their game faces. tomorrow, at&t hosts the first of two bay bridge games ahead of hoping day. on our website, you can find out what's new for fans this year. click on the media day link at the top of our home page. todayhow ijust fewminut.

welcome back. let's get to our top stories before we send you off to the "today" show in just a few minutes. >> stephanie troung joining us live in san francisco where crabbers are finally getting ready to make a profit this season. steph. good morning. >> good morning, sam and kris. it is major release after four months of being stuck really in limbo. take a look. this is a small boat from balinas. these guys are very hopeful, getting out to set the last of temporary traps and excited to see what they get back. the boat name is "take time." they're getting ready to make up for that lost time. fishermen very busy. the state shut down the commercial season in november. finally re-opening the season saturday, but buyers wanted to test the product. they finally set the price at $2.90 a pound yesterday morning. and it was a mad dash into the

water. i'm told that most fishermen are going to wait to have their tracks for 24 hours before pulling their traps back up. we'll get news of just how good these catches are probably today and the hope is that we'll get some of this crab tonight. live in san francisco, stephanie chuang, tod"today in the bay." >> other track stories we're tracking right now, a bay area father as died, electrocuted when he jumped into a swimming pool over the easter holiday to try to save his 9-year-old daughter. jim tramel was an executive at rev jet in silicon valley. his daughter right now, in critical condition. all of this happening over the weekend at the family's vacation home in palm springs. the search is on right now for the person who shot wild animals with a pellet gun at the berkeley marina. a groundskeeper there discovered three raccoons, an opus some and a feral cat either dead or dying along the shoreline yesterday night. investigators believe they were shot on purpose. and lastly in los gatos today, town leaders will examine

the fine print is details proposed for a long-discussed retail and houg development. council members have already called that north 40 development, they've already confirmed it, but questions still surround how big it's going to be. council members and residents are concerned about tb potential traffic impact. you can follow the latest on all of our top stories on our website, nbcbayarea.com, or follow us on any of our digital platforms. >> all right. let's take a look at your sweater weather for this morning. kari? >> it is cool to start out, we even have some 30s in parts of the peninsula and the north bay as well. into the day, though, we'll warm up nicely, into the low 70s for the north bay. san francisco, 64 degrees. and a lot of sunshine later on. >> okay. the heat will be cranked up in your krar, then, in some spots. how are the roads looking? >> the san mateo bridge is starting to see some building there. we're seeing slowing. once you get towards the toll plaza, things are slow towards the high-rise. switching to the maps, we're dealing with some slowing on 880 as well. and over on the peninsula, some slowing on the palo alto.

some sunshine slowdown there because of the glare on the camera. >> and of course you can find out what's happening on "today in the bay" in 30 minutes. we'll be back with you with live, local news. good irreconcilable differences. >> no, i don't. >> i'm not in the habit of supporting someone who attacks my wife and attacks my family. >> if the nominee is somebody that i think is really hurting the country and dividing the country, i can't stand behind them. >> while the front-runner digs in defending his campaign manager, now charged with battery over this incident with a reporter. this morning donald trump will join us live. what was he thinking? a passenger on board that egypt air flight snaps a photo with the hijacker. how he's explaining his actions this morning.