your realtime captioner is linda marie macdonald. drivers facing another commute nightmare. the upcoming closure of the bay bridge and the one thing that could set it all back. it's essentially shutting out a whole class of people. >> the east bay loses a 30-year- old landmark. how the fight over a pool is leading to a federal lawsuit. and good morning, everyone. it's thursday, december 15, middle of the week. i'm frank mallicoat. >> we are getting closer to the end. >> yeah,er. >> pretty close. i can see the end. >> i'm feeling it, guys. >> we're feeling the rain, lawrence. >> yeah. [ laughter ] >> i am feeling it this morning. that's true. hey, folks. we have some clouds out there now, showers around the bay area to start you out this morning. a weak cold front moving

through right now. looks like it's going to pull through rapidly this morning but a couple of tenths of an inch of rain in the north valley otherwise lesser amounts. the system moving through in a hurry this morning. it will travel through into the south bay bringing with it more rain throughout the morning hours. trailing off in the afternoon. in the south bay you can see those showers continuing there. san jose really just some scattered showers in this direction and that's the way it looks like it's going to play out throughout the morning. along the peninsula, scattered showers continuing there but that's just lighter amounts of showers. into the east bay widely scattered showers continuing, as well. and then in the north bay, most of that frontal system is gone on by already. so we're starting to dry things out there and that trend likely to continue toward the afternoon. temperatures expected to be cooler today only in the 50s outside. so those numbers are going to be down just a bit today. and likely to see the winds picking up as we head in toward tonight with an offshore wind. and it looks like some nice

drier weather coming our way toward friday and saturday. in fact, the next few days after the system moves through this morning looks like we're going to dry things out but slick on the roads this morning, elizabeth. >> it is. all of our traffic cameras, we can see that. we'll show it to you. here's a live look at the golden gate bridge. be extra careful this morning. so far no major incidents out there and not as much roadwork because it is rainy all over the bay area. here's another live look at the bay bridge toll plaza. as you can see, no delay this morning through the pay gates and all the way through the "s" curve heading into san francisco. where we are seeing roadwork is apparently near the high street off-ramp there on northbound 880 so watch out for that. otherwise, like i said, no major delays anywhere you go. 15 minutes is your drive time between 238 and the maze in those northbound lanes. cruising towards downtown oakland and to the south bay we go now getting a check of our 280 camera which we love at this time of the morning. you can see a couple of headlights there approaching the 880 interchange but it could be a wet start -- or is a

wet start to our morning commute. mass transit might be a good option. bart, ace, muni and caltrain and your ferries on time. that's traffic. back to you. >> but it is still early. >> it is. >> thank you. speaking of traffic, there could be a major traffic headache just months away. caltrans plans to close the bay bridge in the westbound direction during presidents' day weekend. could be big problem because of all the rain this time around, right, anne makovec? >> reporter: yes, all the work is contingent on the rain. i'm on treasure island. you can see the eastern span here behind me and this closure is an effort to speed up construction of that span. you can see the cingular tower back there standing tall. this project is really coming along. now, the closure in february will only affect the westbound lanes. westbound traffic. it's planned for presidents' day weekend february 18, 19 and

20. and it would last two or throw days. but it's all again contingent on rain which could totally derail the plan. construction of the east span has been speeding along ahead of schedule in and february's closure will allow crews to reconfigure the road leaving drivers to a temporary westbound detour. they are going to interest have to restripe the road which needs to be dry which is why the closure is contingent on the weather. now, the shutdown is expected to have a major traffic impact. this has happened twice before. here's a sight you don't see too often. an empty bay bridge, labor day weekend 2009. we did center a closure last may you might remember but that was limited to the overnight hours. now, caltrans is talking about ramping up bart and ferry service. they're in talks to make sure that is going to happen that weekend if this roadwork does indeed go forward. and the new span of the bay bridge is expected to be open

in 2013. back to you guys. >> how long is it going to be closed? just for the weekend? >> yeah. two or three days. if it does rain that presidents' day weekend they are talking about sliding it to the next dry weekend. so it's all a wait-and-see game. but caltrans, they really want to start getting everybody prepared for this early. that's why they are sending out this notification in december because they know how long it takes for this information to catch on and the fewer people trying to cross the bridge, obviously, the better. >> thank you, anne makovec. stay dry. we can see the rain on your camera lens there. >> reporter: i think it looks more dramatic than it is. it's one of these do i need or not to have my umbrella? i'm ready to head back into the truck. >> okay, thank you. the suspects accused of beating bryan stow are due in court in l.a. this morning. louis sanchez and marvin norwood from san bernardino county are under arrest for the attack on stow outside dodger stadium in the season opener

against the dodgers and the giants back in march. they pled not guilty. today's hearing is to schedule a date for a preliminary hearing. san francisco police are putting extra patrols in the mission district to take a predator off the streets. a surveillance camera captured an image matter of fact believed to have raped a woman in the mission last thursday. he may also have attacked a woman in the same area in november. the suspect is described as being between 5'7" and 6' tall and in his mid-30s. >> looking into -- feel that we have someone that is very dangerous to the community and that's why we're taking this extremely serious. >> san francisco police held a community meeting in the neighborhood last night. rose petals were placed on the sidewalk in memorial of the first victim. a man described as a black

man in his 30s, 5'11", 200 pounds with a goatee and wore black hat, black hooded jacket, and black sweatpants. it is 4:37 now. police are searching for three men connected to a pot club raid in the east bay. drug agents moved into the happy wellness center in newark yesterday after complaints of illegal sales and money laundering. later police swarmed the clinic owner's home in danville and arrested the 28-year-old woman. she is believed to be the manager. they are still looking for the owner and two other people. a gunman is in the hospital with serious injuries after a shootout with police in the tenderloin. it started with a traffic stop yesterday. officers say the suspect ran and then fired at least two rounds at them. one officer fired back hitting the man. police are still looking for a female passenger. it is official. the u.s. war in iraq is over. the defense secretary leon panetta formally declared an end to the war a short time ago

in a ceremony in baghdad. 4500 americans died in the past nine years there. 32,000 others were wounded. the war also cost the u.s. more than $800 billion. panetta says it was worth the price in blood and money because iraq is now on the a path to democracy. expect fire in sioux city as republicans hold their final presidential debate before the iowa caucuses. the latest poll shows former house speaker newt gingrich and mitt romney running 1-2 in the hawkeye state. they went at each other on the campaign trail yesterday. romney called gingrich a, quote, zany candidate whose out of touch. >> he is a very wealthy man. if you have a half million dollars purchase from tiffany's you're not a middle class american. >> i have a 90% american conservatives union voting record for 20 years. i'm the only person in your lifetime to help balance the

budget for four straight years. >> texas congressman ron paul is running a strong third in iowa polls. those caucuses are january 3. it is 4:39 now. the ballooning cost of california's high-speed rail will take center stage at a hearing to be held in washington this morning. republicans running the house transportation and infrastructure committee are said to be skeptical about the project. the subheading for the hearing is skyrocketing costs and project concerns. ceo of the state high-speed rail authority will testify today. governor brown will join his predecessor today to for the climb to change conference in sacramento. former governor schwarzenegger was the late ad to speak at the governor's conference on extreme climate risk in california's future. it's at the california academy of sciences here in san francisco. there could be a ruling today in a federal suit against the city of berkeley. the issue is a warm water swimming pool that's being closed today because it's

seismically unsafe building is being torn down. some. people who used the pool filed suit claiming it violates the americans with disabilities act. >> i can move. the must reconciles relaxed so there is no spasticity, there is no cramping, the muscles relax. >> berkeley is failing to plan for keeping this type of facility in the city. >> pool supporters held a mock funeral last night for the 30- year-old pool. they want the city of berkeley to find another warm pool for them to use. it is a first time ever for a public university. how uc-berkeley is helping middle class families pay for college. >> and thieves threaten to silence a bay area school's music program. the tricky way they were able to escape. and the top car safety picks are out. the popular brand making the list for the very first time. grace and i will be right back. so stay right there. ,, ,,,,,,,,,,

a school band fundraiser hit a sour note in vallejo when thugs took off with the loot during the annual winter concert at ben franklin middle school on tuesday evening. witnesses say the two thieves paid their $5 admission for the event and then stole the cash

box from a parent's hands before joining two others and fleeing. >> they turned their hooded sweatshirts inside out which showed a difficult color so difficult to pinpoint who they were. >> who does this?! the cash box contained about $700. the band desperately needs the money because the program is in danger of falling victim to budget cuts. now everyone is hoping that donors will step forward to replace that stolen money. >> that is sad. uc-berkeley's opening up the opportunity of higheredcasion for a larger group of students. children of middle class families. it's a new financial aid program targeting families that make between $80,000 and $140,000 a year. the amount of tuition a family has to come up with would be capped at 15% of their income. that could save some parents as much as $20,000 a year. a group of arab-american nonprofits say its members will no longer accept donations from

lowe's this after the home improvement chain pulled advertising from a reality tv show on tlc that was about american muslims. now, the north carolina-based lowe's stopped the ads after an email campaign from a conservative christian group. the company says the show became a lightning rod for complaints. the list of america's safest vehicles is getting longer. check the new recommendations from the insurance institute for highway safety. toyota which includes the lexus and sion brands has 15 vehicles on the safe list including the camry for the first time. general motors is next with 14. next volkswagen, audi with 13. 12 each for ford, lincoln, honda and acura. automakers are redesigning vehicles with stronger roofs and rollover. [ grace clearing throat ] >> can we get a a cup of tea?

extra security available for two nights for bart passengers. third year of a safety escort program at the west oakland bart station. members of the oakland police department, citizens police academy alumni association, are volunteering to escort passengers to cars. the escorts will be there from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. tomorrow night and tonight, as well. they will be wearing red vests. so if you need an escort you are all set. disturbing rise in high school pot smokers. the bad habits that are dropping. >> need motivation to get moving? there's an app for that. the big gains that promise to make working out a lot more fun. and tossed out of a car left for dead. how frosty the dog made his way back to safety. and we have a lot of clouds outside, some showers this morning around the bay area. when will we start to dry out? we'll talk about that coming up next. you could see an investment opportunity you didn't see before. fidelity's next-generation ipad app lets you see

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telegraph avenue in berkeley has been declared a disaster zone so that people affected by a recent fire and demolition could get some federal aid a little bit of help. businesses, homeowners an tenants affected by the november 18 fire at the sequoia building can apply for low- interest loans from the small business administration. the amounts range from $500 up to $40,000. a big traffic jam in southern california. a 10-mile stretch of highway 60 is going to be closed indefinitely in the montebello area. a big rig tanker crashed and exploded into flames around noon yesterday. amazingly no one was hurt but the damage as you can see was heavy. crews are on the way to the area now to demolish a bridge. there is no word though on how long that is going to take. you know, i know lawrence said it was going to rain today but i forgot so i came out of my apartment and went oh, geez. >> surprise. >> no umbrella? >> no umbrella. i had to walk three blocks getting soak. >> frank, it's going to rain today. >> oh, good to know.

>> just so you know. light showers outside. it's continuing. into san jose we take you this morning. if you are traveling, slick out on the roads. the rain continues there. and really the main focus is shifting a little further to the south already as it looks like this cold front really moving quickly this morning. our hi-def doppler picking up on that moving on through. some of the showers already tailing off in the north bay but the south bay you can see some of the rain continuing moving now south of san jose into morgan hill and gilroy at this hour. it looks like we're headed out the door with more showers around the bay area this morning but i think as we head toward the afternoon the skies going to part a bit and the rain will end. so we'll call it partly cloudy into the afternoon and temperatures will be cooler mainly into the 50s outside. i think this cold front going to head on down into southern california again so if you are headed in that direction be prepared for raindrops in that area as it exits the bay area for today. so looks like this low is passing on through. high pressure is going to start

to build in behind it and as it builds in stronger offshore winds beginning to blow so the showers will continue to clear out this morning and then it looks like by the afternoon we have some nice sunshine coming our way. all right. it looks like those showers going to continue to move out. you can see the winds more northerly toward tonight and tomorrow morning with offshore winds. then it looks like temperatures mainly into the 50s outside by the afternoon. mid-50s at the coast. nice weather as we head toward the next couple of days. [ laughter ] lots of sunshine and looking good as we head in toward the weekend. >> what's wrong with you? [ laughter ] >> nothing is wrong with me. i'm just enjoying my time with you guys. >> okay. because your voice sounded a little funny. >> did it? we all need that tea. >> yeah. >> i don't think that's it, lawrence. i think you're giggling. [ laughter ] >> that's okay. we're just having a good time here. >> we are. >> liz, want to join in on the fun? >> maybe sleep might be a good

thing. let's go outside and show you a live look at san jose. we have our photographer out in the rain working hard for us this morning to show you these live traffic conditions near alum rock. this is 101 both directions. so far, moving fine this morning. as lawrence mentioned a flight to catch? give yourself extra time because it's slick in spots all over the bay area. fortunately we have not seen too many incidents on the road. we are dealing are a slight issue with mass transit. ace train number one 7 minutes late according to kcbs so watch out for that. otherwise bart systemwide on time. muni, caltrain, ferries, everything else reporting no delay. so back outside you can see where it's slick out there as you approach the bay bridge toll plaza. now, no major delays. everything looks good all across the upper deck and i'm not seeing any major roadwork this morning if you are heading into san francisco. we do have a sharks game in san jose later on tonight not right now but 7:30 over at hp pavilion to take on the colorado avalanche so you may find some delays.

people heading to the game later on this evening. live look there 101 at alum rock but 280 out of downtown san jose looks good as well in the northbound lanes. just a company. headlights there approaching the 880/17 interchange. so usually our first spots to back up westbound 4 and westbound 580. and so far westbound 580 is all in the clear. 14 minutes the time. that's the wind turbine through livermore closer towards the dublin interchange and yesterday the fog got really thick. the chp issued several fog advisories on some bridges including the benicia bridge and the carquinez bridge. we could not see this bridge yesterday in our camera but today is a different story so everything is looking good even though it's little slick out there and rainy. 18 minutes is your drive time on westbound 80 from the carquinez bridge to the maze. and remember kcbs once you do hit the roads. they're our radio partners. and you can find them at 740-am and 106.9-fm.

that's traffic. back to you. >> thank you. a man on his way to work in minnesota helped save a woman from a burning car. it happened on tuesday. he watched a minivan crash in a light pole. he went to check the driver only to find her doors lock. she was unconscious and her foot was still stuck on the ak sem rater. that's when a police officer -- stuck on the accelerator. that's when a police officer smashed the window and got the woman out. she apparently had suffered a seizure and she is said to be okay today. a federal judge has agreed to recommend former illinois governor rod blagojevich for a drug rehab program. it's not clear whether lawyers for blagojevich made the request to reduce his 14-year prison term for corruption. prisoners in the federal drug program are usually eligible for up it a year in reduced prison time. pot use among teenagers is on the ris about a quarter of all high school students using it in the previous year.

that's up from about 21% in 2007. more high school seniors also reported daily use of marijuana though teen drinking and cigarette smoking are at historic lows. there's an app to get motivated to work out. looks like a car race game, the speed of the car depends on how fast you pedal like this guy and then you steer it by moving your body. >> if something like this enables me to be distracted and stay on a treadmill longer sounds great. >> the fit gym goal is to get people to hook forward to the workouts. the fit freeway app is available through itunes and android versions will come out next year. >> the hard part is just getting to the health club. once you're there, you're good to go. a small dog is home in monterey county after a painful

ordeal. frosty was a runaway. he escaped a couple of other times and a report he was thrown out a moving car. an injured an infected eye. the poodle terrier mix scavenged for food, evaded predators and survived rain storms and near freezing temperatures. cute little guy. neighbor found him lying down in her front yard with grease marks on her back covered with ticks. >> frosty is a very lucky little dog and he obviously had some vote to smarts to be able to avoid cars and find safe places to sleep at night. >> doctors had to surgically remove the badly infected right eye but looks like old frosty is going to pull through. >> poor guy. >> quite a couple of weeks there. well, talk about one tough tortoise, too. >> we want you to meet pokey the tenacious mojave desert tortoise surviving a massive garage fire in livermore two weeks ago. [ clearing throat ] >> they were sure that the nearly century old reptile was a goner after the roof collapsed but after searching the rubble there he was except

for a few sings on his legs and shell pokey will be fine. >> he must have just gone into his shell and said okay, we'll ride this baby out. 4:56. it is packed with stars and usually set the stage for oscar gold. we are going live to long island for the golden globe nominations. >> the gloves will come off at the final gop. the colorful words that mitt romney had for newt gingrich. the bay bridge construction is coming along. the bad news is that means another weekend closure. we'll tell you about it coming up. a warm swimming pool is scheduled to close today in berkeley. but users of that pool are fighting back. we'll tell you how coming up.

laces? really? slip-on's the way to go. more people do that, security would be like -- there's no charge for the bag. thanks. i know a quiet little place where we can get some work done. there's a three-prong plug. i have club passes. [ male announcer ] now there's a mileage card that offers special perks on united, like a free checked bag, united club passes, and priority boarding. thanks. ♪ okay. what's your secret? ♪ [ male announcer ] the new united mileageplus explorer card. get it and you're in. your realtime captioner is linda marie macdonald. start planning your detours now. caltrans warns about another bay bridge closure. why they are so worried about

the timing. >> it's shutting out a whole class of people. >> it's more than just a swimming pool. how the closure of a landmark is turning into a fight for disabled rights. >> the start of the morning commute, rain all over the bay area. we'll tell you where it's slow coming up. and good morning. we'll get to you, lawrence. just a moment. you're our lead. it's thursday, december 15. i'm frank mallicoat. >> i'm grace lee. lawrence anxious to tell us about the rain. reports of fog so be very careful traveling outside. the cold front though quickly making its way into southern parts of the bay area. you can see it sliding through. .2" of rain in some of the wetter parts of the rt