has been waiting for. what the people say should happen to sheriff ross mirkarimi. >> good morning. it's wednesday, march 14. i'm frank mallicoat. >> i'm grace lee. we have rain in store for us but first we begin with an overnight earthquake in japan that has sparked a tsunami warning in that area. the 6.8 quake hit last night. no injuries or damage reported so far. but several towns have issued evacuation orders ahead of a possible tsunami. no tsunami warnings have been issued for the u.s. west coast. our other top story today is the rain. it's going to be soggy. >> rain continued overnight in the bay area.

more showers outside. we'll continue to rain throughout the day. we are back to winter in the bay area. hi-def doppler showing you that rainfall outside. san jose looking dry but central bay pocket of yellows. starting to see moderate amounts of moisture into san francisco and oakland. it looks like those showers will continue and the storms just lining up off the coastline one after another going to be moving into the bay area as we head into the weekend so we may see some breaks between the storms. not going to last long. then more rain coming our way. out toward the golden gate bridge, very wet out there. slick on the roads. be very careful this morning. winds not gusting as badly as yesterday. temperatures into the 50s at this hour. toward the afternoon, a few 50s and low 60s for highs. next few days more showers continuing into thursday and friday. a possibility of thunderstorms, low snow levels towards saturday. showers possible into sunday and monday.

let's check the roads with elizabeth. wind advisory in effect on the bridges including the bay bridge so be careful on the upper deck heading into san francisco. we get puddling in the middle lanes but so far not bad. where we are having issues, eastbound 580 that coolidge on- ramp is completely blocked due to a downed tree and we're obviously seeing slowing on our sensors already this morning. drivers taking it extra slow. right there because that coolidge on-ramp is completely block, i believe we are sending reporters to the scene so hopefully we'll have a live update coming up in a couple of minutes. out to napa a stretch of highway 12 is closed this morning due to flooding. shut down between napa road and fremont drive. so we are also getting flooding reports in portions of marin county where we usually see it start to flood around lucky drive. here's live look at the golden gate bridge where traffic is light this morning. but, of course, we are going to

be seeing it a lot. be careful on the roads. back to you guys. >> thank you. an afghan intelligence official is dead after a bomb exploded today in southern afghanistan. investigators say the bomb was hidden inside a motorcycle in kandahar. it was just 600 yards away from a meeting where a delegation was investigating the murders of those 16 civilians. a u.s. soldier remains in custody suspected of sunday's shooting spree of the 16. there is reported surveillance video now which shows the u.s. soldier walking up to his base and raising his arms in surrender. he said u.s. authorities showed that video to afghan investigators to prove only one perpetrator was involved in the shootings. some victims' relatives had said at least two soldiers were involved in the incident. the united states still trying to determine where to hold legal proceedings for the 38- year-old staff sergeant. defense secretary leon panetta is in afghanistan at

this hour on an unannounced visit. this is video of him at a stop earlier today at kazakhstan. he said it won't deter the united states for carrying out its mission in afghanistan. he said the visit was planned months ago. rick santorum has pulled off big upsets winning the republican presidential primaries in two key southern states. he beat second place newt gingrich by just 2% in mississippi with mitt romney in third. they finished in the same order in alabama where santorum had a 6-point margin. as duarte geraldino reports, the candidates are preparing for a long primary season. >> reporter: rick santorum won in the south yesterday. he told louisiana supporters they will keep his momentum going. >> next week, we'll come back here and we expect a huge win.

>> reporter: santorum won mississippi and alabama tuesday night with the help of very conservative voters and women. the former pennsylvania senator says the results will reshape the republican field. >> this is a two-man race. the conservative will win. >> reporter: santorum and newt gingrich continue to split the conservative vote. despite losing, the former speaker says he has no plans to drop out and this race is far from over. >> one of the things tonight proved is that the elite media's effort to convince the nation that mitt romney is inevitable just collapsed. >> reporter: alabama and mississippi al allocate their delegates proportionally. mitt romney wasn't able to rally the conservative base so he lost last night. the former massachusetts governor is already look ahead to saturday's caucuses. he rallied supporters in

missouri yesterday afternoon. >> you got saturday, vote for me at caucus. >> reporter: romney will fundraise for a long primary battle. he is in new york today. >> ron paul didn't campaign in alabama and mississippi. and he finished in last. hawaii and american samoa also held caucuses and both were won by mitt romney. san franciscans apparently want sheriff ross mirkarimi to go. an exclusive cbs 5 poll finds 61% want mirkarimi to resign, less than a third want him to stay in office. and if he doesn't step down, more than half want city leaders to take matters into their own hands and force him out. mayor ed lee says he will consider public opinion as he decides what to do about the sheriff, who has pleaded guilty to false imprisonment. the mayor can suspend mirkarimi

for official misconduct. but it would take the votes of nine supervisors after an ethics committee hearing to fire the sheriff. >> would it be easier if he just resigned take the spectacle away from all this? >>, you know, again that's something up to him. i do think now we have a different situation here with this plea of guilty for false imprisonment. >> the mayor is expected to decide on whether to suspect mirkarimi after mirkarimi is sentenced monday. he says he won't resign. a man who robbed a vacaville bank at gunpoint may be connected to armed robberies in sacramento and in southern california. officers are searching for this man who held up a bank of the west branch on monday. he wore a black ski mask and tactical vest with the word "sheriff" on the back. investigators say monday's robbery is similar to crimes in sacramento and in chino. police say that the suspect in chino opened fire on an officer. >> an 8-year-old boy is recovering from a road rage shooting that started on

interstate 80 in the east bay around 10:0 on monday night. a man says he accidentally cut off another driver when he got off at the hilltop drive exit. he says the other driver followed his family for a few blocks. then he turned around and opened fire on the car hitting the child. >> a road rage incident leading to a shooting in any case is up called for but especially when there's children in the car and a child actually gets hurt it's unacceptable. >> police say a shotspotter picked up the sounds of several rounds. at least one bullet hit a neighboring home. the suspect car is described as an older model black crown victoria. state lawmakers are tackling fan violence at sports game. play nice or stay out. the bill proposed in the state assembly calls for the nation's first sports ban list. unruly fans will be blocked from going to pro games anywhere in california for up to five years. but there are loopholes.

a convict could skirt law by having a friend purchase his ticket. and a sheriff's spokesman admits enforcement will be a problem. >> how to people know who committed a crime in san diego and is now up at the oakland raiders game? >> the proposal wouldn't apply to college or minor league games. the price tag for the 49ers stadium in santa clara is now up to nearly $1.2 billion. the santa clara city council voted 6-1 last night to approve the financing deal. the "chronicle" reports construction will be the biggest expense at just over $1 billion. some design changes and technology improvements have increased the total cost from earlier estimates. it may not be as bad as previously thought. >> the new projection on the controversial bullet train. >> plus, a brazen smartphone robbery. how muni now is fighting back against cell phone thieves. >> and saving little league in california. why a donation that would save the season is being turned down. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

damage. it knocked down a d. it's bay area storm we have been talking about all morning so far already causing problems and damage. it knocked down a 30-foot tree in oakland blocking the coolidge avenue on-ramp to eastbound 580. the rain is come down. we'll have a live report in a few minutes on that situation and the storm. afghanistan and the middle east are at the top of the agenda for today's white house talks with the british prime minister. president obama and prime minister david cameron are also expected to discuss how to stop iran from developing nuclear weapons. the leaders though had a little fun. they kicked off cameron's two- day visit with a trip to the ncaa tournament in ohio last night. investors on wall street are really hoping for another day of big gains. [ bell ] >> the dow added nearly 220

points yesterday, the nasdaq closed above 3,000 for the first time since 2000. 4:43. the new head of california's high-speed rail project is promising improvements and believes it will cost less than recent estimates of $98 billion. dan richards spoke yesterday in mountain view during a special state senate hearing. he says costs can be reduced by making better use of existing tracks and speeding up construction schedule. california drivers are paying more for gas thanks to investor speculation. a new survey showing gas prices in the state jumped by half a dollar in the last month alone. the average price around the country is up 30 cents since february. aaa says investors buying activity continues to push those prices up. keep an eye on your smartphone. that's the message officers are telling san francisco muni riders.

while overall crime on muni is down, theft is up. yesterday the san francisco municipal transportation agency and the san francisco police department kicked off a new awareness campaign. >> it has to do largely with devices like these where people are not being attentive with devices like these and other people are taking advantage of that. >> more than 2,000 public service ads have been placed on muni vehicles and in stations across the city telling passengers to keep their electronic devices out of sight while they are in public. at&t is threatening to shut off phone service to a customer who has sued the company. he won $850 in small claims court alleging that at&t slowed down his unlimited data service. he then posted documents online showing other at&t customers the arguments that he used to win his case. last week, at&t offered him an undisclosed settlement and said it would shut off his service if he doesn't negotiate with

them. a 244-year run is coming to an end. the encyclopedia britannica will stop selling the hard cover version. it was first published in scotland in 1768. the final set is available on the company's website for about $100. about $1,800. one of our producers has the whole hard set. >> i grew up with them. you used to like have to go to the library now you just google away and get everything you need. coming up, we have three bay area teens who win, what they sacrificed to save their jobs at the school, coming up. the stunning discovery inside a truck. >> and a little history at the iditarod. why this year's winner had go down in history. >> lawrence, good morning. >> good morning. plenty of rain around the bay

area again today. out the door, we'll see showers on and off and there are more storms to come. we'll talk about that coming up next.

at bank of america, we're lending and investing in the people and communities who call the bay area home. from funding that helped a local entrepreneur start a business...

to providing grants to a nonprofit which offers job training and placement... and supporting an organization working to help the environment. because the more we do in the bay area, the more we help make opportunity possible. angeles ended with a crash a child being pulled out of a truck. l-a police say a suspected drunk driver took high-speed chase in l.a. ended with a crash and i child being pulled out of a truck. the drunk driver sped away on several freeways. the chp officer ended the pursuit as you saw there byraming the truck. driver and the woman in the truck surrendered and police found the toddler in a car seat. nobody was injured. >> a school scandal from the central valley aired out on national television. a 41-year-old modesto high school teacher left his wife and children for an 18-year-old student.

dr. phil had the couple and the girl's mother on the program. she confronted the teacher for the first time. >> i think you have no moral compass. i think you're arrogant and self-serving and selfish. you're ruining my child. >> love is love. if it's over in six months, it's over in six months. if it's over in 40 years, we hope you're okay with that, too. >> i'll never be okay with it. >> the mother says she won't rest until the teacher is arrested. the teacher claims his relationship with the girl did not start until she turned 18. 4:49. three students who staged a hunger strike made an impact on the san leandro unified school board. the students from san leandro high had not eaten solid food for several days before address the board yesterday evening. they were protesting $1.4 million in cuts and the likelihood of future ones. >> agree that this budget is just not something we can accept. then i will bring an end to my hunger strike knowing the student body won't have to

suffer and endure the pain i have this past week. >> the students decided to end their hunger strike at least for now after the board agreed to dip into reserve funds. it used to be the most popular guy in the newsroom and then it started raining. [ laughter ] >> so yeah, it's going to be a while before we get that popularity. we have the rain coming. it looks like the showers are going to be on and off throughout the day today. expect it out the door. hi-def doppler radar this morning indeed the showers showing up about everywhere you go. a little rain shadow effect into san jose and they really haven't had very much rain but you get into the santa cruz mountains. this is amazing. almost 5" of rain in ben lomond. still we're seeing more rainfall out there and pockets of moderate amounts of rain sliding into the bay right now into san francisco. also into the oakland area and oakland hills. we have more to come on and off throughout the day today and then it looks like minute we get into a little bit of a break. out the door light showers for the most part. slick roads, winds not as

gusty, temperatures in the 50s. this afternoon highs in the 50s and low 60s. you will see clouds and rain still likely outside on and off. here's your system moving on through now. lots of snow up in the sierra nevada. winter storm warnings continuing up there until 11:00 this morning. may have to be extended as we are seeing a lot of moisture moving in off the pacific. we have a series of storms lining up here one after the other diving in from the gulf of alaska. jet stream made its way south allowing the storm systems to move onshore. scattered showers on and off through tomorrow. temperatures in the 50s and 60s. next couple of days more showers continuing thursday and friday. this weekend thunderstorms, showers sunday. more showers into monday. so yeah, i'm probably not popular until next week. >> all i see is rain in the

future. >> there will be sun in between a couple of these storms but not much. >> sun balls. >> these must be new hampshire terms. >> thanks, guys. let's go out live. this video was taken a little while ago along the peninsula, 101, one of our coworkers was coming into work and took this video of her morning commute. it's wet with ponding on the roads. go slightly below the speed limit this morning. be extra careful. wind advisories in effect. flooding reports especially in marin county, in san francisco, right there by hospital curve where it usually floods. let's take out live. this is what it currently looks like in san jose.

our photographer at the trimble exit nice and light heading from santa clara. no problems. eastbound 580 we are following a problem involving a downed tree. a 30-foot tree in the road, coolidge ave. on-ramp closed in oakland. we have roads closed in napa because of flooding. highway 12 shut down between napa road and fremont drive. so your alternate use 116 to get to 121. in the meantime live once more a look across the golden gate bridge. we are seeing flooding reports near lucky drive in marin and wind advisories in effect for many bridges including here at the san mateo bridge. we can actually see drivers are definitely taking it slower than we usually see at this time of the morning. that's traffic. back to you guys. >> no one was driving when they

took that video. >> is that legal? [ laughter ] >> thanks. 4:53 now. we have a new deal that saved a popular state park in the santa cruz mountains. a $250,000 donation will be announced today for castle rock state park. the funds should be enough to keep the park open for a year. governor brown announced 70 park closures to help save $22 million last year. a 25-year-old man from alaska has won the iditarod. dallas is the youngest winner office ever in the sled dog race. he trucked 1,000 miles in the snow and cold. his father won the race back in 2004. >> a little bit of history there. >> long race. >> it is. we have a little league baseball program in southern california. it's returning a much-needed donation because some parents are up in arms about where it came from. >> where it came from is a big deal here. it was englewood strip club that heard the nearby little league needed financial help so they donated 1200 bucks.

>> you know, whosever willing to get behind the kids in a positive way we have to be willing to support those people as well. >> we do not want the money from a strip club. for us, if we do need the money, but we will go some other avenue. >> the lennox little league's president hopes to get donations elsewhere and will try to renegotiate fees for the ballpark where the kids play. they apparently gave the money back. in basketball, big trade here in the bay area. the monta ellis era over for the warriors. he was traded yesterday to the milwaukee bucks. ellis averaging 21 points and 6 assists. he is a good player. in addition to ellis the warriors gave up udoh who just cracked the starting line-up and kwame brown who didn't play very much. in exchange they will get a 7- footer andrew bogut and stephen jackson. there is a caveat. bogut is likely out for the season with a broken ankle but

is a big man, first pick overall so hopefully next year he will do something for the warriors. meanwhile, we have a little march madness going. the st. mary's gaels are leaving this morning for omaha, nebraska, where they will take part of course in the ncaa men's basketball tournament. >> college hoops fans got a treat at byu beating eye own yeah 78-7 -- iona, 78-72. it's the biggest comeback in tournament history. >> the president was watching. >> i know, with the prime minister. >> there you go. >> amazing stuff. >> big company there. it is 4:56. strong earthquake rocking japan once again. a small tsunami warning that's been issued there. we'll have the very latest. >> and this morning, we hear from the voters what they think should happen to san francisco's sheriff who agreed it a plea deal. >> crews are right now trying to get a tree off of an on-ramp to the highway. we have a risk of hydroplaning and high wind advisories.

we'll give you the latest on the road conditions coming up. >> reporter: and we're live in san francisco airport this morning. we are going to check in with that commute in the air. we'll tell you how long you may have to wait coming up. ,,,,

your realtime captioner is linda marie macdonald. a large tree right now across the on-ramp to 580. crews are working to get it out of the way. we have a live report. >> we're track the storm. where it's heading, team coverage straight ahead on another round of rain for the bay area. good morning, everybody. it is wednesday, i'm frank mallicoat. >> i'm grace lee. it is 4:59. we begin with our "eye on the storm." anne makovec is live with storm damage as