these are live pictures from the air. this is a big fire near lake merritt. this broke out just 30 minutes ago. "mornings on 2" begins right n ow. well, good morning to you. welcome to "mornings on 2." i'm dave clark. >> good morning. i'm tori campbell. it's wednesday, december 15. >> we're gonna begin this morning. we have breaking news that's happening in oakland. right now, firefighters are there on the scene of a house

fire. this is santa ray avenue right near lake merit. chopper 2 is flying over it right now. this fire started about 30 minutes ago. we do have a ktvu news crew on the scene. they'll be on the ground s hortly. we'll bring you a live update as soon as we can. we're also following a major overnight development in a major shooting that claimed the life of a sacramento mother. she was killed by a stray bullet during a gunfire in a strip m all. police say she was simply an i known sevictim in the wrong place at the wrong time. she's a single mother who worked at the sacramento airport. officers sealed off the neighborhood and searched for

him. witnesses say she was putting her son in the car when a bullet hit her. the motive is still not clear. oakland police chief anthony batts is asking for the fbi to step in following last month's fatal police shooting of an u narmed man in oakland. ktvu's kraig debro is live at o pd headquarters with more. good morning, kraig. >> reporter: good morning, tori. the reason that was given last night by batts is trust. he said he understands that some members don't trust the police or any other law enforcement agency to trust themselves. an opd source says -- identified one of the officers in the s hooting of derrick as

the officer who has four years on the force. both he and a second officer cornered the man in an alley. the officer say they shot jones after he reached for his waistband. >> i heard all of the shots. i thought it was a shootout. so for police officers or anyone to be shooting someone that many times. it would just -- it's way out of bounds. >> later police found a small scale either near jones's body or on his person. new training asks officers to be doubly sure if they see a suspect reach for his waistband if they are fearing their s afety. that's because many men wear their pants low and might be pulling up their pants instead

of reaching for a weaponnen. weapon. we'll try to speak with chief anthony bats this morning -- batts this morning about his call for the fbi investigation and what he hopes will come out of the investigation in addition to a level of trust that's higher than it is now. reporting live in oakland, kraig debro, ktvu channel 2 news. >> thank you, kraig. 7:03. well, berkeley residents may feel safer on the streets this morning. police have arrested nine p eople, some of whom may be connected to a series of recent robberies. tara moriarty is live in berkeley right now and has the details on what the latest is. >> reporter: good morning. berkeley police say it was their beefed up patrols that really helped crack this case. they say they had more officers on the streets and they were concentrating on the areas that had been targeted by the r obbers. they made nine arrests. these are connected to a string of robberies. these happened just in the past few days, these arrests and the

suspects are people that police believe are responsible for a series of five armed robberies on pedestrians. officials say they worked around the clock on crime analysis and increased their communication between staff to zero in on these robbers. we're told the officer who can speak to us about the arrests is zhu here any minute. detectives are continuing to do their followup work. and police don't want to compromise any of these investigations. so therefore, they are not s haring the names and photos of the of the suspects arrested. police say walk with another western at -- person at night, don't talk on your cell phone, and rim its -- limit your use of your ipods and your mp-3 p layers. back to you. >> thank you. governor manufacture elect jerry brown says the state

budget problems are much worse than he thought and that california has been living in a fantasyland. brown met with a educators. school spending accounts for 20% of the spending. brown said he wants to complete a budget agreement in two m onths. some observers speculate the time line is being moved up to allow for special election the next spring that might generate tax increases. theman school district will consider closing -- theman diablo school district may close some schools. >> we are agonna have to go to

a different school. >> the board is deciding if it will shut down any schools. 7:06. caltrans says if you are driving on the bay bridge keep your eyes on the road. there is a reason for that. highway crews will start a heavy lifting job that could be quite a distraction. they are gonna install the third set of steel segments for the sky high tower on the eastern span of the bridge. now, a giant crane will do the bulk of the work. by the way, if you take b.a.r.t., you may run into some problems this morning. the ez rider cards are being phased -- being phased out. both cards are smart cards e ncoded with a computer chip. can you put mine on it with a

credit card or bank account but one rider we talked to said he can't put money on it the way he would like to. it's gonna be more convenient in the end. it doesn't take american express so i'm kind of bummed out. 7:07. we want to check in with sal, keeping a close eye on the commute and a couple of issues out there to keep drivers concerned. >> that's right. including an issue where you might be able to see smoke from nearby interstate 580 of a house fire near the lakeshore avenue turn, 580 -- this is actually on santa ray avenue which is east of 580. fire in a house in a neighborhood where they have rather large -- this fire was actually big at one point with black smoke spewing in the air. we have word that the homeowners were at home and

they got out safely. firefighters are on the scene. we also have a crew on the the scene gathering more details and we'll find out more about what firefighters are doing. we'll be there for a while and most likely this did wake up the entire neighborhood. you can see smoke coming from the top of the house. let's go to the traffic i want to show you that the bay bridge toll plaza is backed up for about a 15 to 20-minute delay. you can tell it's pretty crowded coming in from downtown oakland. livermore traffic has been busy, especially coming off the altamont pass and hayward/union city/fremont traffic, southbound 880 slow across the bay. 101 and 280 are in good shape. let's go to steve. cloudy skies, but a break today and san jose, probably in line for more clouds than a longer period of time than the north bay. we have patchy fog out there.

it's cooler with temperatures in the 40s. that's not -- that's not something we've had for a while. we're at 50 at the coast. clouds are holding onto the south bay. but mid-50s on most of the highs. a lot of moisture, but it is inching south ward. so i think during the course of the day it will slide into central california. the moving lows are in the low 40s. >> cooler, then partly sunny today. i think a little chill in the morning air. clouds slowly increasing. rain begins. it will be light on friday and then heavy, saturday probably into sunday. everything continues to look like it's going to shape up after we have clouds, we'll

have a little bit of afternoon sunshine. ben lomond had .30. >> sliding south, finally. it was rain for a while in t ahoe. then it turned to snow. but they had about 6 inches of snow at lake level. steve bridges up there said it was rain for a while but not n ow. about 4:00 a.m., you can see it's heading into central and northern california which will give nfl a bit of a break. it's only going to last for a day or so. highs in the 50s, partly sunny today. even though we're mostly cloudy right now. mid-50s, vallejo. richmond, the warmest is santa cruz at 59. a lot of 57s, 58

it is 7:11. a horrifying scene caught on video at a school board meeting in florida. a gunman starts shooting at board members from just a few feet away. we'll learn why none of the targeted members were hurt. what started this outburst in the first place. also, the reason why the berkeley city council decided not to vote on the resolution. now underway at the white house, the meeting with president obama and 20 ceos from around the country.

firefighters are on the roof of a house in oakland. it looks like they have a handle on this fire scene su bernly d oing some -- but certainly d oingsome overhaul. this is east of interstate 580 on a street called santa ray which is near lakeshore. no one was hurt according to firefighters. they've researched the building a few times to make sure that nobody else was in there. but the homeowners are outside and they did mack to get out safely. our reporter is now on the s cene. we'll have more details from this house fire that's going on right now in oakland coming up shortly. all right, sal. thank you. 7:15. well, president obama is he h osting his largest meeting ever with the heads of american companies and as ktvu's alison burns reports from our washington, d.c. bureau, many bay area business leaders are taking part and there will -- they will be a significant part of the discussion. good morning, alison. >> reporter: good morning, to you, dave. that's right. four of the 20 ceos meeting

right now with president obama are from the bay area. let's take a look at the list. john chambers, chairman of cisco systems, paul otalini. >> reporter: the meet something part of an effort by the president too reset relations with business leaders. ahead of the meeting the president said he wants to find new ways to work together. >> this morning i hope to elicit ideas from these business l eaders that will help us not only climb out of the recession but seize the promise of this moment. ideas about tax reform, ideas about a balanced approach to regulation. >> reporter: now, the heavy weights at the meeting are p ressing the obama administration to put more

focus on broad-band infrastructure. this meeting today will be on innovation and is expected to last most of the day. alison burns, ktvu channel 2 news. >> thank you. 7:16. well, a senate vote is expected today on that tax cut package that president obama negotiated with republicans. it's expected to easily pass with bipartisan support after clearing a test vote on monday. now, if the tax cut package is approved in the senate. it will go to the house and house democrats there are l eaning towards a higher estate tax. it is 7:17. democrats and the house of representatives will push for a vote at a new bill aimed at repealing the military's don't ask/don't tell policy. the house move comes after the senate failed last week to advance a broader measure that included the repeal. if the bill is passed in the house, that would put pressure on the senate to delay its

adjournment for the holidays to work on a bill as well. tomorrow president obama is likely to release an afghanistan review. we're learning about the harsh, new assessments of the war. the classified reports say the u.s. will not succeed in afghanistan unless pakistan does more to hunt down insurgents on the border. the report says the u.s. has made progress in key afghan cities but pakistan must do more to shut down regions on the border. 7:18. well, julian assange remains in a british jail this morning and there will be a hearing t omorrow. assange has to stay behind bars at least until that hearing where swedish prosecutors can appeal the ruling that he can be released for more than

300,,000 in bail. the air force is blocking computer access to media sites that publish the sensitive documents released by wikileaks. a spokesperson says more than 25 websites can be -- cannot be viewed on any air force c omputer, that includes "the new york" times. others are in britain, spain, germany. the ban does not apply to personal computers. in in the meantime, the private army accused of giving the documents to wicki less -- >> i think it's pretty helvy to have the -- healthy to have the debate. >> the council indefinitely postponed the vote to declare bradley manning a hero. council members same they were

reluctant to claim someone a hero who at this point has not been convicted of doing so. there are strong opinions on both sides of the issue. >> it was an amazing service that he provided to our country so that we can make informed decisions when we support policies of war and troops around the world. >> what he actually did was put troops in harm's way, put troops in further danger. >> manning is currently in a military jel facing up to 52 years in prison -- jail facing up to 52 years in prison, if convicted. 7:20. well, some antioch city e mployees could be laid off next month. that is if they don't agree to continue to forgo the pay raises they've already given up. the citi counsel voted to cut $

737,000 in staff custs from the budget -- staff cuts from the budget. if the city employees agree to continue the concessions any potential lost jobs would be restored. 7:20 a frightening event at a school board meeting in florida was captured on video. a man walked in and argued with the board about his wife allegedly being fired. he had a gun -- you see it t here, he started shooting -- one shot, and then another. but all of them missed. no one was hurt. and then a security officer shoots and wounds the gunman identified as clay duke. he then kills himself. san jose has taken a big step to stop litter and garbage. and you can get a good look at the giants' world series trophy today, where it will be on display to the public for

just a couple of hours.

today is your chance to see the world series trophy up c lose. the giants will bring it to san francisco city hall. this morning the team says it will also imagine a major announcement between 1:00 and 3::00 this afternoon. san jose is now the biggest city in the bay area with the ban on plastic bags. the city council approved the ban by a 10-1 vote at last n ight's meeting. the new law will require stores to charge 10 cents each for a paper bag that does not include

recycled content. the law goes into effect in january of 2012. but it does not include restaurants, nonprofit or social organizations. sunnyvale, fremont, santa clara county are considering the same type of bans. 7:24. well, a company from florida will be allowed to run a test of wind power in marin county. the marin county board of supervisors unanimously approved putting a fair of $197 -- 197 foote tall wind towers near the community of the beach and the company wants to see if there is enough wind out there blowing to make windmills a viable source. some fear this will lead to a slaughter of birds. supervisors did agree to track

the bird deaths while the towers are up. let's check in again with sal castanedo and see what's happen ong this wednesday morning. >> all right. the morning commute westbound, so far it's okay. it seems a little bit busier at the toll plaza than normal. it seems a little bit more. if you look at the ramp on 880, it's stop and go. this is more like a 20, 2 5- minute delay instead of the usual 15. i tell you what the reason could be. there is a new tower coming up on the bay bridge eastern span starting today and drivers could be distracted. so if you drive across the bridge be aware that some people may be stopping and slowing d own. let's go to steve. cooler this morning. more 40s than we've seen for

about two weeks. also some fog out there but once that lifts, there are signs that we'll get a little sun today. more towards the north bay than the south bay. at least it will be a dry day. take us well into the weekend and probably next week. you see the cloud cover sliding south slowly. the marine wasn't too bad, although blossom hill had .41. a lot of clouds. i'm pushing them south just mentally because i think they will go there into central california. that should help us get a little bit of one today. not much. we cloud it up thursday night into friday and then the rain starts friday. patchy fog out there. forecasted highs only 54 to 58. temperatures, mid-50s.

oakland, 55. sanrafael, 54. warmest, i think santa cruz. losgatos, livermore all in there. five-day cooler mornings today and tomorrow. partly sunny, partly cloudy and then friday the rain starts and then heavy rain. wind moves in with mountain s now. we're still following breaking news happening in oakland. it's a house fire. this one here near lake merritt. we now have a crew on the scene. a live report is coming up. and new information in the case 6 four children killed in an apartment fire in fairfield. what a lead investigator has revealed.

we're following breaking news in oakland. right now, firefighters aren the scene of a house fire -- are on the scene of a house fire near lake merritt. paul chambers just pull under to the scene. what can you tell us? >> reporter: the call came in about 6:24. firefighters got here about six minutes later and question able to knock it down in 37 minutes. you can see right there, there is a lot of damage to the rear of the house, at about -- that about 27 firefighters on call when it all happened. i'm joined by battalion

chieftainer. where are we in the -- chief tanner. where are we now? >> right now, they are looking for areas still of the fire within the structure and tit c utting out a lot of the damaged support members of the s tructure. >> reporter: i was told there was one occupant that made it out. >> yeah. we had two. the gentleman is 72 years old. he made if all the way to the front door. he has one of those metal security doors and he didn't have the key. so the neighbors took care t hem -- took care of him. >> reporter: where was most of the damage? >> pretty well isolated to the second floor rear, part of the tine yore -- interior and all of the exterior rear portion behind us. do we have an idea of a possible cause. >> at thin po -- at this point we're under investigation. one of the firefighter -- one

of the fire investigators is still on scene. >> appreciate it. >> there was one occupant inside the home. he's sitting behind us looking at his home. haven't had a chance to talk to him but i plant to do so right after we do this interview. we do know it was knocked down in about 37 minutes. firefighters are check ong hot spots to make sure nothing else flares up inside the home. we also said it's too soon to say what the cause is. but the one okay.in there did make it out safely thanks to some helpful neighborhoods for you. we're live in oakland, paul chambers, ktvu channel 2 news. >> thank you. 7:33. well, just hours ago we found out of an arrest believed to be connected to a horrifying s hooting. that claimed the life of a sacramento mother. she waskied -- killed by a stray bullet during a gun battle at a -- at a strip mall. they say she was an innocent victim in the wrong place at the wrong time. she was a single mother who

worked at the sacramento a irport. investigators say she was killed when a gun battle inside of a barbershop moved outside into the mall parking lot. witnesses say she was hutting -- putting her 2-year-old son when that stray bullet hit her. her child was not hurt. this unfolded right before the eyes of terrified mall shoppers. >> police announced an arrest and they sealed off this neighborhood and searched a sacramento home and five people were wounded in that exchange of gunfire at the strip mall. the notive -- motive is still not clear. >> we're now learning that two fairfield sisters whose children died in a fire gave conflicting accounts of what happened that day.

the officials say the two m others left their children inside the home with burning candles in it. we're told the women told different stories why -- stories about why their children had been left alone and why. all four children died. >> the fact that he -- that they have four fire deaths now they are going to try to put it as someone -- responsible for those deaths. >> the women will be back in court to learn whether they have to serve on child endangerment. investigators say it's still u nclear whether the fire was accidental or intentional. the 14-year-old vacaville boy charged in a vicious attack on four children will be tried as an adult. prosecutors made that a nnouncement yesterday as the suspect appeared 234 court. he's charged with raping and stabbing a 13-year-old girl and stabbing her toddler brother while the two children were home alone early sunday.

the teenaged suspect ent -- entered a plea of north to charges of rape, assault and attempted -- attempted murder. family members and friends will be holding a vigil tonight for the man shot and killed by vallejo police. the mother of 34-year-old guy j irow will be attending this evening's memorial after a rriving here from new orleans. police say her son threatened them with a gun on saturday afternoon in the alley but friends say he was working on a music video at the time and probably got the -- bought the gun for their things. >> i think he was out there making sure everyone was safe. >> the suspect was facing the after. he was armed. i didn't really go into the details about his actions at this point but it was clear that the officer felt his safety was 234 jeopardy. >> take a look.

this is youtube video of guy. it shows him making a school video last year. he was attended napa valley college. starting today, amtrack riders can bring guns on some changes. the ungruns must be in checked luggage, unloaded and in an approved container. 7:37. talk about a wild story. police in alameda are reminding homeowners take precautions against raccoons. after two dogs were attacked by raccoons that actually broke into a house through a doggy door. his-- this latest incident happened last thursday on

liberty avenue. police say up to four raccoons got into the house in the -- at about 4:30. two dogs had to be treated for cuts and bruises. >> last month, a woman in alameda was bitten on the leg when she fought off five r accoons attacking her dogs. alameda police say since june they've received the attacks on people and animals. some at&t cause customers i n -- customers in -- some at&t customers say they've been without cell phone service since sunday. they reportedly told customers a phone tower is 23409 working and that's caughting off service near linda mar area. at&t has yet to return our phone calls on this latest

problem. snowshowers are in the forecast for this morning and the major mountain highways, they are open right now. now we get a little bit of a computer image. but chains or snow tires are required on 8 on and -- 80 and 50 at the moment. sal, wherever people are going, you can help them get to where they need to do -- need to go, right? >> yes. and tori, that was my bad. i was using my traffic computer and clicked on the computer. >> that's okay. >> the sal bonehead move. whenever already. >> let's go out -- see what my life is like. let's go to the bay bridge because today we've got an interesting story that might be too interesting for the people in the bay bridge. today they are gonna startups up a huge tower techtion of the eastern plan. this may actually distract people on the span itself g etting into san francisco as we look at the bay bridge here --

well, the actual span is okay. there is a backup at the toll plaza but when they start doing that construction work and it's visible from the span. caltrans and the chp worry about the rubbernecking and slowing traffic down. keep driving. we'll show you biggser pictures tonight. i promise. ktvu, on this very channel. for those who don't want to use the been, that looks pretty goodette going -- getting out to the high rise. 280, northbound. not a bad commute gets up to i -- getting up to highway 17. the south bay commute has been pretty good today. let's go to steve. we do have mostly cloudy skies, cooler, 40s. we get a break tomorrow and friday and beyond it looks like very, very heavy-duty rain could call in here. today, cloudy skies with soler

some fog out there. i will show you there is an upper 30 there for a long time. some clouds -- some sunday clouds to the left. santarosa, 38 degrees about f og. now, i mean they've around the 52, 54 for about the last seven to ten days. even san francisco is at 49. oakland in the 40s. mid-40s concord limb. at south bay could hold on to a few clouds. but a very strong slow is we g ypping to drop down from the gulf of alaska and that's gonna take measure and funnel it in. morning fog, cooler, partly sunny, morning fog, cold in the morning. sun and clouds, cloudy skies on friday and then the a rain begins. i say that because by could have off and on rain all the way through christmas. the rain is moving south but it

looks like it will make it t oday. that's gonna give us a little bit of a rain. lake turned to snow later in the afternoon. ben lomond, .58. blossom him, .47. sanfrancisco, .39. that's dublin/livermore. >> the moisture from the's yub islands is there. russian river, santa cruz mountains. it just depends upon where all of this sets up. this is your cloud and rain forecast. i don't show this all of the time but we're okay through today. all right? even through tonight around tomorrow we'll be cold but we'll have a break with some patchy fog. by thursday afternoon, there is

the cloud cover. by friday morning. rain in the north bay. that's 5:00 a.m. this is just one forecast model but it is a sign of things to come. by friday, noon, everybody is in the rain and that snow is t urning into heavy snow. friday night when you see the darker blue. that's heavier rain and this is saturday morning. this is going to go on for a long -- go on for a long, long time. 53 fairfield, 54 antioch. sanfrancisco, 54. that will be the warmest. fremont, 56. redwood city, 5. partly sunny, partly cloudy. cooler, nights and mornings. cloudy and then the rain s tartsen friday and then heavy rain and wind. "time" magazine has just a mounced -- announced his person of the year and his palo alto

company is also on the top list for places to work. ♪ how two bay area musicians have turned a school book drive in richmond in a huge success.

a stronger than expected board on wall street. good economic growth is i ndicated. and that's having to offset real concerns that brought european stocks down in the wake of a morning that spain may see its credit rating down.

"time" magazine has named mark surgerberg as the person of the year -- mark zukerberg as the person of the year. he built the palo alto-based company into a phenomenon. and facebook is the best place to work, according to a survey released a if you hours ago. they earned a 4.6 rating on a scale of 5 to top the list. this is the first year, that hating has appeared. last year's first-place company, southwest airlines, came in second. well, at least 40 new

workers will be moving to the city of oakland and there could be a lot more. the u.s. department of agriculture is moving its local operations out of san francisco to a new building on broadway in downtown oakland. also, three regional government agencies could be moving to either oakland or san francisco. combined agencies amount to share office space and have a combined staff of about 500 people. county supervisors voted to cut the number of firefighters working out of the station in half, station 1. that station is on civic drive. that move is expected to stave the fire district about $ 1.5 million every year. it's 7:48. federal investigators say they still don't know exactly what caused last september's

pipeline disaster in san bruno. but they are focusing on a possibility a weld along the pipeline failed causing the d eadly explosion and fire in september. at the same time, the ntsb report appears to rule out two other possible causes. external corrosion in the pipeline and damage caused by a third party such as a road construction crew. western the -- well, the pg&e office in san -- in san rafael will be closed down. this is in san rafael. >> no smart meter! >> now, look at this, protesters managed to stop at least two people who tried to get into the building to play their bills. the group is demanding stop starting and installing those meters. they claim those items cause

health problems and roll over them. >> san rafael police were called to the scene there. you can see they ordered the demonstrators to leave pg&e property. the utility told ktvu it will continue to give customers as much information about the smart meters as possible. in the meantime,cal is looking for ways to cut its utility bills. now, according to the u niversity's newspaper,he b ills cost between 26 and 29 million every year. the state provides the university with 20 million to pay for natural gas, steam and electricity. so the extra expenses have to be paid for through the school's own funds. the school is hoping to curb their cost through a program that will allow faculty to attract their uses and reward them for cutting back. officials say that program can redice usage by 3% that can

save $500,000. an east bay high school could soon receive a gift to expand its library. dave duper and his wife month to give monta vista high school $ 384,,000 to upgrade equipment and other things in the lie bay area. this could replace the entire current lie blairry, that was not been updated since it was built 45 years ago. the dufffields have two children who attend the high school. ♪ ♪ deck the haul ♪ >> two bay area musicians have turned a richmond school district into a huge success. the singers offer their christmas albums for youtube on free. the public has responded with thousands of donated books. the act of kindness is also

also an inspiration -- inspiration to student. this would take us to a new world. >> at last check, the school has collected some 6,000 books. they are worth an estimated $ 50,000. wow. >> very impressive. >> it's very good. part of a brazen robbery at a las vegas casino is caught on tape. and it may not be the first time this particular person has done something like this.

welcome back. lasvegas police are out there looking for the man who committed a brazen robbery at one of the strip's most famous casinos. he escaped with at least $ 1.5 million in chips. now, take a look at this

surveillance video. the robbers -- the robber's running into the bellagio casino shortly before 4:::00 yesterday morning. they say he cleaned out the c hips from a craps table. and took off on a motorcycle. those chips can only be cashed in at the bellagio. there is a new car-sharing option in san francisco. is called relay rides. the company allows car owners to sign up and rent their cars to neighbors for crash. car owners set their own price, usually $6 to $12 an hour. insurance coverage is taken care of. volunteers are at the toys are us in hayward. they are spending $45,000 buying up toys for the local toys for tots program. the sara and ginny radio show

and the u.s. marines raised all of the money. we're happy to say all of the toys purchased today will go to bay area children who can really enjoy and need them. it's kind of neat to see the g uys in uniform going through the aisles. let's check in with sal and see if there are any problem spots on the road. well, the toll plaza is busy today. it could be part of the delays on the span because of the new tower going up. some people will be looking at that, construction as it gets underway. there could be delays on the bridge. we'll be keeping you up to date. let's go to the san mateo b ridge, where traffic looks pretty good, getting to highway 101. this morning -- that's if. let me see if i can pull my happens up -- maps up here. there we are. highway 101 and 280 traffic m oving along pretty well once you get over to the peninsula from the san mateo bridge. let's go to steve. >> we have mostly sunny skies, but the line of clouds is moving south.

if you have fog, hopefully that will burn off and temperatures while they are much cooler this morning will get a little bit of sun coming through. might get a little northerly brze in add vance of a system that -- advance of a system that will cloud up. watch the clouds. they are inching, slowly and slowly. santarosa dipped to 38. santarosa and livermore says fog. napa in there as well. a lot of 40s, not these mid- 50s. rain turned to snow overnight in the sierra, about a .50 up at lake level. higher elevations about 1 foot. can you see the drier air coming in up to eureka and crescent city. things are a lot calmer today and tomorrow. but that stream of moisture will get its act together and start wrapping around a and we can b e -- wrapping around we could be looking at a lot of

rain. partly sunny, highs in the mid- 50s. we'll go 55 santa rosa, concord, 54. pleasanton, livermore, slightly warm he. 57. mountain view, 57 and santa cruz at 59. chilly mornings today, tomorrow. partly sunny, partly cloudy. then we cloud it up thursday night. rain starts friday night and then gets heavy along with wind along with mountain and snow. we have a ktvu news crew at the scene of a house fire in oakland. in fact, as you look at this live picture, we just talked to a man who was inside the house when the fire broke out. a live report's -- coming up. just this morning, berkeley police announce several arrests connected to a string of crimes. governor-elect jerry brown says he will release the plan to deal with the budget deficit january 10th. what he's warning people to do before they read it.

welcome back. i'm tori campbell. >> i'm dave clark. and we are still following developing news happening in oakland. right now, firefighters are at the scene of a house fire on santa ray avenue right near lake merritt. paul chambers just talked to the man who was inside the house when the fire broke out. good morning, paul. >> good morning, dave. thanks to a neighbor who helped him get out of the house. this house is about 100 years old. you can see that it's still smoldering.

fire crews are on standdy by just to make sure nothing happens. they got the call at 6:24 this morning. they were able to knock it down in 37 minutes. there were 20 firefighters on the scene. there was one occupant inside the house. he said he didn't even know what was going on when the fire s tarted. >> opened the door and it was solid block inside. i tried to reach for something. i couldn't see anything. it was all confined from the big back bedroom that i use for an office. and the sewing room. >> reporter: now, inside that sewing room was his keys. the keys were in the front door of his home. luckily, his neighbor had a key to his house so he was able to come in and use it that way. right now we do not know the source of the fire, we don't know approximately how much it's gonna cost. we do know that crews will be able to come out here just in case any crews happen. the house is about 100 years o ld. he lives here for 20 years.

his life, who is deceased here, lived here about 50 years. basically, most of the damage is done to the back of the home. they do believe the front of the house may be habitable at one time. right now they have red cross on the way here to help. once again, it was thanks to his neighbor who happened to have a key to his house to help him get out. he's out here on the front lawn. he's doing very well. he has been attended to. we're live in oakland. i'm paul chambers. ktvuchannel2news. thank you, paul, for the u pdate. we're still following a major overnight development in a horrific shooting 245 claimed the life of a sacramento mother. she was tragically killed by a stray bullet during a gun battle during the strip mall. investigators say monique nelson was an innocent victim simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. she was a single mother who worked at the sacramento a irport. just a couple of hours ago, police announced an arrest believed to be connected to that mall shooting case. now, officers sealed off this

neighborhood and searched the home in sacramento. they were reportedly looking for evidence in that terrifying gun battle. it started inside this barbershop, then moved outside into the mall parking lot. witnesses say the innocent victim was putting her 2-year- old son in the suv when that stray bullet hit her. her toddler was not hurt. five men were wounded in that gun battle. the motive is still not clear. we're gonna bring you a live u pdate in sacramento later this hour. berkeley residents may feel safer on the streets this morning. that after police announced they arrested nine people some of whom may be connected to a series of recent street robberies. tara moriarty is live in berkeley now with the details. >> reporter: people who live and work around here and tell us that they do feel safer now that police have made these arrests. investigators say these suspects were armed and hitting at people on the sidewalk. if you take a look behind my. you can see where the light is

down there. that's university avenue. police say they were targeting folks just north of there. it's only a block from the police d where we're standing. now, investigators were able to arrest nine people in just the past few days, these are s uspects that people -- that police believe are responsible for a rash of robberies that happened in late november. officers say they beefed up patrol concentrating on areas of the city that had been targeted by the robbers. officials say they've been working around the -- around the clock and it finally paid off. well, i think it's really interesting because i know that they have done a lot through the youth services and trying to do stuff about youth crime. it just makes our streets safer. gotta get the kids in school and gotta get these guys off the street. >> reporter: the detectives are, of course, continuing to do their followdown work on these cases. police do not want to compromise any of these ongoing

investigations. so they are, therefore, not sharing the names or photographs of the suspects that have been arrested. now, police was -- police want to remind folks to play it safe. at night that means packing -- walking with another person. stay off your cell phone and make sure you are aware of your surroundings. tara moriarty, ktvu channel 2 news. >> thank you, tara. well, governor-elect jerry brown says california's budget problems are much worse than he thought and that california has been living in a fantasyland. he met with educators in los angeles yesterday. he said he can't promise there won't beer more cuts to education. spending makes up 40%. california faces a $28 million budget deficit over the next 18 months. jerry brown said he will present a budget plan on january 10th and he already warned educators they better

sit down before they read it. the mount diablo school district may close seven schools next year. those closures were recommended by a committee last night and this is a concern for a lot of parents. that means my children will have to go to school a lot father aped don't know how i'm gonna do it. i'm a single mom working full time. >> now, the school board has not decided if they are gonna close any schools. it could choose different schools to close. those decisions won't be made until next month at the e arliest. caltrans is urging bay area drivers to keep their eyes on the road this morning. highway controls will begin a heavy lift be job the they are gonna install the third set of steel segments. a giant crane will do the bulk of the work in full view of bay area drivers. if you take b.a.r.t., you

may return into some problems this morning. the e.z. rider cards are being phased out. it was a temporary way to pay until the long-term clipper card was ready to go. now, b.a.r.t. wants the riders to clip over to the -- to switch over to the clipper system. one rider we talked to this morning said he cannot put the money on it like he would like to. >> it's gonna be more convenient in the end but it doesn't take american express. clipper cards can be used o nburg, muni, eventually they will be extended to all transit systems in the bay area. 8:08. let's go it -- let's go back to sal. you've been telling us about a lot of problems. are things smoothing out? because we just mentioned the bay bridge, i want to follow up with what we're seeing as a result of some of the distraction you might see. it is a very busy commute this

morning at the bay bridge. it's unclear whether or not this has anything to do with people looking at the construction work or not. but it may be a problem later in the day as well. so this morning, it could be just the commute, later in the day if we have a slowdown, you will know it has to do with the construction work or it's correlated to the construction work. let's take a look at 880 northbound. that's stop and go, driving past the coliseum. on the way up to downtown oakland. this morning if you are driving on the peninsula, the traffic has been pretty good although in san mateo it's by ginning to slowdown 101 at 923. 280 is your best bet. if you are driving to the east bay. i want to focus on 580. 8:09. let's go to steve. we have a dry day today and tomorrow but a lot of follow around. if you need to get an outdoor activity in, it looks like the

weekend will be tough. you can get a little tennis in today or tomorrow. bike riders better go now. it will be way too muddy as we go -- as we -- as we get through floor and saturday. cloudy skies, but the fog and the cloud band is moving south. so there will be some sun today. temperatures will be in the mid- 50s. had the front last night to go through. but now it's starting to slide south. hold on as i put on the brakes. 49 san francisco, santa rosa, 38. 38. we have not seen temperatures this cool in about two weeks. 40s for oakland. pam low alto, livermore, san jose at -- san jose at 0. partly sunny. again, today, tomorrow, all right. and then friday, saturday, sunday. if you have outdoor activities i would -- i would go to a plan b. clouds. sun. clouds will increase in the day. i put the rain on friday because that will be -- that will be the first of many

systems between now and christmas. had snow in the sierra. about .50 -- excuse me, 6 inches at lake level and a foot at s omest other locations. blossom hill, 47. oakland airport, .50. here comes a strong low out of the gulf of alaska and it's gonna take moisture just north of the hawaiian islands, combine it and funnel it in. where that will set up shop remains to be scene. it's going to be close. if it's over the mountains they can get otherrary foot of rain. but we have to -- over a foot of rain. but we have to fine-tune this. we're all right. tonight will be clear and -- clear and cold. thursday is okay until the afternoon hours, here comes the cloud band, watch on friday morning, the rain moves in. that's 6:00 a.m.

friday morning, that's the north bay. by noon, it's, and then by late that night, here comes the heavier rain. that will take us friday night into saturday and you can probably paint that green. today, after some fog. partly sunny. more sun to the north, more clouds to the south. patchy fog, some of that is thick. >> clouds, decreasing. so opinion, but cold tonight into tomorrow with fog on the deck. we cloud it up on friday, rain starts and then heavy rain, wind and mountain snow on the w eekend. tori and dave? >> thank you, steve. 8:12. right now, president obama is meeting with ceos at the -- at the white house. also, they've caused the deaths of dozens of infants and toddlers in the past decade. the latest development this

morning about those drop-side cribs.

8:15. president obama is hosting his

largest meeting ever with the heads of u.s. companies. there is a big representation in this group from the bay area. alison burns is live in our washington, d.c. bureau with the latest. good morning, allison. >> reporter: well, good morning, tori. that's right. president obama has invited some high-tech heavy weights from the bay area. we have a list here for you of the local business leaders at this white house meeting. john chambers, chairman and ceo of cisco systems in san jose. ahead of the meeting the -- meeting of total -- total of 20 ceos, the president said his feel is to find new ways to work together to spur hiring. this morning i hope to elicit ideas from these business lead there is will help us not only climb out of the recession but seize the

promise of this moment. ideas about tax reform. ideas about a balanced approach to regulation. >> now, eric have myth and john door will be leading the -- schmidt that and john door will be leading the meeting on innovations. a senate vote is expected op that tax cut package that president obama negotiated with republicans. it is expected to easily pass with bipartisan support after clearing a test vote on monday. if the tax cut package is approved in the senate. it will then go to the house. it comes with a warning that this package is not subject to being reopened. house democrats are leaning towards a higher estate tax than the one president obama gauche aided with republicans -- negotiated with republicans. the type of crib that's caused the deaths of more than

30 infants and toddlers has been outlaws. these dropside cribs have come under scrutiny because the rail can partially collapse from the crib causing a dangerous gap between the mattress and the side rail where a baby can get trapped. two high schools in novato could be a lot safer in the next few months. the school board voted to have defibrilators placed in novato and san marin high schools. they can be used to help someone having a heart attack or someone whose heart stopped. some school district officials worry about legal liability. make sure they are doing it properly. they have appropriate amount o f -- null of machines and the appropriate number of staff a re -- number of staff are t

rained. the novato fire foundation is donating the screens to the schools. 8:18. some antioch city employees face a tough decision, get a bigger paycheck or risk losing their jobs. those concessions expire next month which would add about $ 750 million to the city budget. if the employee hawaiis continue to agree the concessions that would avoid the need for possible job cuts. a frightening event at a school board meeting in florida and it was all ap chur -- captured on video. the man on the right here walked in argue the -- arguing with the school board about his wife b eing fired. he had a gun and he started shooting. amazingly, no one was hurt. now, a security officer shot and wounded this gunman who then killed himself. no one else was hurt.

surprisingly. the school superintendent tried to reason with the man even o ffered to stay with the gunman if he would allow the others to go free. >> i don't have a death wish but i know if i died today i know where i'm going. i did not want anybody in that room killed. that would have been a waste or a tragedy. and i knew i wanted to die. >> there were a lot of heroics in this incident. look at that. the gunman allowed the school -- the only female board member to leave and she hit him over the head with her purse trying to knock the gun out of his hand. >> and we also know he circled the date, the 14th on his calendar and he had been p lanning this. there's also the question about whether the wife was fired or resigned or quit. so that's unclear. a group of racoons a

ttacked -- attacked two dogs inside a house in alameda. also, you can get a really good look at the giants' world series trophy today. where it's gonna be on the display for the public for just a couple of hours. good morning. 101, san jose. that traffic is looking good until you reach the 880 interchange. and then it does start to slow down.

san francisco is officially in the run to hold america's cup race. the board of supervisors approved a bid that would develop the piers for the event. other possible hosts include spain, italy and rhode island. race organizers plan to announce where the race will be held by the end of this month. it is 8:24. sanjose is now the biggest city in the bay area with the ban on plastic bags. the city council approved the ban by a 10-1 vote at last n

ight's meeting. the new law will also require scores to charge 10 cents each for a paper bag that does not include recycled content. >> the law goes into effect in january of 2012. but it does not include restaurants, nonprofits or social organizations. now, san jose's law is tougher than those in fairfax, oakland and palo alto. from mont, santa clara county are considering the same types of law. support essay the bans encourage people to bring their own r efusable bags and -- reduces the amount of garbage and l itter. it's possibly also a good christmas gift, reusable gifts. >> i don't have any -- >> okay. i will take that hint. hey, sa sal, everyone banking out there on the roads.

it's dry today. westbound 580 at 14th -- 580 at 14th. you still might want to use 580. if you are driving to the bay bridge toll plaza, some improvement, still a 15-minute delay and remember there's a rubbernecker distraction today for construction on the east b an, chp urges to you keep on driving and not a rubbernecker. let's go to steve. partly sunny, partly cloudy. more sun already in the north bay. more clouds from san francisco, oakland, concord, south and this line is forming south. a little bit of sun. plenty of fog, ground fog and that's sometimes hard to burn off. but the satellite shows the ban of clouds, moving south, moving south. it will continue to do so south. we'll see some clearing and then we'll get a break for about two days and here comes the rain. there is an area of low p ressure, a very strong low,

dropping out of the gulf of alaska and the moisture s treaming up from the hawaiian islands. that's gonna be funneled s tarting on friday and carrying us into christmas. 38 santa rosa, much colder than we've seen in a long type. mid-40s for some. including palo alto, the rain turned to snow in the high country. about .50 to 1 foot plus. now things are coming down and clearing out. but there's so -- there's so much moisture we'll have to deal with fog. partly sunny. it's cooler. highs will be in the 50s. not much warmer. we're still slightby lee low average -- slightly below average. well, get ready for friday because that's when the rain starts in and it looks like rain and wind will be funneled in here. where it sets up shop remains to be seen. we'll take that into sunday,

monday. there are signs of rain all of the way to christmas. 8:27. we have some brand-new pictures this morning that show just how a man who is accused of molesting a child at a bay area walmart is taken into custody. plus -- >> reporter: the oakland police chief will not talk to us about his call for an fbi investigation but i did speak to a veteran officer. find out why he says very few officers think it's a good idea.

welcome back. the time now is 8:30.

we're following the story of the shooting of the unarmed man in oakland. the fbi may soon step into the investigation. kraig debro is live in oakland with all of the new details. good morning, kraig. >> reporter: good morning. we came hoping to speak with chief an knee they batts. but we've learned that chief batts will not speak to us regarding his call for an investigation in the derrick jones shooting. we're at opd. we did speak to a veteran officer, somebody who has been around for a long time. he said it's not a good idea to bring the fbi in because mainly it makes the fierce look look -- force look like it can't handle an investigation. >> don't move! >> a call for the fbi investigation could be the second move the chief is making to lee gain the trust of part of the community. last night, they invited the members of the public to participate in a shoot or don't shoot stimulator. it was a real-live situation back on september 9th.

two oakland police officers shot and killed derrick jones in an alely near bancroft and s eminary. police were responding to a call for domestic violence and jones was named as a suspect. we've learned that officer angeles was one of the two officers who fired his weapon that night. he's a member of the s.w.a.t. team. we don't know the identity of the other officer. police say -- police say both officers told them they fired because jones reached for his waistband. police say they found the metal scale either jones' body or near him at the shooting. >> i don't know what derrick could have been reaching for, because he didn't keep any type of weaponry here. i don't know why he would be reaching. >> reporter: many young men for

fashion reasons wear their pants low around their mid thigh and might be trying to pull up their pants as they are fleeing police instead of reaching for a w eapon, so police need to be sure of what they are doing. one specific thing that got upset last night, the jones' family were saying they are tired of this built-in excuse that any time police feel t hreatened that that they can use excessive force. kraig debro -- kraig debro, ktvu channel 2 news. >> thank you, kraig. 8:33. we're getting a new look at the aftermath of the horrifying crime that happened at a san leandro walmart store. moments ago, police released this photograph of the suspect. shortly after he was tackled by an heroic waste management

driver. now, 29-year-old carlos v illazone is accused of a ssaulting a girl in that store. developing news in oakland. firefighters are still on the scene of a house fire near lake merritt. ktvu's paul chambers joins us live from the scene for an u pdate. >> reporter: good morning, tori. this is thanks to a q uick- thinking neighbor that possibly saved the life of the man that lives beindependent -- behind you. we're told this house is about 1 00 years old. and at one time it was the only house up here. if we can take a look at video here, an early-morning fire destroyed a good portion of the house. one neighbor said he's -- he heard crackling. about 6:30 this morning, firefighters got call and a came out and had it under control within about 40 minutes. theres with one person who lived inside. he made it out safe, thanks to

his neighbors. however, because he lives in the front he was not sure what happened. >> most of the actual fire damage is to the rear of the structure. it involves the two rear bedrooms on the second floor. >> it's in the a total loss. there's pretty extensive structural damage, primarily to the roof and the attic area. >> now, mr. blyly was extremely lucky. the keys to the door were not available but the neighbor had a key and got him out. he is staying with neighbors and we do know that the red cross is on the scene to help him out. once again, the house is about 1 00 years old.

most of the damage was done to the back of the house, the rear of the house. firefighters are here to make sure things don't spark and go off. once again, we'll bring you the very latest as it develops. as it develops, the man is safe and he made it out safely. paul chambers, ktvu channel 2 news. >> paul, it's really good news that his neighbor had the key to help him get out. that's something that i think a lot of people could learn from. a nice lesson there. >> reporter: that's right, tori. you don't know what could happen to you. and if the neighbor has the key to help you out, you could learn from your neighbors. >> okay. thank you. it is 8:36. two fairfield sisters whose children died in a fire in april will be back in court today whether or not they will have to stand trial. investigators say james and latasha james left their four children alone in a home with burning candles. a lead investigator in the case testified yesterday that the women gave conflicting accounts of why their children had been

left alone and for how long. all of the children died in the fire. the fact that they had four fire deaths now they are trying to fit it into holding somebody accountable for the four fire deaths. investigators say it's still u nclear whether the fire was accidental or unintentional. the women are facing charges of involuntary manslaughter and child endangerment. >> well, starting today amtrack passengers can bring guns on some trains. they have to be inside checked baggage, they have to be u nloaded and they must be locked in an aapproved container. amtrack passengers will also have to call to register their represents -- weapons 24 hours before they board the train. amtrack's gun ban is still in effect on the capital corridor trains which effects the -- which connects the bay area. it is 8:37. police in alameda are reminding homeowners to take precautions

against racoons after two dogs were attacked by raccoons that broke into a house through a doggie door. the latest incident happened last thursday on lith avenue. police say up to four raccoons entered the home about 3:00 in the morning. the two dogs, the 54 pound labrador mix and the 10-pound chi cau wa/dachshund mix were treated for bites. since june, police say they've received attacks of raccoon bites on animals and people. and it snowed through the saturday night and more snowshowers are in the forecast through this morning. this is a live picture of what the road conditions are like out there. moving through there, but a lot of snow. the major mountain highways are open at this hour -- at this hour. however, chain or snowshowers are required on interstate 80

and highway 50 right now. we want to check in again with sal and find out what's going on in oakland. getting slow out there, sal? >> that's right. it's-- 580 at 14th. a new crash there and 880 is slow passing the coliseum. remember we want to -- we've been talking about this here. we want to remind you that there may be some distractions at the bay bridge today because of work going on on the new eastern s pan, doingsome interesting things. they may be visible and that may have rubberneckers out there, looky-loos, whatever you want to call them. the chp wants to you keep driving and not be distracted by them if you could. let's take a look at -- let's take a look at 280. dry on the roads, which, steve, really helped us out on the commute this morning. i can help you out today and tomorrow but not friday. >> okay. >> okay, sal. get a break today. some sun in the north bay.

cooler. much cooler this morning. some of the updated information that's coming in. there will be a lot of rain between friday and say c hristmas. the snow level is going to start out very, very high around 5,000 feet and then get up to 8,000 feet by the middle of next week as we go from more of a west direction on all of this cloud cover to more of a southwest which would be very wet for us but maybe not so much snow for the sierra next week. now, today that line is forming south. so the cool air is coming in behind that. there is a lot going on. strong low coming down from the gulf of alaska. we'll start to entrain moisture right here. today, we have a lot of bit of a break, the same can be said for tomorrow. there will be some sun. we have mostly sunny skies. a lot of fog, ground fog. cooler, colder, but partly sunny this afternoon. 38 santa rosa, 40s including san francisco's 49.

sanjose, 48. still cloudy there. the last time i checked the webcamry -- web camera. morning fog, cooler, partly sunny. cold tonight, fog will be f orming. clouds late on thursday. cloudy friday, and then rain starts and i say the rain begins because it will be the first of many starting friday, carrying us into the weekend and probably all the way up to christmas and maybe the end of the year. some of the fantasy forecast models that we have to the end of the year, have us in a very active pattern. if you need to get something done, today and tomorrow probably looks to get s omething -- probably looks to get wet. ben lomond, .50. oakland airport, 45/100ths. dublin, livermore, .30. sanjose, mountain view, palo alto, los altos all around .25. the moisture source is heading south. that's the good news. but this low and that moisture are tall taking aim at us. today, partly sunny, cooler.

patchy fog out there. forecasted highs in the 50s, though. and we'll keep them there. vallejo, 54. richmond, 54. fairfield only 53. sanjose, some mid- to upper 50s. santa clara valley. half moon bay, 54 and mountain view, 57. cloudy, gives way to partly sunny today. cold tonight, patchy fog, then sun in the morning, increasing clouds late. the rain starts late on friday, gets heavy saturday and carries into sunday. dave and tori? >> thank you, steve. a subway station in washington, d.c. is shut down for a while this morning because of a suspicious action -- p ackage. what authorities think was in i t. and the berkeley city council weighs in on controversy today again. what they decided to do about a resolution about calling the man who leaked government documents to kickky -- to wikileaks a h ero.

berkeley police announced the arrest of nine suspects. police think some of them may be connected to the recent

string of robberies in the northern part of the city. today, the house of representatives expected to vote on a repeal to -- on a vote to repeal the military's don't a sk/don't tell policy. if it passed that would put pressure on the senate to delay the adjournment to work on a bill as well. just hours ago, we've learned of the arrest to believed to be connected to a horrific shooting that claimed the life of a sacramento mother. she was killed by a stray bullet during a gun battle at a strip mall. investigators say 30-year-old monique nelson was an inknown set victim in the wrong place at the wrong time. she was a sickle mother who worked at the sacramento a irport. 8:46. this morning, the subway station at the pentagon was shut down for a time while authorities investigated a suspicious p ackage. the package was found inside a trash can at the station and had blinking lights. trains were diverted around the station for about an hour and 15 minutes. now a pentagon spokesman says

the suspicious package may have been a christmas ornament. tomorrow, president obama is due to release a h ighly- anticipated policy r eview. ahead of the release we're l earning about the harsh new assessments of the afghan war. the classified intelligence war says the united states will not succeed in afghanistan unless pakistan does more to hunt down intur gents on the border. the report says the united states has made progress in key afghan cities. pakistan must do more to shut down lawless tribal regions on the border. 8:47. wikileaks founder julian assange remains in a british jail this morning. there will be a hearing a ppealing his release on bail. he has to remain behind bars until the hearing to have him released that will say he's a flight risk.

he's wanted for questioning in a sex crimes investigation in sweden. authorities say his backers have raised about half of the cash needed for the bail. a spokeswoman says more than 25 websites cannot be viewed on any air force computer. that includes "the new york times," the only major u.s. paper included in the ban. others are britain's "guardian" and some newspapers in france, germany. the ban does not apply to personal computers. the army private accused of giving the class fid documents to wikileaks was not given hero status by the berkeley city council last night. >> i think it's pretty premature to talk about this debate. i think it's healthy to have the debate but i don't think there is an answer. >> now, the berkeley council postponed a vote to declare -- on the vote to declare army

first classman bradley manning a hero. the council is reluctant to call someone a hero who has not a dmitted to the leaking -- a dmitted to the leaking. >> what he did was put troops in harm's way, put troops in danger by providing a morale boost to the enemy. >> now, man something a -- is in a military jail facing 52 years in prison. if convicted of downloading the documents and then passing them on to wikileaks. the announcement came just hours ago, "time" magazine has named facebook founder mark mark zukerberg as the person of the year for year for 2010.

an east bay library could get a give of more than $280,000 to upgrade their computers and other equipment in the school's library. the school district says the dufffields are also talking about making a donation that could replace the current

library which has not been u pgraded since it was built 45 years ago. the dufffields have two children who right now attend monta v ista. ♪ >> two bay area musicians and their viral music video has t urned into a big success. they offered this free on youtube as long as people d onated to the book drive. the public has responded. thousands of donated books. the musicians act of holiday kindness is also inspiring the students. >> the more books we have the more knowledge we will have and they will -- it will take us to a new world. >> at last check, the school has collected, would you believe, 6,000 books. they are worth an estimated $ 50,000. >> we just learned that volunteers on a shopping spree

for toys for tots have already spent $33,000. they started buying gifts about two hours ago at the toys 'r' us in hayward. the sara and vinny morning radio show and the u.s. marines raised $45,000 for the event. all of the toys being purchased will go to bay area children in need. $45,000 can buy a lot of toys. >> yeah, bravo to them. we just heard about a loud filed in san francisco this morning. the laws that one -- about a lawsuit filed in san francisco this morning -- filed in san francisco this morning.

las vegas police are looking for the man who committed a bold robbery at one of the strip's most fame out casinos. he escaped with at least $ 1.5 million in chips. take a look at the surveillance camera video of the robber r unning into the bellagio casino shortly before 4:00 yesterday morning. they clay he cleaned out the chips from a craps table, ran off and drove off on a motorcycle. i. >> i think it was the audacity of it and the surprise. he walks in the casino, he's in there less than three minutes and i think everybody was so stunned, by the time they r eacted to it, he was out the door and driving away. >> the chips can only be cashed

at the bellagio. so it's unlikely he will receive any -- he will see any money. mcdonald's is being sued this morning in san francisco. the lawsuit filed by a health group and a california woman claims mcdonald's is violating consumer protection laws by u sing toys to market meals to young children. sanfrancisco recently became the first city to prohibit fast food restaurants from including toys with kids' meals that don't neat nutritional guidelines. well, best buy has agreed to a settlement in connecticut. they are accused of charging customers higher prices. the company has agreed to reimbursement. only customers who purchased

items in connecticut will get their money back. rite aid workers are staging a protest calling it a day of action. they are demonstrating against the company's recent plans to cut benefits. the workers plan to voice their complaints to rite aid customers who come into the store i are -- stores today. a bus driver has resigned today after punning over a pedestrian. >> they made this video. it appears to show the bus driver sworning in traffic to hit the snowman on purr moss -- on purpose. i think the kids who mosted t he -- posted the video feel a little guilty that the guy lost his job. so they are trying to start a movement to get his job back.

>> incredible the. let's go right back to sal. what's happening out there, sal? >> all right. today, the bay bridge is going to be affected by perhaps rubbernecker traffic. we'll be watching that. you can go to ktvu.com all day long by the way to get to traffic -- to get the traffic information. let's go to 280. that commute seems to be over. 80, definitely a lot of slow traffic heading to the right there. and at the bay bridge we still have a pretty big backup westbound at the toll plaza -- >> i guess we lost sal. okay. that will do it for us, everyone. thanks for watching. >> bye now.

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