may be clear now, but that is about to change. the big storm rolling into the bay area and how many are preparing for it. >> reporter: i'm paul chambers live in newark where police are pleading with anyone who saw a 17-year-old man stabbed to death yesterday afternoon. plus the founder of wikileaks is a free man. what he said as he walked out of jail. those stories and more next on ktvu channel 2 news at noon.

good afternoon. we begin this noontime with sunny skies now. but a huge storm is heading towards the bay area. it's expected to bring several inches of rain and that could create flooding in several local communities. ktvu's been looking at how residents and businesses are preparing for the potential problems. and tara has details in this report. >> if it just comes and goes, you're all right. but if it sticks around for 24 or 48 hours, you're in trouble. >> reporter: mel bridges has run this barbershop for the past 68 years and has seen his share of storms. >> so right up to here the water's been before. >> higher than that. >> so the water came up to here in years passed? >> oh, yeah. >> reporter: he says as soon as it starts to rain city crews will drop off sandbags. >> the water comes down the street, i leave. >> reporter: at goodman's lumber supply in mill valley, about 400 sandbags are ready to

go. workers here say they will easily go through all of these bags if the rains are strong enough. homes in this area are prone to flooding and mud slides. tarps and boots for those needing to stay dry. a couple people were buying heaters. carl is a contractor and came here for kerosene. >> i have a job going in mill valley and we're trying to get the sheet rock to dry. because of the cold weather it's not drying properly s. we use kerosene heaters to dry the dry wall. >> reporter: temperatures hit freezing in nevada where many drivers woke up this morning to find their windshields covered in frost. this morning officials along the coast at point rays issued a warning saying storms might not down trees with wind gusts up to 60 miles per hour. in flood prone areas, crews have also been clearing gutters and sweeping up leaves so they don't clog storm drains. you can fill up sandbags at

these locations. the rains are expected to carry on into early next week. in marin county, ktvu channel 2 news. because of the approaching storms the homeless industry is increasing the number of beds in homeless shelters. the staff at life builders say they're responding to a need as they've seen shelters in san jose, sunny vale and gill roy fill to capacity in recent weeks. the agency says 20,000 people go through a period of homelessness every year in santa clara county. check in with steve in just a few minutes about what to expect from this weekend's storm. our storm watch coverage continues on ktvu.com. you can check out live weather cameras and use our interactive radar to personalize your forecast. the weather could also cause problems for construction workers on the bay bridge. they're working around the clock to finish the third level

of the tower of the new eastern span. right now they're lifting four massive steel columns into place on the self-anchored suspension tower. the storm coming in could make this big job even more difficult. cal tran says if the weather cooperates, workers will be able to finish over the next four days. san francisco may have some competition from the east coast as officials decide on a location for the next america's cup sailing competition. the mw oracle wanted a deal signed by last friday with san francisco, but the city did not come up with the plan until this tuesday. today there's word that a representative from bmw oracle which is hosting the next race has been touring rhode island facilities since monday. the race could generate up to a billion dollars for san francisco. muni riders are adapting to a few changes today at the temporary transbay terminal in san francisco. phase two of the terminal construction is underway between main and beal streets.

and muni is changing the dropoff locations for several bus lines. the transit agency has muni workers at the effected locations to answer any questions. a community in newark is dealing with shock and grie today after the death of a high school student. the 17-year-old was fatally stabbed while waiting for a ride home from school yesterday. ktvu's paul chambers joins us now with some new details and clarifications. good afternoon, paul. >> reporter: good afternoon, tori. there are several discrepancy out there i want to clear up. fist and foremost he went to bridge port high school here in newark. he did play football for newark memorial high school, but that was last year. show you behind me here is a growing memorial surrounded by friends, family and loved ones. they set it up in honor of a young man gone too soon. >> i'm almost shocked and i want to cry. i don't even know how to feel right now. i'm just shocked that he's gone. >> i still don't want to believe he's gone.

he's only 17. it's too early. i thought he'd be the one you know burying me. >> reporter: throughout the morning friends, family and even strangers came to pay their respect for the 17-year- old young man. justice was known as a gentle giant, willing to help anyone and was a huge sports fan. with christmas a little more than a week away all he wanted to do was celebrate the holiday in their new home. >> he wanted to decorate the house so bad. and we finally got a house to ourselves. >> reporter: instead his sisters are decorating a tree they're adding to his memorial just yards away from where he was killed. yesterday he was stabbed around 3:45 in the afternoon. witnesses told police that two men assaulted him near this bus stop as the young man waited for his mother. last night in an exclusive interview with channel 2 she told us an accident delayed her from picking her son up. she believes a confrontation at a teen party a few months ago between just and he is two outsiders may have led to her son's death. >> he was beating up a

cheerleader. so my son was the one who jumped in and stopped him from beating her up. i think this is how all this things started. >> started. >> we are aware of that incident. we are looking back at that incident to learn if there's something there that can help us solve this incident. >> reporter: now in 2007 justice's father died. his family says they're seeking comfort that the two are together now. police say there were many people who witnessed yesterday's incident and they need them to come forward. the two men seen running away were dressed in black clothing and a hooded sweatshirt. if you know anything about this case, you're asked to call police. in newark, paul chambers, ktvu channel 2 news. a final witness in the richmond gang rape case could testify as early as today. right now the judge is hearing more testimony from a dna expert who examined evidence taken from the crime scene outside richmond high. he testified dna from four of the seven defendants was recovered from the victim.

lead investigator is next on the stand. a judge will then decide whether there's enough evidence to put the seven suspects on trial. they're accused in last year's brutal gang rape of a teenage girl outside a homecoming dance. just a few hoursing a wikileaks' founder was freed on bail from a british prison. upon his release he told his supporters he was pleased to be out after spending a week behind bars and that he would continue to proclaim his innocence. >> i hope to continue my work and continue to protest my innocence in this matter and to reveal as we get it which we have not yet, the evidence from these allegations. >> the 39-year-old australian will now spend time under house arrest at a british mansion owned by one of his supporters. he is fighting extradition to sweden where he faces sex crime

allegations. a warning about possible terrorist attacks during the holidays. plus the report from president obama today about the war in afghanistan. and we'll check in with steve paulson about when the rain will arrive. the national chairman oldest and largest civil rights organization to oakland and why they're working with police to stop something they feel is very important to stop.

six antioch police officers have received layoff notices just as violent crime is on the rise in that city. anteoch's police chief says the layoffs could be rescinded if the city works out a contract concession deal with the police union. just last week antioch's mayor called an emergency meeting to discuss the rise of crime including the doubling of the homicide rate this year. the recent accusations of police brutality and unnecessary officer-involved shootings in oakland especially involving african-american prompted a public hearing this morning organized by the california naacp. some of the top leaders in the city and county were in attendance. kraig debro joins us with details from oakland. good afternoon, kraig.

>> reporter: good afternoon, tori. at the city's aquatic center about a mile from jack london square. but don't be fooled by modest accommodations n is a major event. the incoming and outgoing mayors are here along with the police chief, the sheriff and the state and national chairman of the nation's oldest and largest civil rights organization. the mission is huge. figuring out why young black men in disproportionate numbers are being killed by police. >> they have an underlying stereotypic notion about the african-american in which they're serving thinking everyone has guns, everyone has weapons. >> reporter: naacp says it's holding the public brutality and civil rights violations in the wake of at least two officer-involved shootings that are high profile. used the grant conviction of mesherle to compare it with treatment of black and white criminal suspects. grant was shot and killed nearly two years ago as a suspect in an assault. on november 11 of this year

craig valuen tin know single handedly shut down the bay bridge in the morning commute by stopping his suv on the bridge,waving a gun around and telling police he had explosives and would detonate them with his 16-year-old daughter in the vehicle. he walked away from the high profile scene without injury from police. >> i gave you the statistics, you will not find any -- almost no white people being killed the way black people are over ere in judgment. it just doesn't happen to white people. >> reporter: on september 9, derek jones was unarmed when two oakland officers shot and killed him. officers believed jones was the suspect in a domestic violence case. the officers told investigators they open fire on jones after he reached for his waistband. >> you got to remember we have young kids who are 21, 22, 23, 24, 25 making split second decisions out there who carry a lot of authority. and that's why we should be questioned. but we also need to put it in

context too. >> reporter: two officers are on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of at least one external and one internal investigation. and late this morning the deputy chief confirmed that the f.b.i. has agreed to a request by the oakland police chief to conduct an f.b.i. investigation into the september 9th shooting. the chief says he wants to promote the idea of impartiality. they don't think police are shooting black men at disproportionate rates on purpose. they just want to find the reason and work to eliminate it. live in oakland, kraig debro, ktvu channel 2 news. in developing news out of san francisco, emergency crews are on the scene of a chain reaction crash right now involving a ucsf shuttle bus. authorities say a car rear ended another car which slammed into the shuttle. you are looking at live pictures right now from news chopper 2 of the scene. you can see the shuttle bus there on the front part. and then the blue car and the white car behind it. this happened about a half hour

ago at 22nd street. one person from each of the cars was hospitalized. and officials say 12 of the van passengers are complaining of pain or injuries. it's not clear if the people in the van are employees or student. but, again, you can see quite a bit of activity going on right now at this location at 22nd street in san francisco. two cars and a ucsf shuttle bus involved in a crash. we'll keep you posted if we get anymore information. the effort to vote on a controversial tax package has hit a speed bump today in the house of representatives, but the white house is still pushing hard for its passage. the senate voted overwhelmingly yesterday in favor of the tax cut package. in the house some liberal democrats and conservative republicans object to the deal for different reasons and plan to vote against it. the democratic leadership in the house plans to vote on amendments such as an increase

in the estate tax before bringing the full package up for a vote. most observers believe enough democrats will eventually vote for the compromise rather than face a rebuke from the president in their own party. today the labor department has slightly better news than economists had expected. the number of people filing for first time jobless benefits split by 3,000. the experts expected the number to go up. but the number of continuing claims increased that now stands at 4.14 million. economists say it's difficult to draw conclusions from the numbers this time of year because of volatility through the holiday season. the number of homes receiving late notices and other paperwork related to foreclosures hit a five year low last month. realty track reports foreclosure filings in november fell 21% compared to october and are down 14% from november of last year. but the experts say some of it

stems from delays that lenders and mortgage servicers imposed while they rechecked records and changed how they start foreclosure proceedings. president obama delivered an update today on the war in afghanistan and plans for troop withdrawal. he spoke from the white house saying the fight to dismantle and defeat al qaeda is on track. but he also said the gains are fragile and reversible and there's not been enough progress in neighboring pakistan. the u.s. and allies went to war in afghanistan in the weeks following the september 11 attacks. >> it's important to remember why we remain in afghanistan. it was afghanistan where al qaeda plotted the 9/11 attacks that murdered 3,000 innocent people. >> the president said troop withdrawals will begin in july as promised. but combat troops will remain until security is handed over to afghan forces in 2014. more than 2100 troops have died since the conflict began.

there are new warnings about the possibility of suicide bombings in the u.s. and europe during the upcoming holidays. iraqi officials say captured insurgents have told them the botched bombing in sweden last weekend was the first in a wave of planned al qaeda attacks. there are no details about exact locations, but the iraqi foreign minister is calling it a critical threat. and u.s. officials say they are looking closely at the information. as airports get busier, airlines have become more confident about raising ticket prices. american airlines initiated a wave of fare hikes by charging an additional $10 for round trip flights over 500 miles. passengers on shorter trips will pay $6 more than before. southwest, united, delta, continental, virgin america and several other airlines matched the fare hikes immediately. one problem, many airlines also charge for checked luggage. so travelers may balk at yet another price hike.

>> it would make me change my mind. but i would have to see what the options were if the flight's cheaper might result in you still saving money even though you have to check a bag you could get a good deal on a flight. >> southwest does not charge for checked luggage. the airlines say the increase also reflects higher fuel costs. all right. let's check in with our meteorologist steve paulson. so a big storm coming, but it's nice and sunny right now. >> well, tori, for some. i think the sierra's really going to take more of the brunt of this and maybe santa cruz mountains south. depends on where everything finally develops and sets up. today it's a beautiful day. little cold this morning. but we do have sunshine. higher clouds are getting closer though. we had a lot of upper 20s and 30s this morning. temperature that is we have not seen for a long time at least since november. so a couple weeks. those higher clouds right there associated with a big change in ourwet her will start late tonight and take us into tomorrow. some of that fog is still out in the valley. we have to travel i-5 be careful sacramento, fresno, bakersfield and some of those clouds right there offshore starting to work their way in.

temperatures though very, very cool. cold with fog this morning. mostly sunny though today. we'll probably see again not as cold of temperatures but a rather brisk night tonight as temperature wills drop off pretty fast. cloudy, mild on those lows with the clouds coming in friday. then rain returns and it sure looks like rain and wind takes us into the weekend and maybe even beyond. temperatures 40s and low ooze. oakland warmest at 53. 49 concord, livermore. only 50 in san francisco. this morning the lows coming in along with the frost and the very thick fog, upper 20s and 30s. so if you thought it was cold, it was. santa rosa 31. napa 32. fairfield was 29 degrees. so the quick forecast has some sunshine today. today is sunny but cool. the higher clouds as you saw are getting very, very close. we want to emphasize by the time we get to the weekend things could really change dramatically. and right there this would be the leading edge in what appears to be a series of systems coming in. they're still developing. the cold low responsible right there is coming down and is

drying up moisture from north of the hawaiian islands and a lot of this will start to take aim at us. but, again, if it's 50 or 100 miles south of us, we'll get rain but we may not get the copious amounts. yet everything is shaping up for the sierra nevada to take a good brunt of this over the next three to five days. today would be a great day to get up to the mountains. tahoe, mammoth, yosemite, a winter storm watch starts on friday. this system is looking a little colder. snow level around 5,000 or 5500 feet. it could go way up or down over the next three to five days as well. and also very windy over some of the passes. today though mostly sunny. so a little golf, tennis, get it in today because by tomorrow things are tough. nice but cool with temperatures in the 50s. and that's it. staying in the low 50s for many or a few mid-50s. but i don't think anybody's going that far on the temperatures besides around 52 to about 55 degrees, tori. today last for sure slam dunk

dry day. cloudy, light rain, maybe moderate and then heavy comes in timing is tough but saturday and sunday. may get a break on monday. i don't think this will be continuous, but it's going to be pretty cloudy, rainy. some will be heavy. all right. thank you, steve. >> uh-huh. still to come, sad news about a hollywood legend known for directing and writing some great films from the big screen as well as his beautiful wife.

a spokesman for blake everett says the film maker has died in california. edwards died from complicationings of pneumonia about 10:30 last night. his wife of 41 years, famous singer, actress julie andrews were at his side. he was 88 years old. students at christ the king school in pleasant hill gathered for an unusual christmas tradition this morning. with sirens blaring, police officers from san francisco picked up hundreds of toys the students donated for children in the tenderloin district. an officer who has children at christ the king came up with the idea. >> it's our way of giving back to those who don't have as much or anything. this is a very important life lesson for our students. >> the toys will be given out

to children at three christmas eve services at the church. that will do it for us. our next newscast is ktvu channel 2 news at 5:00. thanks for watching. have a great day.

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