the bart trains this morning stranded hundreds of passengers in the east bay. >> paul chambers, live, at the airport where the weather has taken its toll on flights. >> it is wet outside but heavier rain is in store ahead. these stories and more as channel 2 news at noon begins. >> complete bay area news coverage starts right now. this is ktvu channel 2 news

news at noon. >> good afternoon, i am today for tori. we got word from bart that trains are running again through two busy stations that follows a morning of equipment problem and delays system-wide. kraig debro has details. >> reporter: good morning. good afternoon, i should say. a pain in the neck. you know, a headache. those are some of the phrases you heard around bart stations in the east bay this morning. we are at this station this morning and the station was not involve directly but it was because they had to signal track trains through here and that caused a delay. a mechanical problem was the root of the cause. the repair wozniac done within the hour put the damage was already done. >> about 25, 30 minutes late to work right now. >> reporter: bart says the

train operator spotted something smoking on the tracks this morning. when crews arrived they found a problem with the cable that supplies power to the third rail. as a result of the problem riders coming from fremont and dublin were essentially stranded. >> this morning we have been advising people to seek alternate transportation in the east bay because we want to make sure they can get there on time and right now we don't have our 96% on time performance. >> reporter: bart could only single track trains through that area and that caused major delays in both directions. ac transit was honoring bart tickets that on lines that parallel service in that area but to some the announcements

made things confusing. >> i heard there is an issue further town the line. >> i have to get to dublin. >> i have to for to fremont. am i happy? no. >> i can understand that people would be frustrated if they were delayed. we are trying to fix it as quickly and safely as we can. >> reporter: bart says it was unable to calculate how long delays were for each passenger, but bart might have been hoping for a smoother they. today bart also announced the west dublin station was open on february 19th. the 106 million station was the first one that is an inline station. >> we are in storm watch this afternoon, as what could be the wettest system all season is

rolling into the area and is impacting flights. paul chambers has more. >> reporter: the bad weather we are having here coupled with other storms means a lot of people will be stranded here. the rain made for poor visibility, delaying flights for three hours. they can institute there flow program, allowing the faa to manage air-traffic control more efficiently by identifying them and giving them departure times, today that started early, cutting their time nearly in half. >> on a clear they we can take 60 flights an hour, so now we

take 28 flights an hour and that backs up everything. >> reporter: if you are traveling you might want to check in and see f if your flight is delayed and if you are picking up someone you have a lot so you will not circle around the airport. >> palo alto police are clearing the scene of an extent that happened this morning. officers say a man in his early 20s lost control on san antonio about 6:00 and struck a tree and light pole and was unconscious when he was pulled from his vehicle. the cause of the crash is under investigation. traffic is moving again on 101 near the golden gate bridge. lanes were shut down after a

fast moving car slipped over and tumbled town a ravine. the driver escaped with just minor injuries. rain may have been a factor in an accident in antioch this morning after midnight on the westbound highway 4 by pass near lone tree way. the chp says the driver swerved off the highway and plunged down an embankment, there is no word on his condition. it is a big weekend for holiday parties and that is why police are cracking down on drunk drivers. they are setting up dui check points to keep drunk drivers off the road. it is part a nationwide campaign that will continue through the new year weekend. if drivers are over the limit they will be put under arrest. the santa clara water district has been removing

debris from creeks and people are being warned to prepare their own homes because of the rain that is expected. >> homeowners need to make sure their water flow is not changed. >> we are seeing many people stocking up on supplies. if you need sandbags we have a list of locations where you can pick them up. six people were forced to find another place to stay after fire broke out inside an oakland home this morning around 4:00 a.m. on 82nd avenue, a woman and her two young children were among those inside. she didn't want to be shown but we are told her quick actions helped get everyone out safely. >> i got the kids then you know we took them across the street. >> right now we are doing an investigation to see what part of the front area of the house

the fire originated. it is unfortunate on christmas eve. >> the red cross is helping the family find another place to stay. the cause of the fire is under investigation. an arbitrator has overturned the firing of a bart police officer on the platform the night oscar grant was killed. they fired her accusing her of lying to investigators. the arbitrator said the hearing showed no basis she was untruthful and ordered her reinstated with back pay. the other's appeal is pending. two people charged in the death of their children entered pleas of guilty. they made a brief appearance to answer to charges stemming from a fire in their apartment. the prosecutors say they left

their children in the apartment unattended in the apartment lit with candles. they are charged with several crimes. police have arrested a 33- year-old man in connection with a stabbing outside a bar just before midnight at the cruiser salon. he got in a fight and stabbed him several times. the victim underwent surgery and is expected to survive. the stabbing comes at a time when antioch has had several other violent crimes and the city is talking about laying off officers to help balance the budget. >> if there are more cops laid off then people will be more liable to do bad things. >> the city hopes to renegotiate its contract with

officers to avoid layoffs. we are learning new details about a man accused of sexually assaulting a child in that store. he is charged with three felonies after inappropriately touching the girl. he wrote a letter of apology after he was arrested. he was captured on cameras walking around the store possibly looking for a victim. he will be back in court next month to enter a plea. this weekend's agenda for lawmakers now that they have passed the new legislation. steve paulson will tell us when to expect the next round of storms. >> people are leaving the boardrooms and classrooms to

serve their country. we will tell you about their important mission coming up.

just as so many of us are preparing to welcome relatives

many or leaving. tara has this emotional report. >> reporter: we are at diablo valley college where an hour ago a farewell ceremony ended. tomorrow these 160 men and women from the california national guard will push on this fort bliss, texas, and undergo training before taking off to the middle east for one year. they are military police who will help afghan officers take control of their own streets. he is leaving behind his wife and two-month-old son to take part in the mission. >> i wanted to join when i was in middle school and i even wrote in my yearbook i wanted to join after 9/11. >> reporter: the commander of this company soldiers will be teaching afghan police how to battlefield forensics, antiterrorism and security operations as well is a special weapons and tactics. >> we are going there to finish

what we started in 2001 after the attack. >> reporter: the national guard is only a part-time job, so these folks are actually leaving boardrooms, courtrooms and classrooms, giving up their job, such as lawyers, teachers and contractors to serve. 90% of these guardsmen are from the bay area. all of them boarding planes come tomorrow in sacramento. live in pleasant hill, tara moriarty, ktvu channel 2 news. >> across the bay as volunteers at glide memorial church are finishing up a holiday give away. some people lined up as early as 3:00 a.m. to pick up a bag full of groceries. last year they handed out more

than 6000 bags last year but they say donations are down this year. but one man says it is a true blessing to help out. >> we want to get out and show people i am out here and i want to give back to all the things i did wrong. >> the bags were filled with poultry and other things to help those in need. a short time from now president obama will sign the new legislation following a midnight vote in the house. the bill extends tax cuts for millions that would have expired january 1st, that includes individuals making more than $200,000 a year. it also extends unemployment programs for people who have not reached their absolute maximum of 99 weeks of benefits.

senate democratic leaders say they have a busy agenda. they say the senate needs to deal with a bill that will help people sick from exposure to dust at ground zero. pg&e has been ordered to reduce the pressure of the natural gas flowing through its lines. it based its finding based on its investigation into the san bruno explosion. they will reduce pressure in its pipelines. critics say the utility needs to do more. >> the board of directors of pg&e needs to step in, needs to bring in new management that has a record and history of commitment to customers and putting customers first. >> pg&e says that residential

customers won't be affected by the reduction in coverage. let's go to steve paulson. >> there is going to be a lot of rain. we are in a break here. it is breezy so just a raw day, temperatures upper 40s, everything is getting its act together. the low is funneling in moisture from north of hawaii and you combine these two you can see where it is starting to take shape, we are in between that one little system that came in last night and the next one. it is going to be with us today, tomorrow, and maybe well into next week and past christmas. snow and they are growing to measure it in feet. winter storm warnings are out, so if you are traveling there

it is a tough tough call. we are in between systems. rain is falling in the sacramento valley and there is kind of like are dry over us. the quick forecast, if you are thinking will we get a break? there might be teeny breaks, so cloudy, cool or cold, light rain gives way to heavier rain, we will take that into the weekend, saturday night and sunday a stronger system comes through and next tuesday or wednesday a strong system may come in. santa cruz mountains a third of an inch. the city has had 18/100s, there is a lot more on the way. we are stacking this up into

inches on the rainfall. see, that is the enhancement moving toward us. look where it stretches. it goes back out and as this system drops down it is going to send in band after band after band, so a very active pattern. unbelievable amount of snow. winter storm warning is out already. snow fall heavy, sacramento at least eight feet. snow level will go down and then back up. the snow level is around 4500 feet. today is cloudy, cool, breezy to windy, gusts over 30 miles per hour, the highs are 40s or 50s, rain, cloudy, southern california will get slammed on sunday, so if you might you know head down there early if you want to get down 5 and beat this system down there, because they are burn areas and when

they get rain it can cause problems, so we get it today, go to southern california and move back up, the sierra easy 10 feet of snow the next couple of days. >> for those people who want to go there driving wise. >> you can try but it is tough. >> dozens of children received and unexpected christmas gift this morning in oakland. [ siren ] >> you can see the present wasn't the only surprise. the kids got to see santa come up on a motorcycle. >> we find young children. we give out toys. it completely surprises them. it is an awesome event. we go down international and to

the hospital and give out toys here. >> all of the toys were donated. new numbers released about california's job markets plus the national day of deals, why today may be the ideal day to do your holiday on-line shopping.

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range today one day after major indices hit two years high, the dow jones fell 200 points earlier and the standard standard & poor's was flat. this is the last full trading day of the week. the state released california's unemployment rate for november and relearned it remained unchanged for the 4th month at 12.4%. the employment development department reported a net gain of 1600 none farm jobs last month, still 2,267,000 people remain out of work. a retired man has handed a check to california as repayment for unemployment benefits he received 46 years ago. the state treasurer says it will go toward education programs. today is national free shipping day, with more than

1700 on-line merchantses taking part. 1000 of them will not charge for any items ordered today, shipping that is, with the rest requiring a minimum purchase. all merchants guarantee delivery by christmas if they have them in stock. word this morning about another possible cause of autism. a new report says that children born to mothers who live close to freeways have twice the risk of autism. researchers say it is the latest evidence suggesting environmental hazards such as air pollution could play a roll in some children. the national organization for woman has filed a complaint against several hooters restaurants in california. it calls itself an adult business establishment as a way to defend its hiring practices.

now says that means hooters employees are not food servers but sexual entertainers but they cannot serve minors and they cater to families. they have not responded to a request to any interview. our next newscast is at 5:00. we will see you then. have a great day. send comments to comments@captioncolorado.com captions by terry james, caption colorado, llc.