in just a few short hours, divers will scour the canal for the car they believe is involved in the an kucktion -- abduction of a 4-year-old 4- year-old patterson boy. also this morning, oakland police are searching for the owner of a dangerous pit bull who attacked two people. well, good morning to you. welcome to s on 2." i'm dave clark. >> i'm tori campbell.

it's thursday, january 20th. this morning, the statewide search continues for the little boy kidnapped from his grandmother's arms. today, dive teams will return to a canal in the central valley town of patterson to look for the kidd suspect's car. jade hernandez has more. >> reporter: the stanislaus county deputy believes the car involved in the abduction is in the water. they say they will have to deal with obstacles before they search. >> the first diver that went in this morning, reported zero visibility at five feet. the water -- the current of the water is very high right now and the water is extremely cold. as divers go into the water, the process for searching for anything in the water, they stretch a cable, drop it in the water and drag it across the

bottom. >> reporter: the sheriff's dive team searched the canal yesterday and came up without the silver toyota corolla in question. the divers scoured the canal because of a tip from a farmhand who drives along the canal every day to work and reported seeing a car roll into the canal. recent tire tracks were found near the water. 27-year-old jose esteban rodriquez, the man who authorities say snatched the 4- year-old, is still missing. neither have been seen in two days. last night about 100 people gathered for a vigil where the 4-year-old was taken from his grandmother's care. we want to show you this surveillance video this morning which surfaced yesterday of rodriquez an hour before authorities say he took the boy

he believes is his biological son. the video shows that rodriquez bought beer from a patterson filling station. shorts are still looking for rodriquez who is considered dangerous because of his criminal past. hundreds who claim to have seen ramirez have reported tips but none have been credible. divers are expected to be out at this canal at 10:00 a.m. last night, some 100 people gathered outside the home of the grandmother, where the abduction took place. >> i just want to say that j uliani is safe and warm wherever he is at and hopefully he comes home soon because i

don't believe jose is gonna hurt him. >> this show the support goes far beyond the community of patterson. governor jerry brown sent a m essage to the family say they are in his thoughts and prayers. oakland police continue the search for a pit bull who a ttacked two people. still not clear what led up to the attack. the owner of the dog was there at the time but police were c alled to the scene and police officers shot and killed the dog there. both of the victims were rushed to the hospital. this morning we're not sure of the extent of their injuries. an announcement is expected at any moment rue by first lady michelle obama and walmart executives. they are expected to unveil a new healthy food initiative that involves a plan to lower

the sugar, and fat content on food. it also includes lower prices on fruits and vegetables. the bay area's largest city received low marks on a report card out this morning from the american lung association. the 2010 state tobacco report gave san jose a "d" grade for the second year in a row. sanfrancisco boosted its grade up to a "b" from a "c." the city of oakland also received a "b." the cities were graded on tobacco control and prevention and smoke-free air. there is a new report t hat -- that came out about -- at came out about the traffic. let's go to tara moriarty joining us live with the d

etails. good morning, tara. >> reporter: hey, dave, let me ask you a question here. how much time and money do you think you spend stuck in traffic over the period of a year? do you have any idea? you know, tara. that's a good question. itof money, i don't like it, usually. i don't know. >> reporter: well, it's over $1 north korea and two days. we just got off the phone with the texas ins -- institute. they say traffic in the bay area has actually improved if you can believe it over the past year. you can see traffic flowing along well. but typically we'll see backup during the commute. this year, we slipped down to number six for being the worse commute. transportation officials say that could be due to ramp w idening and others say it's because of the poor economy and

less people on the roadways. >> it's shorter. because to get to work -- it used to take me 15 minutes. now it takes me like eight. >> reporter: wow. that's cutting your commute time in half. >> yeah. >> reporter: now, many experts say once the economy snaps back so will the traffic. so be prepared to listen to the radio and twiddle your thumbs. now, the city two -- the two cities that top the traffic l ist -- washington, d.c. and chicago. coming up we'll tell you which city nudged out the bay area to clinch the number five spot. we think it might surprise you. >> thank you, tara. the project that's supposed to reduce traffic jams may cause some big problems this weekend. caltrans will be working on the 880 retrofit project in the high street area. so starting at 10: 10:00 tonight until monday morning,

880 to 42nd avenue, those ramps will be closed. traffic will be redirected to high street. caltrans says it could take several days to repair the damage caused by an early- morning car accident. the solo car crash happened around 3:45 a.m. on highway 101 in mountain view, the chp says a silver suv flipped over and s lammed into the center divide. it took about a 15-foot long chunk. the driver suffered serious injuries. the scene is clear. and traffic is moving. however, caltrans crews will have to return to repair that. >> sure. let's go to sal. didn't mean to work you so hard this morning but you are working hard. >> it's okay, dave. this morning we we have a look at some of the things that will be busy for you this morning. let's take a look at the sunol grade. 680, that traffic is busy

because of an earlier truck crash or actually a truck s pilled or dropped some -- they were construction pieces. they were cement blocks dropped on the freeway. i don't know why i'm having trouble saying that. 680 is improving. 680 traffic is still going to be much busier than usual as you drive towards san jose. you might want to consider giving yourself an extra few minutes. this is a look at the bay b ridge. it's not all that bad. westbound coming up to the upper deck of the bay bridge. that's about it. 101 in san rafael. we have slow traffic coming down novato. it starts from marinwood, heads down to central san rafael. let's go to steve. >> thank you, sir. full moon. follow has disappeared. been wiped out through to the wind. there are some 30s. i'm quoting here on some of the

tweets, tanya and james super and extremely windy in oakland, 35th avenue and fruitvale, east oakland, i know coming out of the caldecott about 35 from 50 miles an hour. the wind machine has cranked up. quick forecast, windy at times, sunny for everybody, the fog is gone. we tonight have to worley about that -- we don't have to worry about that. subtle changes, maybe a few high clouds but that will be about i t. mountdiablo, 77 miles per hour. that was at 6:17, i think. grizzly peak, oakland fish ranch road, 53 miles an hour. elcerrito, 30. mount tam, 23 miles an hour. sfo, 22 but closer to crystal springs reservoir, 30. so if you are heading on 280, you might want to hold onto the

steering wheel tighter. lake port in lake county, 34 degrees. gilroy. that's right at the outlet m alls. 36 petaluma, 39. mill valley's 39. stanford and atherton have both dipped to 39 and bethel island is 39. that's cold. sanrafael starting off at 39. 50 at noon and 64 for a high today. sunshine for everybody. you can see why. occasionally i'll men shin some higher clouds. but this is a very dry pattern, very stable. i don't see anything in the way of any rain probably until february, unless up in the sierra nevada. clear, no fog. that's out of here. windy at times. systems move into the northeast and also the sierra nevada. but for us sunny, windy. 36 to 52, clear, breezy to

windy even though it's sunny it will not be that warm. 60s, mid-60s. you are getting more of a northwest wind. sunny. yep. fog is gone but occasionally windy. blustery at times. thank you, steve. a different type of reception after all of the grandeur of the state dinner, why china's president may get a less-than-warm-welcome back today. also, two doctors could determine the fate of the bay area teenager accused in a terrifying pipe bomb plot.

welcome back. after getting a warm welcome at the white house last night, china's president is facing a tougher crowd on chill this morning -- on capitol hill this morning. alison burns is live in our washington, d.c. and knows all about that. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, dave. that's right. as chinese president hu gin to gin to -- hu jintao arrives, there's criticism. harry reid called him a d ictator. they are actually meeting this hour. but president hu got a warm welcome at the white house last night. here is a look at his argreeted and michelle obama at a s tar- studded state dinner. some of the other guests included -- included michelle

quan, vera wang. and here is ed lee arriving for the din he. we talked to mayor quan about what it meant to her to be invited. >> i had not realized there were so few state dinners. >> there were actually a number of people from the bay area at the dinner, including john chen, nancy pelosi and intel e xecutive. reporting live from washington, d.c., alison burns, ktvu channel 2 news. >> thank you. 7:16. well, state senator leland yee is insulting rush limbaugh insulting the president of china and the chinese community. yesterday, on his show, lush

rhumba complained about the lag in -- rush limbaugh complained about the lag in words from the president. a new report says u.s. officials have determined e xactly who executed wall street journal report daniel pearl. according to the report by a team of american journalists and students, u.s. officials using vain matching technology identified the hand of the u nseen man who killed pearl video. reportedly it's khalid sheik muhammed. the investigation concluded that the four men convicted of p earl's killing in pakistan did help kidnap pearl but they were not present during his h

eading -- beheading. this week marks 20 years of the start of the gulf war and these are night-vision images of that first counter offensive against iraq on january 16th, 1991. former president, george h.w. bush will meet with former vice president dan quayle at the bush presidential library. gabrielle giffords is scheduled to be transferred to a rehab center in houston as early as tomorrow. the hospital spokesperson says she's able to stand with some help. this progress comes less than two weeks after she was shot in the head. giffords' family says they want to move her to houston, that's where her husband, who is an australia, who is training right now to leave the space shuttle "endeavour's" final

flight in april. in the meantime, the grand jury indicted jared loughner. in all, though, six people were killed in that january 8th rampage. more time is needed to prepare indictments against loughner for murder. for now the most serious charge against him is attempted assassination. that could send him to prison for life. the 22-year-old man is scheduled to be arraigned on monday. 7:19. tomorrow is a critical day in the hillsdale high pipe bomb case. two doctors are set to testify whether the teenaged suspect was sane at the time of his alleged crime. that's an issue that could let the 17-year-old, alex youshock, from being convicted. prosecutors say he was carrying pipe bombs, a sword and a

chainsaw with plans to kill students and staff members. for some students in o akland, reporting problems on campus is now as easy as sending a text message. starting this morning, a new program kicks off at oakland tech and five other high s chools. students can anon mossly send text -- anon mousily send texts to police officers. will the students use it? >> i don't think too many people will do it. >> i don't want to return the risk of being known of doing that. >> the chief said he got this idea from the national football league which allows fans to text security guards about unruly behavior in the stands. the service costs about $2,000 a year. they are hoping to expand that program. it's anticipated there will be a lot of smiling faces today

at two san francisco schools. students and faculty at ap and everett middle schools are e ncouraged to smile at each other, all day long. it's respect week in the san francisco unified school district. they are hoping that today's smiling event will teach tolerance and also promote p eace. >> i don't know about you but if i smile too much my mouth kind of hurts. >> worth a try. >> yes. one pizza parlor owner came up with a really bright idea but maybe too bright for some. also, it was a new story that one tv station may have been embarrassed to report on. look at this. this crew really ended up stuck in the overpass. traffic is moving along relatively well this morning as you drive on highway 4 getting out to done ed -- concord. we'll tell you more about the morning commute straight ahead.

a new san rafael pizza restaurant might have to tone down their design board. some found it a little too bright and shiny. last night the board has asked city planners to help out the owners of the pizza shop to work together to soften the b uilding's bright yellow and green colors. the restaurant on 4th street is scheduled to open this weekend. toyota just agreed to settle a class-action lawsuit involving problems with the head lids with the cars. more than 2,000 prius owners s ued when the headlights would shut off without any warning. all of the cars from the 2006 to 2009 model years, toyota will reimburse those for having the cost of those repaired.

a tv news crew in florida became the news story. their news van became stuck. yeah, the van drove over the -- over the over pass. the mast gostuck. it got caught and it tipped over and was hit by another vehicle. the driver doesn't know how the mast got stuck. a reporter hurt her shoulder and then you have to explain it to the boss. >> yeah, that will be a little expensive. it's unfortunate that somebody someone -- that meone was h urt. and it's a reminder that -- t hat -- to be careful. let's check in with sal. >> tori, we always double check

and triple check and quadruple check. let's take a look at newschopper2 coming in on a tree down. our newschopper2 -- well, the chp first reported it at a 2 00- foot tree that came down. now, 200 feet, maybe it's a little exaggeration but something is going on here as our newschopper2 comes down on 580 in the area. you can see traffic is slowing down. we're still looking for that tree but something is doing that. if you are come in on the altamont pass, really slow traffic. 880 in hayward is a little bit slow heading south. and for the most part the south bay is off to a pretty decent start. let's go to steve. >> that's a big tree.

>> if it is the 200-foot tree, it's a huge issue. the wind has been roar especially in parts of the east bay hills. for some, it's a clear morning. it's gonna be sunny. everybody is on -- is in on the sun. grizzly peak, fish ranch road, oakland, berkeley hills, 35 to 53 miles a per hour. the ground fog is history, at least for now. at least we have sunshine. temperatures, near seasonal

average. sunny, breezy, all the way into the weekend and probably beyond. this morning, the statewide search continues for that m issing little boy and his suspected kidnappers. a roommate says heavy drinking may have been a big contributor to this incident. new report on housing and jobs. good news or bad news. we'll find out. and why getting into a uc school can get even tougher for students.

this huge tree came down on the freeway in oakland on park boulevard. initial reports were that the tree is 200 feet tall. i don't think it's that tall. nobody was seriously injured when it came down. our newschopper2 showing it. also, i want to see if i can get erica -- if you can seer me in newschopper2, can you show me the backup here? i want to see how this is a ffecting traffic. it's backing traffic up on 580 well back beyond the oakland border in the -- into san leandro. 580 is very slow.

we'll tell you more about this coming up. >> and sal, that's 580, northbound? >> 580 westbound. >> okay. >> sorry. westbound 580 to heading to oakland and the maze. >> we'll check that out. in just hours, dive teams will return to a canal in the central valley town of p atterson. they are looking for the car of the man suspected of kidnapping a 4-year-old boy. the canal is just a few miles from where the abduction took place on tuesday. but this dive search will be a very risky operation. jade hernandez joins us now with this live update from patterson. good morning, jade. >> reporter: good morning. the stanislaus county officials jut drove up. divers will scour behind me this morning in about two and a half hours.

a tip came in that an individual saw the car roll -- saw the car rolling into the canal. they claim to have seen that car rolling into the river the day that juliani cardenas d isappeared. jose esteban rodriquez, the man who took jack, is still missing. his roommate said rodriquez was drinking a lot to deal with his frustration over the situation. >> i knew he was -- he wasn't all there. the man was unable. i don't know what was going through his head. i know she wouldn't let him see

her son. i know she's having problems with that and he thought alcohol wag the anticipates. >> reporter: this is surveillance video which s urfaced yesterday morning of rodriquez an hour before authorities say he took the boy. he bought beer from a chevron filling station. rodriquez's car is a silver corolla. the car had a spare tire on the rear of the car, the statewide amber alert is still affected this morning. we're live in patterson, we'll have more coming up. back to you. a new home sales report just came out. it's mixed news. fewer people bought briefly homes last year. however, home sales increased in december at the fastest pace since seven months. that may offer a little hope for the real estate industry

this morning. the national association of realtors says sales jumped. they say a slight uptick in mortgage rates may encourage b uyers on the fence to go ahead and make a decision. the other big news today, this morning's unemployment report. that came out and it surprised some of the quists. pam-- economists. pam cook has more. >> yes, i do. 404,000 people filed for initial jobless benefits last week. that's down 37,000 from the week before when claims surged. now, analysts forecasted a drop but -- of about 20,000, even though the numbers are nearly twice as good as forecast, the report is not expected to significantly change. the national unem -- u nemployment rate. the numbers of new claims filed

would have to sink before 375,000 a week to move that o verall jobless rate. the number of people continuing to collect unemployment insurance also dropped. that total number stands at .86 million. the job market, definitely mixed news because as one economist puts it, the mace of layoffs is lower but hiring is still frustratingly low. let's go back to dave. 7:36. well, some bay area cities are actually thinking about merging services as a way to save money. palo alto, mountain view, and sunnyvale are exploring consolidating this dis-- their dispatch systems. the university of california is warning that continue the budget cuts could shut out thousands of qualified

students over the next decade. mark yudof estimates up to 30,000 students could be turned away in the future because uc won't have enough money to accommodate them. he also says guaranteed admission to all eligible california applicants could become a thing of the past. uc is facing a $1 million budget because governor jerry brown has proposed $500,000 in cuts. but gavin newsom is c hallenging -- challenging that proposal. even though they come from the same parties. some parents say closing schools, could cause them

serious problems. >> if they are eliminated, we have to find some other option. >> hundreds of people packed a meeting last night pleading for their schools to be spared. seven schools are reportedly on the clopping block. five are in concord, two are in pleasant hill. in san jose, the east side union high school district is facing a soaring debt. it's reported that in october, the school district was recorded to pay 1.7 million to the mechanical service for unpaid condition struck -- c onstruction. the district plans to appeal. the mercury news also says the school district has not made any payments yet so the award is accruing $21,000 a month in interest. that's a lot of money.

we want to check in with sal now. >> we had a tree come down. we're just going to talk about that in just a moment because we may have even more video of t hat. i want to mention the bay bridge toll plaza because a lot of people wonder if we can determine a pattern. the last few days it's been either really heavy or really light. today it seems like the middle ground. it's busy. it's about a 15-minute delay. no troubles on the bridge but very windy, especially if you drive a small car. it will get your attention. you may end up in another lane if you are not paying attention. 880 north and southbound, this traffic looks good. we mentioned 880 because 880 may be your alternative to 580, westbound 580 these are pictures that we just got of park boulevard blocking the two

right lanes. these pictures taken moments ago from newschopper2. we're very glad it did not fall on the car that happened to be driving by. caltrans crews are on the scene and our crew is arriving on the scene to give us a report from the area. let's go to steve. fog has disappeared. we don't have to worry about any ground fog. oakland, berkeley, there are some very cold readings in w ind-protected areas. sky are clear, it's going to be sunny. straight on down from the north but it's the wind and out t owards mount diablo, as you probably heard it. i heard it was howling last night. windy at times but sunny for -- sunny for everybody. yesterday, it was just hanging on toward the la fayette.

walnut creek. breezy at times. grizzly peak, oakland, fish ranch road, gusts to 53. berkeley hills, 33 miles per hour. mission peek in fremont, 32. mount tam is up to 24 miles an hour. sanjose airport had a gust to 23. now it's collapsed to 6. same for sfo had gusts to 22. i think it's less than ten. john in sebastopol, 33. gilroy, 36. kenwood and oakmont, 36. mill valley, 39. stanford, 39 and bethel island checking in at 39. sanrafael the target forecast for today. it started off at 39. 50 at noon. we'll go sunny and 64 for a high today. we don't have to worry about any of that east-northeast wind. maybe a north wind.

high pressure continues to just say, you know, i like it here i'm not going anywhere. there's no rain of -- no sign of any rain. this happens in the winter time. if you like rain hang in there, it will come back. clear, no fog, windy at times. the only really think we have to worry about would be systems diving into the sierra nevada. all it will do is give us higher clouds. clear, breezy, to wind -- to windy. 50 to 60. temperatures for a few warm up, like oakland. sanjose, 65. morgan hill, 65. santacruz, 63. mid-60s on the peninsula. occasionally sunny but windy, tori? >> thank you, steve.

7:42. house republicans make good on their campaign promise to pass a repeal of healthcare reform but it won't pass the senate so what happens next? ♪ and you know i'll be standing here ♪ ♪ >> and a recap of the season 10 debut of "american idol" and what's on tap for tonight.

despite some encouraging news, stocks are falling. the reason? worries that china's economic growth may lead to more

aggressive measures to tackle inflation. right now, the dow is currently down. a few minutes ago, michelle obama joined walmart executives to announce a helny initiative. this is to help kids lose w eight. kraig debro is live from walmart in walmart in mountain view. >> reporter: good morning. we're in mountain view and michelle obama and walmart, they say this is about choices. any walmart you go to, you will see the golden arches over

here. it's behind the tree here. i want to make it clear. this is about choices. walmart has a mcdonald's inside. they are vowing to make h ealthier foods more affordable. walmart executives say the store can have a huge impact on the food eaten by its customers. walmart says it will eliminate transfat and packaged foods it sells. with transfat and high sodium rates. michelle obama, introduced a plan. part of that plan includes c

utting time playing video g ames. today, michelle obama praised walmart's decision to go ahead with their healthy food program. i've spoken to the manager here in walmart. we're anxious to get inside and see what, if any, changes they have made this morning. 7:47. well, today house republicans start working on alternatives through the healthcare reform law that they want to repeal. the house will vote today on a measure directly four committees to come up with new legislation. the republicans oppose the mandate that you have to buy health insurance and they want to put limits on jury awards in medical malpractice cases. senate approval is needed, not considered likely. today a modesto woman will be reunited with the international surgical team that gave her the ability to

see again. the 52-year-old is now only the second person in the whole world to have a successful r voice box. she damaged her vocal cords by repeatedly pulling out her breathing tubes during an operation last october. the trauma of 9/11 has r enewed patriotism among young people and the government recently repealed the don't ask, don't tell policy on gay

soldiers. 7:49. 50 years ago today, president john f. kennedy took the oath of office as president. in his famous inaugural astress, he called for americans to ask not what you can do for your country. ask what you -- you know what i'm talking about caroline kenn with members of her father's administrations, civil rights activists and many more celebrating his legacy. today marks the day of president reagan's first inauguration speech. this is video of it here. he served two terms as president through 1989. he was best known for his tax and budget cuts and an economic policy that came to be known as reaganomics. it's on to new orleans as the season premiere of "american idol" continues tonight right here on ktvu channel 2. newjersey got things

started last night. ♪ let it be >> as usual, some sedgers hit a bad note with the judges. the judges gave out 50 of those golden tickets, the hopefuls are now headed to hollywood. among them, a 15-year-old who says celine dion is her inspiration. a messy commute. we're still following developing news. a big tree that fell down on 580, there is a huge backup. sal is coming back to tell you how to get around all of that. america's most famous chicago bears fans talks about his plans for super bowl sunday.

welcome back. several students at a san francisco middle school are being sus he spended now because they encouraged their classmates to eat rat poison. seven were sent away. none of the students who actually ate the-- ate the poison were hurt. a bedbug infestation is causing problems for some. at to get rid of the problem. they say bedbugs are widespread, all over the area. america's famous football

fan is promising the attend the football if, if his beloved h ometown team makes it. president obama is a huge bears' fan. the afc matchup is the steelers taking on the et -- on the jets and the super bowl will air right here on channel 2. oakland raider fans are literallyy embarrassing their new coach. there's dave clark. you were the emcee of last n ight's reception. i'm sure he was really warmly received. >> they loved him! he's a tremendous man.

>> i told him, he has to come here and sit down with us. >> i really want to hear his plans. >> has a good heart. i really, really liked him. let's go to sal because sal is watching a lot of things as well. >> we are watching a lot of things. it looks like you had fun. >> all right. >> let's take a look at what we have -- westbound 580 at park boulevard. the traffic is a -- the traffic is affected by a tree. no imagine ear problems. -- it's amazing no one was hurt by the tree. there is a backup of 15 to 20 minutes. once you get on the bridge, it's smooth on wait into san francisco. if you are driving on 237, south bay commute has been slow. you see how slow it is here. it's also slow on 101 coming up from san jose into the valley.

7:56. here's steve. >> we started the week off with the actually fog, the ground f og. the wind picked up. we are gill set -- are still g etting gusts over 50 miles an hour. overall, the fog is not an issue anymore. sunshine, wind. grizzly peak, fish ranch road. santarosa, west at. cold, sebastopol, 33. gilroy, 36. ken wood and oakmont, 36. 39 mill valley, bethel island. if you are looking for rain hold on until february. we see a difference in the forecast. temperatures upper 50s for some, low to mid-60s for

others. and north wind can be a warm one for few. no changes. just a little wind here and there but a lot of sunshine. >> thank you, steve. 7:57. we'll have more on this hour edevelopping story. a downed tree is causing big problems for east bay commuters.

despite a giant tree down in the middle of the road this morning, traffic is improving on bay area highways but there's bad news behind this good news. the second hour of "mornings on 2" starts now. welcome back. i'm tori campbell. >> i'm dave clark.

it's thursday, january 20th. sal's been telling us about several traffic problems, a big tree fell, too? >> yeah, dave and tori. it's amazing this tree did not come down on a car that was driving by on 580 westbound. e. earlier, our newschopper got some video of the tree as the crews were cleaning it up. they are working pretty hard. but they say it will be at least another 35 minutes before this is cleared up. meanwhile, the two right lanes are closed. one of our views just arriving on the scene now. we'll have our live report coming up soon. let's go back to the desk. the statewide search is still going on for that little boy kidnapped. dive teams are going back to the town of patterson, they are

looking for the -- kidnapper's car. jade hernandez is live with m ore. >> reporter: good morning. the deputy sheriff has been keeping us updated about what dive teams plan to do in two hours. less than 100 feet from where we are standing, there are tire tracks that lead into the water. the divers scoured the canal because of a tip from a f armhand. he said he saw the car roll into the canal the day that little juliani cardenas disappeared. recent tire tracks were found near the bought he -- near the water and a buoy near where the car was seen going in is m issing. we know this morning that divers will be attempting a

risky operation. >> the first daveer -- diver that went in yesterday reported zero visibility, you know, at five. the current of the water is very high. and the water is extremely cold. >> reporter: this is a picture of juliani cardenas. authorities say jose esteban rodriquez thinks he is his son. he's not, according to the mother. let's show you surveillance video which surfaced yesterday morning of rodriquez an hour before authorities say he took the boy. he bought beer from a partyson chevron filling station. rodriquez's car is a silver toyota corolla with oversized

tires. the statewide amber alert is still effective this morning. >> last night 100 people g athered outside the patterson home of the grandmother where the child was last seen. they were praying for the r eturn. the boy's mother and grandmother were there along with those who took part in a very emotional candlelight vigil. >> i just want to say i hope that juliani is safe and warm wherever he's at. hopefully he comes home soon. >> this show of support goes far beyond the small community of patterson. last night even governor brown sent a message to the family, saying they are in his thoughts and prayers. oakland police continue to search for the owner of a pit bull that tooked two people. it happened last night on 69th

avenue. we don't know what led up to the attack or if the owner of the dog was there at the time. but police were called to the scene. officers shot and killed the dog at the scene. both of the victims were taken to the hospital. we don't know the extent of their injuries. the 2010 state of tobacco control report came out and gave san jose a "d." for the second year in a row. sanfrancisco boosted its grade to a "b." that's up from a "c." city of oakland also got a "b." the cities were graded on tobacco prevention and control as well as the clean air. the bare is no longer in the top five when it comes to the -- the bay area is no longer in the top five when it

comes to the worst commutes. it dropped to number 6. >> you may have to deal with carpool lane. but most likely i think it has to do with the economy. nobody is working a lot. 40 hours like they used to -- some are working three days a week. >> this is the first time the bay area did not make the top five since the study began 28 years ago. this year baltimore edged out the bay area for the number five spot. other cities in the top five include washington, d.c., chicago, l.a. and, of course, new york city. >> yes. sal has an eye on all of our problems. how are we doing now, sal is. >> i i would -- i would say we're a c-plus, maybe b-minus for the commute if i had to use the standard grading system.

let's talk about 580. authorities don't expect the tree to be cleared until 8:30. i think a lost people are not aware of it. they are just driving into a see of -- sea of slow traffic. there will be slowing near high street as usual. but i would still choose 580. out to the bay bridge toll p laza, the backup is about 10 to 15 minutes around there. not too severe. once you get on the bridge, there will be more slowing on way to the city. we're talking about the south bay today. northbound 280 traffic moves well getting up to highway 17. 237 slow. 85 slow getting into the valley. 8:07. let's go to steve. >> thank you, sal. >> you are welcome, steve. the actually fog, ground -- tulle fog ground, the wind has blown that out. sunshine, few high clouds. but the wind and some of the cold temperatures, gonna be

plenty to talk about. more of the same tonight, tomorrow. had gusts to 77 miles per hour. yes, at mount diablo. breezy at times. grizzy peak, fish ranch road, 53 miles an hour. oakland, 30 to 40. even in downtown oakland there's been strong gusts. mount tam, 24. sanjose airport did have a gust of 23. last i checked it was only 26. although by chris tas springs reservoir, right now it's a northeast wind except for santa rosa. it's more of a breeze, not really a wind. but that can be a very warm pattern for oakland, san francisco. but i've also seen a northwest wind. the coast has been bassking in the sunshine -- pacificking in the -- pacificking in the

sunshine. basking. low 50s for many. mid-50s for oakland. gilroy, 36. kenwood, oakmont, mill valley was 39. sanrafael is now 41. but they will end up with sunshine. 50 at noon and 6 for a high today as temperatures rebound and out of that fog, even though we start off colder, high pressure is not going anywhere. in fact, if anything it's gonna stick around to the end of the month. so clear, the fog right on down it goes. it gets chewed up. sun, breezy afternoons. clear, breezy, 36 to 52 on some of these lows. by noon, 50 to 60. mid-60s for mountain view, r

edwood city. livermore, dublin, pleasanton, half moon bay, 59 degrees. wind, but a lot of sunshine. the wind will decrease friday and saturday, pick up again late saturday/sunday. >> thank you, steve. for some students in oakland, reporting problems on campus is now as simple as sending a text message. starting this morning, a new program called text a tip kicks off at oakland tech and five other high schools. students can anonymously send text messages to campus police if there is a problem or an emergency. operators will respond by text to the student and send help. but-- but whether students use this? here's what some of them had to say. >> i would do it. i don't think many people would do it. >> i wouldn't want to run the risk of being known as a tattletale. >> the district police chief said he got the idea from the nfl which lets fans text security about inruely behavior in the stands. he says the service costs

yearly and they hope to expand it. san francisco students are celebrating smile week by p utting on a mile. school districts say -- say they hope to use today aevent as a tool to help teach tolerance and promote peace. travel and lee chur magazine as a -- leure magazine has a list of the rude cities. the bay area didn't make the list. losangeles is the rudest city in america. newyork came in number two, followed by philadelphia, miami and washington, d.c. >> maybe they could try to smile at each other and be nice for a change. rush limbaugh is at the center of a controversy. his on-air imitation of

china's president has leland yee asking for an apology.

welcome back. let's go right to tara moriarty. she just arrived at the scene where the tree toppled over on the freeway. what's happening there? >> reporter: we's at boston avenue. this is an overpass overlooking 580. it took cars a little while to figure out they could drive over the flares.

so the two lanes had been b locked for quite sometime. but as you can see, caltrans crews have removed the tree. it toppled into those two westbound lanes. they brought in the clipper. they were able to remove everything. but they were able to -- they were able here at 6:45. a sig-alert was issued. we don't know why the tree fell. all lanes have reopened on 580 westbound. this is just east of park boulevard. traffic has been backed up for at least a mile -- at least a mile. we were in our efforts to try to get here. we actually get going a mile past this location. it was just wall to wall cars.

back to you. >> thank you, tara. >> it's 8:15. after a warm welcome at the white house last night, at the state dinner, china's president faces a tougher crowd on capitol hill this morning. kight's alison burns is live in our washington, d.c. newsroom to explain why. good morning, alison. >> reporter: good morning, tori. let's get right to some b rand- new inform of chinese president hu gin to. hu is getting an earful' sits -- sits down with congressional leaders from both partieses, including nancy pelosi. now, here is what the senate pejorative leader, harry reid, had to say ahead of president h u's visit. >> he's a dictatorrer -- dictator. he can do a lost things. maybe i shouldn't say dictator but they have a different type of government that we have and

that's an understatement. >> reporter: the tough talk at the capitol comes after a s tar- studded state dinner -- dinner at the white house. there were a number of people from the bay area at the dinner, mayor jean quan and ed lee. this is video of the arrival. reporting live from washington, d.c., alison burns, ktvu channel 2 news,. >> thank you. it is 8:17. state senator leland yee of san francisco is accusing radio talk show host rush limbaugh of insulting china apresident. yesterday on his radio show,

limbaugh complained about the lag in the translation. here's how he imitated it. senator yee says limbaugh's comments are sadly indicative that's often plagued as bigotry. frills -- officials say they now know who murdered daniel pearl. u.s. officials using technology that can actually match the v ains in a person's hands, identify the person who killed daniel pearl. recordedly, it's khalid sheik muhammed. investigators concluded that four people helped kidnap pearl but they weren't there when he was beheaded. this week marks 20 years since the beginning of the gulf war and several members of the

senior bush administration are reuniting in texas to observe that occasion. now, these are night-vision images of the first counter offensive against iraq on january 16th, 1991. the attack was in response to iraq's invasion of kuwait five months before. 8:19. gabrielle giffords is scheduled to be transferred to a rehabilitation center in houston as early as tomorrow. a hospital spokeswoman says giffords is able to stand with assistance. the progress comes less than two weeks after being shot in the head. they want to move her to h ouston, where her husband, an astronaut is training to lead the space shuttle "endeavour's" final flight in april.

a federal grand jury has i ndicted jared loughner, the man accused of shooting giffords. he's charged with attempting to kill her and two of her aide. in all, six people were killed in the january 8th campaign. more time is needed to prepare indictments. for now the most serious charge against loughner is attempted assassination which could send him to prison for life. loughner is scheduled to -- scheduled to be arraigned on monday. tomorrow is a very critical day in the hills dale high school pipe bomb case. two doctors will testify whether the teenaged suspect was sane at the time this occurred. it's an issue that could let y oushock avoid prison even if he's convicted of murder. now, he went back to his school back in august of 2009, he was 17 at the time. prosecutors say he was

carrying ten pipe bombs, a sword and a chainsaw and planned to kill students and staff members. 8:20. some disturbing new information has come to light. one pete day parlor owner came up with a bright idea.

we have new information about the fire at the burlingame facility believed started by a cigarette. last month a 67-year-old man died after allegedly dropping a cigarette and sparking a fire. according to state records, a similar incident happened in 2004. a new san rafael pizza restaurant might have to tone down its vibrant paint job. that's after the city's design review board found it a little too bright and shiny for the area. last night, the board asked

those working with the pizza company to soften the bright green and yellow colors. the owner said he used the colors tied to his favorite soccer team. the restaurant is scheduled to open this weekend. toyota agreed to schedule a class-action lawsuit, after they sued that the headlights would shut off with no warning. all of the affected cars are from the 2006 to 2009 model years. toyota is saying it will reimburse the owners for the cost of having the headlights fixed. >> it's really important to have the headlights working. we want to check in with sal. >> i just wanted to mention something we just got into the crash center. it seems like a non-injury c rash. it may slow traffic for you coming out of antioch.

bay area bridges, let's take a look at that. the bay bridge still has about a 10 to 15 manufacture minute w ait. richmond bridge traffic looks good. the san mateo bridge traffic also moving along nicely. along the golden gate bridge, it's crowded but still looks good down to doyle drive. fog is not an issue. we've had some great tweets. occasionally higher clouds but the wind up to mount diablo has been up to 77 miles an however. it's not that bad but we've had gusts up in the oakland berkeley hills. occasionally, the higher clouds come right down from the north. concord, 51. napa airport, 48. any breeze, 50s. downtown oakland is already 57. that's because you get the east- northeast wind coming right off the caldecott. anybody else is in a favorable direction. windy in the hills. fog though is long gone.

a few upper 50s. no rain in sight. that's for sure. occasionally some wind. dave this. >> okay, steve. the latest job report came out just a couple of hours ago. we'll see how it's affecting the stock market. also, some mixed news about the housing market. >> reporter: the plan the n ation's largest grocer just announced this morning that will combat childhood obesity. why uc officials say guaranteed admission for california students, well, it may not be a thing of the past.

this is my band from the 80's, looker. hair and mascara, a lethal combo. i'm jon haber of alto music. my business is all about getting music into people's hands. and the plum card from american express open helps me do that. you name it, i can buy it. and the savings that we get from the early pay discount has given us money to reinvest back into our business and help quadruple our floor space. how can the plum card's trade terms get your business booming? booming is putting more music in more people's hands.

walmart takes a cue from the first lady. it's all about a campaign by michelle obama to fight c hildhood obesity and to make it easier to buy healthy food. kraig debro has more. >> reporter: good morning, dave. i was talking about going into walmart and getting some footage about what they are doing. you know, walmart will always have mcdonald's in its steer. right now they are talking about healthy choices. i spoke to the manager. we're trying to get in the store to see what changes they made already. but both walmart and the first lady say they are not telling people what to eat. they are just telling people there could be healthier c hoices. first lady, michelle obama, was onhand when walmart unveiled the plan to make healthier foods more affordable.

they believe they can have a positive impact on the food those customers buy and eat. the plan, eliminating transfats in packaged foods it sells by 2013, reducing added sugars by 10% and reducing sodium by 25%, all by the year 2015. she's 7 and loves everything that's sugar. i usually have to go to whole foods or -- you know. but if walmart gives those same thing at lower rate, absolutely will go to walmart. >> reporter: michelle obama has made this fighting childhood obesity a cause. a 3.6 million grant from the healthcare reform act is being used in the county right now to combat obesity prevention. walmart expects to to start p

utting these -- to start p utting these packaged foods by 2015. they say that's the deadline. but they say it could happen sooner than that. kraig debro, ktvu channel 2 n ews. it is 8:31. this morning, the labor department released better than expected news about first-time unemployment claims. 404,000 people filed for initial jobless benefits last week. that is down 37,000 from the week before when claims surged. continuing claims also dropped by 26,000 to a seasonally a djusted 3.86 million. a new home sale report is mixed news out this morning. fewer people bought p reviously- owned homes last year than in any year since 1997. how far, last month, home sales increased at the fastest pace in seven months. that may offer some hope for the real estate industry.

the national association of realtors says december sales jumped 12.3% which is much higher than economists expected. they say the fact that mortgage rates are creeping up may have encouraged on the fence buyers to make a decision. 8:32. the university of california's warning budget cuts may shut out thousands of qualified students over next decade. as many as 30,000 students could be turned away from the uc system in the future because the system won't have the money to accommodate them. uc is fating an estimated $ 1 million deficit because governor jerry brown proposed $ 500,000 in cuts. but gavin newsom challenges that idea. he told "the sacramento bee" he believes regents should look for alternatives to some of the cuts suggested by the governor. 8:33. some parents in the mount

diablo school district say plans to close schools -- to close schools could force them to leave the district. >> we bought our home in c oncord, knowing we could go to the other schools. but if those are eliminated then we have to signed om other option. hundreds packed a meeting last night to plea for their schools tos -- schools to be spired. seven schools are on the c hopping block. five are in concord, two are in pleasant hill. trustees are expected to vote in february of 2008. the mercury news reports that in october, the school district was reported to pay $ 1.7 million to kin neticks mechanical service for unpaid construction costs. last week the company was o rdered to pay the company's legal expenses. the district plans to appeal. the mercury news says the school district hasn't paid

anything yet. san francisco police department kicks off the annual campaign to make sure that asian-american businesses are not taken advantage of during the upcoming lunar. now, officials say they -- said they encourage business owners to dahl the -- to call the police if someone tries to extort money from them. the year of the rabbit starts on februaryrd. police in palo alto warn residents to be aware of your surroundings after 20 armed robberies in the last four m onth. last night police held this public forum. police say residents often make the mistake of calling a family member before they called the police which can make it more difficult for the police to solve the crime. because we're getting long

delays. it takes a suspect one minute to go one mile. >> many of these happened lie people were getting out of their cars right if front of -- right in front of their homes. the san francisco police commission wants to find a new police chief sooner rather than later. last night the collision approved a time line that would allow mayor ed lee to name a new chief as early as march 15th. after 18 months on the job, f ormer police chief george gascon is now the city attorney. whoever takes over as police chief could be out -- could be out of a job at the end of the year, that's because the mayor of san francisco could decide to name their own chief. there are new conflicts concerned about george gascon. a public defender says she may request he be removed from an officer-involved shooting --

shooting case. gascon was the police chief at the time and defends the -- defended the officer's action. if the d.a.'s office is removed from the case dah ma law harris would step -- kamala harris would step in. if funding doesn't come through for them, they are proposing to cut service. caltrain is already -- has already frozen salaries for three years and they raised f ares to deal with previous budget shortfalls. the group called the friends of caltrain. they scheduled a meeting trying to come up ways to get long-term funding for caltrain. that meeting will be held in san carlos from 8:30 in the

morning until 2:30 in the afternoon. a lot of transportation information. now we want too check in with sal to see what's happening on the roads. >> all right. i also want to remind you -- remind you i'm on twitter. you can go to ktvu.com and going to the traffic page, scram down you can find me there and link to twitter right away. let's take a look at what we are looking at -- looking at here on 880. i think a lot of people have been using this freeway instead of 580 because of the earlier tree down. the winds are gusty. we've had a lot of e-mails about that. if you drive a small car be extra careful. going out to the toll plaza, there's a delay getting out it to san francisco. if you are driving on the peninsula, highway 101 is busy.

101 through burlingame, if i were you, i would use 280 instead. >> thank you,cy. sunshine, mostly supny. the tulle fog has been wiped out due to a very gusty condition and the stronger gusts have been in the east bay. right now things are coming down for many. areas that had 20, 5 miles an hour are showing five. higher clouds are associated with a weak system which comes in way to the north and straight on down. but that's all we get are the higher clouds. windy at times, sunny for. the fog is not going to be a factor here. sunshine, mild. especially in areas where the wind tails off. few, mount dean blow had a -- diablo had a gust of 2 miles an

hour. oakland, berkeley hills, anywhere from 33 to 53 miles per hour. downtown oakland had very strong gusts a couple of hours ago. mission peak 32. sanjose did have a gust of 23. now sit like 6. sfo-- now it's like 6. 37, santa rosa. but 48 napa. 38 fairfield. 51 concord. oakland 54 is at the airport. sfo is 56. low 50s. there's your trifecta, redwood city, mountain view and hayward, all at 51. some of the co sebastopol and ukiah, 43. these are about an hour ago. kenwood, oakland, 36. mill valley was 39. so was larkspur and san rafael. stanford, 39 and bethel island checked in at 39. that's cold.

the fog has been suppressed well down to the san joaquin valley. clear, no fog, but sunny and breezy. 36 to 52. clear, breezy. a few high clouds. we'll keep that theme going into noon and then most clouds tend to thin out. upper 50s for some. downtown oakland san francisco with this pattern, it should be sunny, mild to warm. low 50s to mid-60s. sunshine across the board, occasionally higher clouds and win but -- and -- but no wind. a tree knocked down by the wind landed right on top of a pickup truck in oakland check out these pictures. it happened on redwood city near detroit avenue of the tree came down right on to a pick truck parked on the street. no no one was hurt but it did knock out power in the area. >> i walked out at about 6:00 this morning. the power lines were down.

i felt completely surrounded b y -- by the power lines. these were all live. >> it's not known how long until power will be see -- will be restored in this neighborhood. and crews have just removed this giant tree blocking t raffic. newschopper2 took these pictures just a short time ago. the tree blocked two left-land lanes. originally someone was telling us it was a00-foot tree -- >> yeah, right. >> a little bit of an exaggeration. i would say a very tall tree. but they've cleared it out. >> you were listening to the wind. >> really strong. a northern california woman makes medical mystery today -- history today doing something with her voice that only one other person in the world has done. ♪ and you know ♪ >> "american idol" is back.

these are live pictures in florida. a police officer has been shot. fort lauderdale, florida. according to report, one person has been shot as well. it looks like everyone is s tanding around right now. so i assume there is no longer a gunman on the loose. but again in fort lauderdale, florida, one officer and another person both shot. breaking news at the moment as we get more information, we will bring it to you. the statewide search here in california is still going on for that little boy kidnapped from his grandmother's arms. in just about an hour from now, a dive teams are going back to a canal in the central valley town of patterson. now they are looking for the car believed to have been used in tuesday's kidnapping of 4- year-old juliani cardenas. the canal is less than two miles from the home where that abduction took place. a farm worker is claiming he

saw the suspect's car plunging into that canal tuesday evening. this is just in. house republicans this morning voted to begin the work of replacing the healthcare reform law they voted to repeal yesterday. the house voted to direct four committees to come one alternative legislation. republicans oppose the mandate that you have to buy hearth insurance and they want to put limits on jury awards of medical malpractice cases. senate approval is needed. and since the senate still has the democratic ma jo, that's considered unlikely. well, the newly appointed mayor of san francisco has had quite a schedule to maintain and has had a lot to deal with. ed lee joins us live from washington, d.c. good morning,ed i. >> good morning. >> it must have been very e xciting. you were not only at the white

house with a state dinner but with the president of kline g naw. all of the mayors are in town. but not everyone invited last night. what's that like? >> that's right. i'm still abuzz. even though i've had quite a few meetings with our representatives as well as departments, every moment i'm still seeing the buzz from last night t was exciting. it was important for our c ountry, of course. as i listen to president obama and mrs. obama welcome and talk with our -- the president of china, there were a lot of wonderful guests to help with that event. it was a spectacular event. >> you mentioned the importance of the visit. the importance of relationship with china, not just for the united states but for san francisco in particular a very growing economy there. i heard you were planning to

invite president hu gin gin to you to president, >> i did get a chance. i spoke in the mandarin ton tongue directly -- tongue directly with president hu. i invited him to san francisco. i said i'm only interim mayor. i only have a year. so make that visit quick. i ran into my good friend, the person i grew up in seattle of washington that was secretary of commerce, gary locke, and we were able to talk about our program in san francisco. and the fact that he had already known that we landed 13 chinese companies in our city who opened up offices and made san francisco their gateway to the rest of the country to do business and we're looking for more of that.

we're applying for grants to the department of commerce and i wanted to emphasize that with the secretary. he was very complimentary on not only our china program but also the work we did on the census. we were one of the leading entities to do that as well. you are in town for the u.s. conference of mayors. what do you hope to accomplish during the meeting with president obama? >> well, the conference mayors is absolutely important for all of us. we have a lot of programs that san francisco started on its o wn. they were great innovative programs but we need to work together with the rest of the city to compare notes, particularly on our budget challengesle already we were in contact before became here to compare notes with mayor villa

rosa from los angeles, the fresno and sacramento mayors. we have a big challenge in congress this year as they embark on looking at the community block grant fend u nderring if and whether or not we're gonna have changes in those. these are programs that are vitally important to the city's recovery. that he are -- they are jobs for all of our san francisco residents in the bay area. we need to keep this going and deep these things funded by the federal government and state government. >> all right, ed lee joining us from washington, d.c. thank you. let's go back to tori and dave. today, a modesto woman will be reunited with the international surgical team who gave her the ability to speak again. 52-year-old brendan jenson is only the second person in the world to have a success full

operation to replace her voice box. she damaged her vocal cords while repeating pulling out her breathing tube when she was m the hospital. the doctors perfmed an 18- hour operation at the uc davis metcal center. it's on to new orleans as the season premiere of "american idol" continues. last night, new jersey got things started. >> some >> some of the singsers hit -- sickers hit a bad -- singers hit a bad note with the judges. the judges gave out 50 tickets to hollywood. this woman says celine dion is her "idol" ♪ >> okay.

>> well, the season premiere of "american idol" continues tonight right here on ktvu channel 2. you can catch it all at 8:00 p.m. >> okay. eight minutes before 9:00. a school campus scare. now police have made a recent discovery in san francisco's rat poison case.

several students at a san francisco middle school are being suspended because they encouraged -- encouraged their fellow students to eat rat poison. several students were suspended last week. investigators first thought the students who passed out the poison mistook to it candy but now the district leaves -- believes those students were well aware it was not candy. none of the students who ate it are hurt. if the -- if the bears make it to the super bowl, president obama will be there. they will be in the super bowl if the bears beat the packers this weekend. >> so we win no matter what? >> yes. >> sal knows what's happening

in our commute. sal? >> i want to show you some things. first of all, we're gonna take a look at some of these pictures of traffic in 880. people are avoiding 580. i also want to show you pictures of the tree. remember the tree that came down on the freeway. it came down on a city street as well. it crushed this chevy el camino there. it's a huge tree. they actually made it over the sound wall of the freeway. they are look work -- they are working to clear it off oakland streets. we're very lucky nobody was hurt by this downed tree. they are clearing it. it's not causing a major issue. here's steve. sal, we had very windy conditions for a while, gusts anywhere from 35 to 55 miles per hour. sunshine today. mostly sunny. there's some higher clouds. if you like this kind of weather you will -- you will like the next three to five days. >> windy, breezy, decreasing. decreasing tomorrow. >> all right. i'm not sure where my patio

furniture is. >> probably in dublin. [ laughter ] >> try to dig it out of the neighbor's. >> probably. >> that will do it for us. thanks for watching. >> bye now.