morning news. good morning. thank you for joining us. it's tuesday february 15th. i'm pam cook. it's been a pretty rainy night. let's check in with steve paulson to see what the weather will be like today. hi, pam. >> hi, steve. >> main front won't be here until later this afternoon. mainly south bay, peninsula and parts of the east bay we are seeing temperatures in the 50s. it's very mild. cloudy skies. light rain in the morning. by this afternoon and evening look for heavier rain. highs today upper 50s and low 60sful here's sal. steve, right now traffic is okay on 880 but the entire freeway system is wet because of the overnight rain. so it's going to be another tough drive to work. also looking at 101 san francisco that traffic looks okay. 4:41. back to pam. the storm has already created traffic problems in many places. the afternoon commute could be a tough one. so you might want to plan for that this morning. high wind warnings were posted on bay area bridges for most of

the day yesterday. and in sonoma county highway patrol officers were pretty busy responding to almost 40 different car crashes. with another storm coming in today and more accidents expected, the chp admits it probably won't be able to provide its normal traffic enforcement. >> yes. absolutely. so we have to be at the top of our game. we still want to do enforcement and stop people before they crash but we have to respond to the one that is do. >> the highway patrol is increasing staffing today in preparation of the incoming storm. officers that normally worm inside will instead hit the streets. new information this morning on an accident on interstate 880 that sent five people including a child to the hospital. that happened at about 8:30 last night in hayward. an suv, van and a car all collided. the highway patrol now tells us that the crash may be dui-

related. an investigation is underway. the incoming storm could cause more flight days at san francisco international today. last night some arriving flights were delayed for nearly three hours because of wind and rain. that could mean airlines having to catch up this morning. now make sure you check in with your airline ahead of time. don't forget to stay with us here at ktvu for the latest on the winter storms moving into the bay area. and don't forget on our website at ktvu.com you can keep an eye on the storms with live storm tracker 2. just click on our weather tab. this morning the oakland fire department is keeping a close eye on a wall in danger of collapsing. ktvu's kraig debro is near the park street bridge where you can actually see it bulging, right, kraig? >> reporter: you can from certain angles. it's on forge street just behind me a few steps from the park street bridge. it's quiet right now but during the commute hour it gets really

crowded. people going to 880 or 23rd avenue or 29th avenue in oakland and the wall that caused the closure of several roads last night is now dangerously close to falling and causing another huge mess. police reopened the street around 10:00 p.m. last night. it was closed earlier in the evening because of precarious tilt of one of the walls in this building. the space used to be rented out for storage and musicians needing a place to practice. that all changed a couple of years ago. take a look at these pictures. a tremendous fire broke out here a couple years ago. i believe it was 2007. flames could be seen for miles. ktvu was the first to show you these flames back then. co-workers coming to work at 3:30 in the morning actually spotted the glow and alerted our news desk. nobody was hurt in the fire but it also brought down part of the carpet business next door. this building is scheduled -- the vacant building is scheduled to be demolished. the questions are when and why isn't it already destroyed?

i'll be trying to get those answers for you. i want to show you the carpet building. they have bounced back here. look at this. this is the building you saw on fire. now look at it. they've totally rebuilt this building even has windows in it where it didn't have showroom windows before. that business has to be worried once again another disaster could strike. reporting live in oakland, kraig debro, ktvu channel 2 news. more than a dozen veterans are now homeless this morning after a fast moving fire in east palo alto. that started late yesterday at a housing facility for homeless veterans on bay road not far from willow. investigators say someone was cooking when the fire started in the kitchen. the flames then raced through the entire house and several people found themselves trapped inside. >> one guy up on the second floor and i looked up and saw the fire was coming from the back forward and he was hovering on the edge and covering his mouth with a wet cloth. >> dozens of firefighters

immediately raced to the scene. they were able to get everyone out of the home safely but that veterans home is now a total loss. several city supervisors will be among those attending a fire victim fundraiser in san francisco tonight. that's to help those who lost their homes in a series of suspicious fires in the castro district earlier this month. investigators say an arsonist set fire to several victorian homes. no one was hurt but the fires left several people homeless and caused hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage. now, tonight's fundraiser will be at the look out bar and grill on 16th and market. it will be from 7:00 to 10:00 p.m. and donations will be accepted at the door. well, a young mom from california's central valley is crediting the statewide amber alert for the safe return of her baby boy. 10-month-old rely ya was kidnapped saturday night and police say 24 hours later the boy's father surrendered the child and turned himself in. the boy's mom believes the

media publicity that followed the amber alert is the reason her ex-boyfriend gave up. >> so happy and blessed that you know he was brought back to me safe and that he's okay. that we got good news instead of bad news. we're so happy. >> she says the suspect threatened to take their son after she ended their stormy relationship. the 19-year-old man is now in jail facing child abduction charges. layoffs are possible for san jose city employees even if the unions make concessions. mayor reed blames out of control retirement costs. those benefits are projected to cost $61 million this coming fiscal year. reed says if no concessions are made, 1100 jobs could still be eliminated. but he also warns that concessions won't solve the problem entirely.

>> 10% for next year will give us about $38 million in savings against $110 million problem. so it's just a piece of what we need. >> he says it may mean reducing staffing on fire engines, restricting overtime and reducing benefits of future police officers. san jose has a $110 million budget shortfall. well, the san jose city council votes tonight on whether to move forward with an energy saving plan that would dim some street lights. the idea is to convert all 62,000 street lights in the city to l.e.d. lights that can be dimmed. it's estimated that could cut san jose's $4 million annual street light energy bill by more than half, but some people say they want to see just how much darker their streets will be. time now is 4:38. and speaking of the streets, let's go to sal for a look at traffic. good morning, sal. good morning, pam. it's going to be busy out there because of the weather today. and we've been telling you that

tonight's commute is going to be quite frankly awful. so you might want to consider taking public transportation. let's go outside and take a look at the east shore freeway and traffic is moving along pretty well as you drive west and continue toward the commute there. no major problems. also this morning's drive on westbound bay bridge looks good coming into san francisco. so, again, this morning's commute might fool you into thinking it's not going to be a bad day but steve will be here in a moment with the forecast might make you think otherwise. looking at the 280 freeway northbound 280 traffic looks good. 4:39. let's go to steve. all right, sal, thank you, sir. light rain in the morning. but sal's correct. this afternoon heavier part of the system will come through, the front, the actually front it's up here right there. but over us now just what we call warm overrunning out ahead of it. there will not be a quiz. pack a good punch by this afternoon and evening. kick in good snow in the sierra. very light stuff in the morning right there. just kind of coming up santa

clara valley, santa cruz mountains, parts of the east bay. temperatures are very mild in the 50s. the cold air arrives tomorrow. 50, 51 to 54 at hayward. on the mild sigh. south wind out ahead of it. that's cold air. that is really cold air. see that whole thing's pin wheeling in. so the front comes in tonight and then the cold air dives southward tomorrow. forecasted models projection on the rain taking us through 11:00 things look pretty good. then that system right there, there's the front by this afternoon 5:00 sal's right on the money with this the evening commute will probably be just terrible. 10:00 tonight still going through. now here comes cold air behind that. that's when that will settle in tomorrow. then we'll have a showery pattern on wednesday. thursday another system comes in. timing on that one will be a little difficult because it may -- it may slow down a bit or stall off the coast. we'll have to deal with that later. today we start with cloudy skies. rain coming in light rain in the morning windy at times later tonight evening rain, yes, there will be morning rain but the main rain, the real rain will be tonight.

55 to 64 because out ahead of that we get a very good south wind. it will be mild. then tomorrow temperatures will fall off the table. cloudy, rain, colder with showers. another system comes in thursday and then colder. there could be a break on saturday. we'll deal with that a little later. >> all right. sounds good, thank you, steve. a major policy addressed today secretary of state hillary clinton will warn repressive governments around the world that restricting the internet will not hold back demands for democratic reform. trying to use the internet to promote democracy with the recent uprising in egypt as an example. regimes that restrict may be able to with stand change in the short-term but not forever. the committee appointed by egypt's ruling military to amend the constitution says the new document will only be temporary until democratic rule is established. restrictions on freedoms will be removed. the military has been in power

since president mubarak stepped down on friday and plans to hand over power to an elected government when that happens. well, at its meeting tonight, the berkeley city council will vote on a resolution to invite two detainees from guantanamo to relocate to berkeley once they're released. now one of the detainees is a russian ballet dancer. the other is an algierian man who once worked as a chef. under the plan the two would live with families in berkeley. a member of berkeley's peace and justice commission says the move would right some of the wrongs of the federal government. a nationwide search for a soldier accused of rape. why he may be headed to california. extra help on bart. the plan to council passengers and police officers. good morning. westbound 24 traffic looking pretty good heading up to the tunnel. we'll tell you more about the morning commute and the bay weather straight ahead.

good morning. some very light rain going through. more cloudy and breezy than anything else. rain comes in this afternoon. it will be moderate to heavy. for the morning commute just light rain. highs today on the mild side. 50s and 60s. cold air arrives tomorrow. the man hunt continues this morning for a u.s. army private who escaped from military custody and may be heading for

california. the 20-year-old escaped from army personnel friday in georgia as he was being returned to jail after a doctor's appointment. he is awaiting extradition to los angeles county accused of raping a 15-year-old girl. he's a native of palm dale, a city north of los angeles near edwards air force base. he's possibly armed and considered dangerous. a critical hearing is set for tomorrow in oakland's controversial plan to crack down on violent street gangs. a judge will begin hearing evidence on the plan to impose restrictions on dozens of suspected gang members in the city's fruit vale neighborhood. the city attorney says the existing injunction in the northern part of oakland has been a tremendous success in fighting violent crime and drug dealing. last year a judge barred suspected gang members from hanging out together and imposed 10:00 p.m. curfew. however, opponents say the city should focus instead on education and job programs that

steer young people away from gangs. well, a valentine's day ritual in the bay area took a new twist this year. several same sex couples showed up to san francisco's city hall to try to get a marriage license. the ongoing legal fight over proposition 8 prevented couples from getting them, but this year some sat on the floor and refused to leave. sheriff's deputies were called in and led them away in handcuffs but they were all released 15 minutes later. >> you know what's going to happen. you know you're going to get arrested and it hurts to have someone tell you to your face as nice as they are that you're a second class citizen. >> a federal judge overturned proposition 8 last summer. that case is now in the hands of a federal appeals court. an effort to clean up the sidewalks gets underway today in san francisco's bay view hunters point. the city says illegal dumping on the streets is a big problem in that area. a team of city workers will be going door to door this

afternoon. they want businesses and people to know that it is illegal to leave things like couches, mattresses, even construction materials out on the sidewalk. it also costs taxpayers millions of dollars to clean up. well, all this week commuters are getting a chance to sound off on those proposed big cuts at cal train. last night angry train riders attended a public hearing at san jose. they responded to the plan to shut down 16 stations and raise fares. it's part of the plan to wipe out a record budget deficit. cal train currently depends on funding from sam tran, bta and muni. >> those three partner agencies are short of money. they can't make the same kind of contribution to cal train's budget. by the time you're all said and done, that's about a $30 million deficit. >> it is shocking that the budget cuts are so extensive. fees just went up this year. so i'm confused as to where the gap is. >> there will be another public hearing in san francisco tomorrow night. then two others in san carlos

and gill roy. that's on thursday night. tonight the dublin city council could make it more difficult for people to have a cigarette. the council will consider whether to extend a smoking ban in larger apartment complexes by 2013. the current law requires that complexes that have 16 or more apartments to forbid smoking in half of the units. the new proposal would increase that percentage to 70%. well, today bart will swear in four police chaplains. bart says the chaplains will be available to offer counseling to police personnel and their families. they will also offer support to crime victims. chaplains are all volunteers and will wear bart police uniforms with the chaplain insignia. bart hopes they will provide a connection between bart police and community members. well, fired for fighting back. the action some wal-mart employees took against an armed shoplifter that ended up

costing them their jobs. and an elderly man survives five days lost in the desert. the unusual item credited with keeping him alive.

welcome back to the morning news. the carnival cruise ship splendor will spend a couple extra days in san francisco. that's according to to the u.s. coast guard. that ship is now scheduled to leave for los angeles tomorrow. now it was in a san francisco dry dock for weeks of repair work after an engine fire last november. now we were told that it would leave yesterday. the cruise line is not saying why that departure was delayed. four former wal-mart employees are considering their legal options this morning. they were fired for fighting back against an armed shoplifter. now back in january the employees say they saw a man trying to steal a computer. they escorted him to a back

office and that's when he pulled out a gun. >> i reached up and grabbed his wrist and his shoulder and spun him around. >> and you have to make a decision. do i fight for my life or do i stand here and watch? >> the workers got the gun and restrained the man until police arrived. wal-mart says they fired the employees because they broke company policy for dealing with shoplifters which states employees are supposed to walk away if a suspect pulls a gun. authorities in arizona say windshield washer fluid helped save the life of an elderly man lost in the desert. the 84-year-old spent five nights in the desert near phoenix after missing his exit off the freeway. police say he drove on 17 miles of dirt road and then got into an accident. he was finally found by some campers who flagged down a helicopter that was looking for him. hank suffers from dementia but was able to utilize things in

his car to help him survive. >> he took a rock, opened the hood of his car and broke the windshield wiper fluid and was using that with a napkin to keep him hydrated. >> he also drank some of the fluid and he ate the dinner leftovers that were in his car. he kept warm by using the floor mats as blankets. coming up on 5:00. let's check back in with sal for a look at the traffic this morning. wet roads out there still this morning, sal? that's right, pam. if you are taking transit i would appreciate you hitting me up on twitter and let me know how your transit thing is going because a lot of people will be on transit today especially since this afternoon we're going to have a tough one. let's go out and take a look at these pictures. san mateo bridge looks okay heading out to the high-rise no major problems. again, steve and i will be telling you and reminding you that the commute this morning is not really going to be the way it is this afternoon. it's going to be a tough drive.

it's already windy here on 880 north and southbound coming up past the coliseum. and if you're driving this morning in san francisco along northbound 101, that traffic is moving along okay getting up to the downtown area. today's forecast here's steve. sal, the morning commute more cloudy and windy. there's some light rain but there's the front. so by this afternoon if you want to go home early i would advise if you don't want to deal with the rain, if you don't care it will be here by this afternoon. we start off with cloudy skies, light rain. nothing too heavy. there have been some decent totals in the last 24 hours. st. helena 1.52. santa cruz mountains an inch and a quarter. after that drops off the table. two-thirds -- quarter to two- thirds to a half inch napa, petaluma, santa rosa. oakland .15 and on the peninsula south bay only a couple 100s. very, very light there. still some light rain santa clara valley east bay peninsula, santa cruz, mountains. that's just the leading edge ahead of it.

temperatures are very mild, 50s south wind that will do it. tomorrow the cold air will plunge in here. now the front itself -- that's a lot of very cold air support. this is all digging towards us. it's going to take its time but it will be here this afternoon. and then overnight the forecast model shows the front coming by later this afternoon right there. and i mean early afternoon it will be into the north bay. by this evening it will be slicing through the bay area. then it will take us into tomorrow. snow up in the mountains. this will be a pretty good snow producer. then tomorrow here comes the cold air. that will be colder unstable air. we'll have scattered showers but cold and breezy more than anything else. next system to drop in will come in around thursday night or friday. but it may stall or slow down a little bit. we'll deal with that one later. but today cloudy, windy at times. evening rain now there's some light rain now. but the heavier rain comes in the widespread rain will be tonight. 50s and 60s. a mild pattern with this south wind out ahead of it. but i think you'll notice the cold air really plunging in here tomorrow. more rain thursday.

showers friday. there will be a break. it's just tough timing right now for saturday. all right. thank you, steve. well, dozens of veterans are out of their home this morning after a fast moving fire with flames blocking the only staircase. what some of them had to do to get out alive. [ indiscernible ] and how the iranian government is reacting to an uprising in the streets of tehran and why it is much different from what we saw in egypt.

i'm tara moriarty live in east palo alto where a kitchen fire guts an entire house. so why are investigators now focusing on this staircase? we'll explain coming up. people in oakland are keeping an eye on a wall this morning in danger of falling. what the city is doing. that's all ahead here on the ktvu morning news. well, good morning to you. welcome to tuesday. it's february 15th. i'm dave clark. good morning. i'm pam cook. let's take a look at weather and traffic. rainy all night. steve, what's it like today? cloudy in the morning. very light rain at times.

mild temperatures upper 50s to low and mid-60s. then this afternoon and tonight that's when the front comes through and we'll have a rainy afternoon and evening. highs today 57 to 64. right now it's not too bad. there's only light rain. here's sal. steve, right now highway 24 westbound as you drive up to the tunnel not a bad drive. the traffic is smooth there. if you're driving on interstate 880, you're going to notice wind. in fact, our camera's shaking in the wind and the wind is going to get your attention on bay area bridges and causeways. now let's go back to the desk. thank you, sal. an unsteady wall is causing some concern in oakland. it is near the park street bridge and it appears to be so close to collapsing that police actually shut down several roads as a precaution. ktvu channel 2 reporter kraig debro is out there with how things look this morning. kraig. >> reporter: yeah, good morning, pam. this is on ford street. it's near the park street bridge as you said there's a seven 11 and family restaurant if you've ever been over