out. >> reporter: there are probably close to a million umbrella. we're on second and mark. it's been steadily raining now for the past couple of hours. parade participants are hoping that does not deter people. you can see folks are line under here getting ready to roll in about 15 minutes. we got a behind-the-scenes look for you. this is the year of the hare, glitter, styrofoam and hours of hard work went into building these floats. we found some trying to stay dry. >> we ran and got some pawn chose and were able to -- ponchos and were able to. hopefully we'll stay dry. >> reporter: now, you will get to see the newly-crowned ms.

chinatown, city dignitaries, such as ed lee. now, the parade will go down geary and end at kearney and columbus. the big shebang is the golden dragon. it's more than00 feet long and it will take 100 martial artists to bring it through. back to you. >> thank you. we turn now to mark toe my with a look at the -- mark toe nye yo with -- mark tamayo with a look at the weather. >> we're tracking the coverage. you can pick out the coverage, blanketing a good portion. coverage. it's cold. those readings only in the low 30s. i'm gonna clear out the sensors and put this into motion. this is the radar loop over the past few hours.

probably over an hour ago we had heavy activity. the intensity began to back up 0 -- back off a bit. we could have results in the shower activity as this moisture lifts off to the north. we still have to hold on to the possibility of showers and a few light showers. but still some breaks in the action right now. at least the forecast for this evening. cloudy and cold with some scattered off and on light showers. temperatures, only around 40 degrees. coming up, though, we do have some snow to talk about. i will also have the breakdown for tomorrow and let you know if these showers will stick around. >> thank you, mark. our live coverage of the parade begins right after this newscast at 6:00. you can watch it here on ktvu channel 2 or you can see it streaming live on your computer at ktvu.com. our website will have video highlights posted ash the --

highlights posted after the parade. that rain kept things wet. this is pleasant hill as the wet weather filled storm drains and saturated the ground. while the rain was not as heavy as it was at times during the week, it was constant. it was cold with temperatures in many places remaining in the 40s. well, from this relentless rain to an unusual flurry of snow, the storm is bringing a little bit of everything today. jim vargas is live now in berkeley where a small amount of snow has fallen. jim? >> reporter: that's right, heather. there's still plenty of snow along grizzly peak boulevard to have a good snowball fight or two. the snow was minimal but stayed on the ground all day in the east bay hills. these kids came from man cota in the -- manteca in the central valley, where it never snows. >> it was the same but kind of

heavier. >> reporter: the weather closed tilden park in the east bay hills and mount tamalpais. but that didn't stop people driving over the hills and in some cases peddling in the snow. >> i should not be doing this. >> reporter: why not? >> it's cold! >> reporter: now, diablo state park remains open. some people hiked the rest of the way. >> it's beautiful, like a postcard. >> reporter: the rain, snow and cold didn't dampen some people's plans to camp out. >> why would you camp in this weather? >> for the challenge. just to camp out. the survival. >> reporter: driving on narrow roads and curves can be a problem. one driver got injured. >> you have to slow down. there's a lost of people stopping on the roadway -- a

lot of people stopping on the roadway, stopping, getting those pictures. it's dangerous. there's people coming around turns. >> reporter: the rain is very, very light now, a little while ago we were getting a combane nation of rain and snow. if it stays cold enough overnight, we might still see some light stuff on the ground. if you are interested, you can get up here but get up here early. jim vargas, ktvu channel 2 news. as might expect, it's -- as you might expect, it's slightly snowing. the biggest flow came falling within the past 36 hours. there's a lot of people. >> we're excited. it's nice, it's beautiful. >> a lot of snow. >> i like playing with snowballs. >> presidents day weekend is traditionally a very busy time for tahoe and this year is no exception with many people braving the roads. here is a live picture of interstate 80 eastbound at sota

springs. you can see traffic is moving just fine. the road has been cleared of snow. there are no chains in -- chain requirements from highway 50 to the sierra. well, the weather is still affecting some bay area airports. at san jose, the delays are minimal and mostly arrive flights from arriving at other airports, experience bad weather. at san francisco airport, a spokesperson said there were nom delays on arriving flights originating west of denver, while departures, for the most part, leaving on time. and in oakland, things have been running for arrival and departing flights. be sure to log onto ktvu.com and click on the storm watch tab. there you will find live radar maps. car sales and high school sports don't seem to have too much in common but there is an

effort underway in the east way. ken pritchett is in concord to tell us how this thing works. >> reporter: here's what they do have in common -- car dealerships and high school students have been hit hart by economic times with funding, those students have been hit or eliminated. right now the two are working together in concord. this is the college park high school wrestling team just back from a winning tournament performance. >> league champs. >> reporter: they are champs because the hard work and coach -- because of hard work and coaching. funding for high school sports for the mount diablo school district was eliminated. this plam has kept the program -- program has kept it arrive. >> without parents stepping up and the funding, no athletics. >> reporter: more is on way at

a car dealership. >> they advertise heavily and it gets people driving in to purchase cars. >> reporter: a percentage of every car sold will go to benefits's keeping the mount diablo school district -- district alive. the dealers have an incentive. >> over a busy holiday weekend, it should be several thousand dollars. >> one will serve the other. i think it works out great for everybody, especially especially with the kids. the kids can use all of the help they can get these days. >> that was ken pritchett reporting live from concord.

the contra costa county sheriff's department says a man who showed up at alta bates summit med cal center is believed to have tried to rob a jewelry store earlier in the. he had a gunshot. the owner shot at attack robbers, hitting one of them, after they smashed display cases. there's no word if if the wounded man has been arrested but officers are monitoring -- monitoring their condition. the new new b.a.r.t. station is located at dublin -- in dublin and west 80. the first train pulled out ut -- pulled out today. >> it really adds economic development to both sides of the freeway. with the bridge between cub lin

-- dublin and pleasanton. this an -- this is an undeveloped area that needs to be developed. >> the station includes nearly 1200 parking spots. it's the first station open in eight years. b.a.r.t. veries are still trying to figure out how several pieces of metal got on the tracks last night. the thin metal scraps were found near the west oakland station around 6:00 last night. and officials soon stopped service on the entire system, causing thousands of headaches for friday night computers. it took about 8:0 for service to return to -- 8:30 for service to return to normal. what's behind the fuss of a truss that came down in washington. and workers in washington worked until the we hours of

morning in the budget battle.

a three-decade old fixture in washington came crashing down. high winds blew over the christmas tree, snapping its christmas trunk in two. the colorado blue spruce was already feet tall when it was tracked from pennsylvania and replanted. they have another tree ready to go for the tree lighting ceremony in december. the republican house of representatives have passed a federal budget. we're live in washington, d.c. with the early-morning vote. >> reporter: kong manmen and women showed up -- congressmen

and women showed up for work. after days of debate, they passed the $1.2 trillion spending regulation. every democrat voted against it. every republican voted for it except for three, jam campbell, jeff blake and walter jones. look at the scene on the house floor at the chamber right at the end of that very long work dey. >> on this vote, the yays are 5, the nays are 189. the bill is passed. >> so the bill includes a ban of federal money for planned parenthood. cuts for the epa and irs authority. and healthcare reform money. john boehner said at 4:40 a.m.

said we will not stop yet, not when we're broke and washington spending binges are making it difficult. nancy pelosi said, "the republican spending bill destroys jobs" and their reaction is "so be it." democrats have a different message, "show us the jobs." the current spoker and former -- speaker and former speaker disagree on this. they have a deadline. march4th, the government runs out of money. if they can't figure out a way to pass it by then there's a chance the government could shut down by then. bay area democratic lawmakers were quick to blast republicans for passage of the spending bill. barbara lee says, "at a time when congress should be working to create and preserve jobs, republicans just passed a bill that will give a pink slip to 800,000 workers across the nation. this plan hurts everyone in

every community across america." lee said she offered amendments to the bill to preserve the spending for the long-term unemployed. john garamendi said -- >> both lee and garamendi voted against the bill along with every democrat and three republicans. a wisconsin lawmaker said state employees agreed to contributing more to their pension plans but no will the -- but will not agree to end collective baggingenning -- bargaining. >> reporter: no rest this weekend for opponents of wisconsin acontroversial budget bill, who for a fifth day marched at the state capitol in madison to voice their displeasure over the bill. the bill would raise the cost of benefits for workers.

republican governor the governor -- governor scott walker says this is necessary to avoid laying off state workers. opponents say the plan sounds fishy. >> we are broke. we are broke in wisconsin. >> reporter: this one was one of the walkers who came out on saturday. >> i don't think the concessions the governor is asking for are out of line. >> unbelievable! unprecedented! un-american! >> reporter: the talk has been just as heated in the state legislature where the bill is at an impasse, 14 state senators, 12 democrats and two republicans brought the senate to a halt fleeing the capitol to a halt. >> our governor has come out very strongly. he's not gonna bend. that's why we elected him. >> reporter: i'm shelby lynn.

president obama used his weekly address to stress the importance of education. >> we have to have the best trained, best-skilled force in the world. that's how we will ensure that the best google, best intel is created in america and hires men workers. >> the president went to portland, oregon and he praised the company for making a ten- year $200 million commitment to promote math and science education. jerry brown's proposed state budget passed a major hurdle. moving through two key legislative committees. both committees passed versions of the original plan sparing some social programs. the state faces a budget deficit. brown's proposal calls for deep cuts to education and social programs as well as asking voters to extend some taxes. the governor hopes to have a final plan ready for the

legislature -- [no audio ] >> researchers hope to use technology used to test wine in a bottle as a way too defect liquid explosives. if the technology works, the scientists say passengers may, once again, be able to take large bottles of water or soda through security. those items, as we all mow, have been restricted since -- as we all know, have been restricted since 2006. violent crashes -- clashes break out in germany where police try to keep counterdemonstrators from attacking right-wing protesters marking the destruction of an historic city. and there is know letting up in the protest in the middle east. hear what country is next to hold an demonstrations -- to hold demonstrations.

in news of the world, in the waters off somalia, pirates have kidnapped four americans, including a southern california couple. the pirates boarded "the quest" yesterday and are still at sea heading for the country. a court sentenced a somali pirate to 33 years in prison

for hijacking a ship in 2009. in germany, police used tear gas to try to keep demonstrators back. the clash is an annual event, where far-right demonstrators gather in february to mark the anniversary of the firebombing, which killed at least 25,000 people. city officials say the counter demonstrators far outnumbered the demonstrators. and in iran, authorities freed two german journalists arrested four months ago after they interviewed the son of a woman facing a death sentence. an iranian court overturned their sentence instead of fining them $34,000 each. iran has never said what the acts were they did. no word on when the two may return to germany. gunfire is not deterring demonstrators in the middle east and northern africa.

here's more on the wave of protests for political change. >> reporter: massive anti- government protests continue across the middle east and northern after friday dark a wave of unrest in the region has been emboldened by uprising in tunisia and egypt. in bahrain, thousands of demonstrators celebrated in the capitol. earlier this week, the government used force against demonstrators but now it appears to be backing away from further confrontation. >> today, we are all happy that we have achieved, that we have come out and we need to change the government. >> reporter: in libya you, pro- government forces reportedly hoped fire at people attending a funeral. at least 15 people were killed and many more were injured in the attack. libyan security forces have been cracking down on protesters since tuesday. a human rights group estimates

more than 08 people have died. in yemen, riot police short -- reportedly shooting at protesters. demonstrators were attacked with clubs and knives. an in algeria, a government trying to block a rally by thousands of pro-democracy supporters. security forces are breaking you the crowd to keep them from organizing. the country is riddleled with corruption and has never successfully grappled. >> translator: the state didn't give us money. the state didn't care for us. meanwhile in kuwait, hundreds of stateless arabs clashing with police demanding citizenship. in new york, julie banteras, fox news. a canadian publisher has announced it will release an unauthorized biography of

julieian assange. : there are reportedly graphic details about the two women he assaulted. assange is waiting on the decision to be extradited to face charges. >> the finings appear in the journal of science. a surprise visitor leaps to the store's closure. and we'll have a story on more problems with oakland police radios coming up.

employees in a san jose rite aid are still cleaning up after an suv came through the window. the lexus would have struck people inside if it weren't for the sport pole that stopped the progress. that pole needs to be stabilized before the shopping center can reopen. the driver told authorities the car was in park the entire time and no one was hurt. the high level drug task force lead egg arrested on drug charges spent his first night out of jail since early this

week. john sasaki has more on the rippled effects on the commander's arrest. >> reporter: we're at the jail in martinez where norman wielsh bailed out. until wednesday, the county narcotics enforcement team was run by norman wielsh. >> for now, c-net's operation have seesed -- ceased. >> reporter: c-net acts for smaller sets such as walnut creek and pittsburg. >> one person after being vote mated to do -- motivated to do bad things is hard to stop but we can put procedures in place to make it harder to do that.

>> this was not a good operation. >> reporter: in downtown martinez, weil -- wielsh's arrest has raised doubts among citizens. >> if you can't trust him, who can you trust? >> that's there's no word we need -- there's no doubt we need the team together but at what cost? we need to make sure policies and procedures are in place, checks and balances. >> reporter: i was told on thursday, wielshes could cause dozens of c-net -- cases to be dismissed. back to you. a couple parked in their car in east oakland was shot and killed last night. a man and his girlfriend were on their way to a party.

the car was at -- was parked at 62nd. the party was declared dead at the scene. this is the 18th and 19th killing in oakland so far this year. oakland police officers were called to a second shooting but the efforts to secure the crime scene were hampered by a problem that's become far too familiar. allie rasmus has more. >> reporter: oakland police investigators say a party in one of the third floor rooms at the la quinta inn got out of hand. a confrontation broke out, and several shots were fired. >> the hall was full of people -- people running and screaming and crying. >> reporter: the officers couldn't communicate with each

other other with -- or with dispatchers because of problems. so they had to go back in the car and use their car radios. >> and that used a little bit better to help us communicate which helped us to communeny -- coordinate the scene there. >> reporter: but to do that you had to leave your posts surrounding the building? >> some people did, yeah. >> reporter: this morning, officers at oakland's eastmont station learned the radio station that usually covers east oakland was down. it's a the -- it's the latest in a string of issues and they lost contact during a high- speed chase and officer- involved shooting -- shooting. at the dispatch center, police said the crews are aware of the radio problem and are trying to fix it. allie rasmus, ktvu channel 2 news. about 90 minutes ago, the oakland city administrators officer sent us a statement

saying weather and old age causing one failure. it reads -- twin cities police are searching for a man who robbed a greenbrae bank. police say the suspect did not appear to be armed. he's describessed a -- described as african-american with a light complexion, 0 to 35. he has a medium build, was clean shaven and wearing prescription glasses. anyone with information call twin cities police. if you like -- if you like biking you will like this. enthought after thes are trying to get the wheels -- enthuse after theists are trying to get the wheels turning for the

amgen tour. more than 4500 volunteers participated with 300 of those providing support in san jose. for more information about volunteer opportunities for the race, you can go to our website ktvu.com. antioch police officers put down their guns and pick under a serving tray today to help special olympics. the department held the event where officers volunteered as waiters at the local's chili's restaurant. they raised close to $1700. all of that money will go to the special olympics which trains and hosts competitors for athletes with developmental disabilities. the police department says the success of the event is a credit to the carrying and futuring nature of the community. a london source taking marketing to a whole new level. why customers are urged to stare into the pinwheel. and how much longer is this wet weather gonna stick around? mark tamayo will be here with the bay area forecast.

the brown's focus store has installed two pinwheels in the front windows. the stores say this is finding more ways to tap into people's sub -- subconscious. the store's opener want people to feel better about themselves so they will buy more. chronic fatigue patients could benefit by a combination of therapies. the greatest improvements in both fatigue and physical function were experienced by

patients would received cognitive or exercise therapy. the study can be found in the online edition of "the lancet." nasa scientists released the first results of the first cosmic census. scientists estimate there are 100 billion stars in our galaxy. nasa says the number of plan nets they found in the first year was found with the telescope. everyone is wondering if it will keep raining. >> the rain is beginning to back off over the past hour or so. as a result, we could have more breaks in the action. right now on the maps, i can show you the coverage in the bay area. the south bay, also toward parts of the east bay and north bay. we'll come in tight closer to

san francisco. the darker shades of green, and we'll make up with heavy downpours, closer to san rafael and and around the richmond bridge. a lot of this action is heading to the south. as a result, we have light rain to report in san jose. morgan hill and gilroy, where it's cold enough. we're talking about the snee. it's coming down to about 1500 feet. here is a look at the winter weather advisory. this is the first time we've talking about this all season long until 7:00. this is about to expire, this for the east bay hills and also for the santa cruz mountains up above 7,000 feet. we coo have a amounts approaching 2, 3 inches. decrease in showers.

it's cold out there. it's a chilly morning but no rain clouds. the extended forecast. we've introduced the rain chances. this was the case today this area of low pressure dropping in. we had the cold showers and the snow in the bay area hills. as we do head into your sunday, this moves out of town. we'll have partly cloudy skies. a dry day but that's after a cold start. here is a look at some of the projected lows, first thing in the lower 30s with patchy frost. you can see our model pulling bang from the coverage but still a chance all evening long but into sunday, nothing to show you with skies becoming partly cloudy. we'll be dry into monday and tuesday. on monday there is a slight chance of a shower, we'll be waking out for that. highs for tomorrow afternoon will be warming u -- will be warming up. sanjose, 54. morgan hill 53. still for the most part pretty chilly out there. here is a look ahead at the five-day forecast into monday

there is that slight chance of a shower, should not be a big deal and then tuesday/wednesday, partly cloudy skies. beyond that point, we could be talking about more rain chances and even cooler air moving into the bay area. remember last week we were talking about the 70s. >> yeah. >> pretty neat seeing the pictures. mount tam, amazing pictures. kind of a change in weather theme across the area. >> 80s and then snow. the golden gate audubon society is still looking for people to help with the annual bird count. every year, thousands of residents count birds for the society. the event runs through monday. organizers say it can take as little as 15 minutes to help out. volunteers submit their entries online. the information is used to see how the urban environment is

affecting bird species. well, the 2011 chinese news -- chinese new year parade is getting underway. let's check in with julie haener and ben torres. >> hello. we're live in downtown union square where so many people are gathering. we're gonna see the colorful floats, and the lions and dragons. we'll see the testify tri -- trophy as well from the giants' world series. >> we'll also have an appearance by san francisco's new mayor, ed lee, the first asian-american mayor in an american city. a lot of the streets in the area are shut down as the action is beginning to begin. everyone out here celebrating chinese tradition and culture. this is the year of the hare, r

it's raping and it's so chilly -- raining and it's so chilly. fans are gathering around the bleachers. just a testament to how much they love this parade. it's more than 150 years old. we'll bring it to you at exactly 6:00 tonight. so stay tuned for all of the sites and sounds. back to you. >> looking forward to. have fun. our coverage of the chinese new year parade begins right after this newscast at 6:00. you can watch it live here on ktvu channel 2 or you can see it seeming -- screaming live on our website -- streaming live on our website. the website will have highlights. >> the funnest part is at the end when all of the fire crackers go off. all right. coming up, the green flag drop on the nascar season as a wild season of daytona welcomes in the nationwide series. sports is next.

nascar is set for the start of the new season and its biggest race of the year. tomorrow's daytona 500. today a week's worth of preliminary events wrapped up. >> drivers, start your engines! >> the 2011 nationwide series is underway! >> many of tomorrow's drivers getting warmed up today in the nationwide race. this is close quarters driving. when you get too close this is what happens. todd bodine gets in the back of michael annette. that sends him spinning. danica patrick steered clear. patrick finished a career high 14. 16 laps to go. similar type of accident, landon casting gets into brad keselowski. and then the cars take the

brunt of it as the drivers were all okay. the track turned into a big parking lot for this one as they stopped the race to clean everything up. >> the finish was something that will probably be repeated tomorrow. the new cars and the new event made for two cars. looked like clint boyar just held off tony stewart in the blue number 4 on the outside. the broadcasters calls it for boyar but the finish was so close. but it showed that stewart but car just edged out boyar. this is becoming a regular thing for stewart, fourth straight win in the nationwide warmup to the daytona 500. >> landon pushed and pushed and pushed and did a really good job. we just ran him down. got there in just enough time. >> junior ducked under me. i had to block him. all hell broke loose. awesome ending. that's the thing that's so much

fun about this case, is you know, no matter what the race is, the ending is always great. >> two teams battling for pac 10 dignity meet at stanford. usc is in town. the trojans 6-7 in conference play. cardinals are 6-8. washington against arizona. the wildcats trailed by one. jarrett made a nice pass to jessie perry. solomon hill gets the put-back. the wildcats up one. it came down to this, the huskies trailed by one. darnell had a shot of the lay- hup that was swatted out of ground by williams. williams saved the day, they web it 87-86. the wild casts improved to 12-2 in conference and washington, had its fifth conference law -- conference loss. the cornhuskers hadn't beaten a top three team in a

few years. it's a three-point game in the final seconds. the longhorns can tie with the three. but brown comes up short and they celebrate in lincoln, 70- 67 the final, texas loses for just the fourth time this year and the first time in conference play. bay area products steve lavin and st. johns trying to impress the commitment -- the tournament. the panthers got the lead by 1. dwight murray then drives the baseline and throws up a reverse lay-up that goes. pittsburgh has to go desperation. brad's shot comes up well short. if you thought hardy looked like he might have been out of bounds, you would be right. but it's a no call -- that would have been a tough call to make on st. john's tough court. in morgantown, west virginia hosting notre dame. johnny west with his only 3 points as the game. if that thame sounds familiar,

yes, johnny, the son of jerry west, an alum and hall of famer. later in the second half, darryl truck bryant took off. bryant with 3 of his 24 points. mountaineers take this going away, 7-58. a bat of age over youth in golf's northern trust tournament, formerly known as the l.a. open. 51-year-old fred couples trying to turn back the clock and -- clock and takes a two-stroke lead today. phil mickelson, missing a short par putt. mickelson, not in the hunt, 12 shots off the lead. not so for aaron baddeley. this was the first of three street birdies for baddeley. who moved in front of mulls. kevin nau. nau would tap in for birdie. that leaves had him one shot off the lead and couples is

hanging tough, hitting his third shot. he doesn't come as close as nau but also took a birdie after this shot. if couples and his back can hold together, he can make a run of it tomorrow. he's one stroke back. >> the the leader is aaron baddeley, hitting his fourth shot. he's close enough to save par after those three straight birdies. baddeley shot 67. he leads couplele and nau -- couples and nau by a stroke. the lp. >> a got started in -- the lpga got started. michelle wie, has the lead. but it was the top-ranked player in the world who leads, lonnie singh. she made the eagle putt. she shot a 70 to wie's 71 for the one-stroke lead. paula creamer, two spots --

shots back. still more to come on this sportscast. we'll be right back

carmelo anthony might be better suited changing his name to carmelo drama anthony. the saga of where he will land has taken over the headlines. the lead's trade deadline is looming. the nets said to be willing to part with four first-round draft picks for anthony. and the knicks want him right now, the nuggets are a playoff team, number 7 in the west. and a work stoppage could be in the works when the bargaining agreement stops in the offseason. a bay area college football star dayed -- died at the age of 80. he was a member of the 1951 usf team undefeated but not invited to a bowl game when he and

another african-american player, beryl toller, would have been exclude from participating. matson played 54 years in the nfl and had been ill for several years, before dying of respiratory failure. that's it for sports. we'll have more at 10:00 on "sports wrap." coming up tonight on the 10:00 news, another soggy day in the bay area, even snow in some places. which places took the brunt of this latest storm and when we may finally, finely start to dry out. the story is coming up tonight on the 10:00 news. that's our report for now, everyone. i'm heather holmes. >> i'm ken wayne. thank you for joining us. our next newscast is the 10:00 news. stay right here on channel 2 for live coverage of the 2011 nye cheese new year's parade. it starts in just a few minutes. don't go away. there's a live picture of union square where hundreds of thousands of people have gathered to watch this event. >> have a good night. >> good night. g>g>gg>g>o>o>o>g>g> g>o>g>g>g>go>g>g>o>g>g>o>g

lively union square in san francisco, the southwest airlines chinese new year parade with your host ben torres and julie haener. >> we are celebrating the year of the hare. and it is a good thing the rabbits like the company of others because we are surrounded by revelers gathered in union square tie trying to get a good view of the chinese new year parade. i'm ben torres. >> and i'm julie haener. thanks for joining us in this tradition. the chinese new year promises to be a time to catch your breath and calm your nerves, a welcome reprieve after the year of the tiger. >> it is time to