the ktvu channel 2 news at noon starts now.

good afternoon. we begin with the first sign of positive news in japan's struggle to avoid a nuclear meltdown. we're just getting word that a new power line to the truck fukushimi -- >> reporter: crews tried to cool reactors after white clouds drifting from one reactor believed to be leaking radiation forced japanese workers to temporarily eevacuate. >> translator: if the fuel rod gets exposed, it can become fragile and there is a chance of that rod breaking once any shock is given. >> reporter: japanese helicopters pulled out of

wednesday's mission following the release of steam of the vessel of reactor number 3 which top government officials report was not damaged. during an extremely rare address to the nation, japan's emperor now address the crisis. >> translator: i'm deeply concerned about the nuclear situation because it's unpredictable. >> reporter: he offers con dole licenses to the victims of last -- con dole licenses to the victims of -- con dole licenses to the victims of the tragedy -- condolences to the victims of the tragedy last week. the quake hit, following a tsunami and survivors are still being found. >> the chance of survival is small but we'll do our best to see if we can get nun.

david piper, fox news. as we mentioned, people who live near the fukushima power plant are being fested for exposure -- tested for experson for radiation -- exposure to radiation and the radiation levels surged to about 300 times the normal level at one point. that also forced a temporary evacuation of nuclear plant heroes being hailed as heroes. they've since returned and small teams are rushing in and out to pump sea water into overheated reactors. again, a new power line may be ready soon that will help solve the crisis at that nuclear plant. in the meantime, the weather has turned cold in japan, making life even tougher on survivors and rescue workers. it's now snowing in the northeast part of japan. that's the area hardest hit by the earthquake and tsunami. it's now been five days since

the dual disaster and searchers are finding fewer people alive. at this point, more than 450,000 people are living in temporary shelters and some are so overcrowded that many people are being turned away. plus, with food, waters and things like heaters in short supply, many shelters are crying out for help and gas shortages are making it difficult for delivery trucks to get supplies to the shelters. a group of scientists here are keeping an eye on things here. noaa operates out of the lawrence livermore national laboratory. so far, the scientists say they've not found any evidence that dangerous levels of radiation from japan will reach the u.s. but they are continuing to monitor wind changes and rain patterns. the crisis in japan is affecting some california students in that country. the california state university

chancellor says he wants all csu students currently studying in japan to return as soon as possible. a dozen of them are from san francisco state. chancellor reed also suspended the japan program until further notice. according to the san francisco "examiner," 35 stanford students are also on their way back from japan and 17 uc berkeley students have been accounted for but are not being ordered to return. there seems to be a smartphone app for almost everything. today we're learning about a new app that can help you get some help from someone nearby if you are having a heart attack. jade hernandez joins us live to explain how it works. >> reporter: if you know cpr, at any time you can save a life. but now your aid can be tapped easier before. it's as easy as downloading an app. we're live at 19th and fulsom. this is where san francisco attorney dennis herrera backed

the partnership with the city and county to develop an app to pool with the city's bystanders with c d.a -- cpr knowledge. the city is getting help from the san ramon fire department which was the first to download this app that will send an alert to those who know cpr. right now, san ramon has 30,000 users of which are signed up as cpr trained. to date, 1 million notifications have been sent out. sanramon's fire chief is confident. >> when cpr is started and an an ed is -- and an aed is applied, this can help by 80%. >> i can't tell you how excited the city and county of san francisco is excited to be a participant in this effort. >> san francisco fire department prides itself of getting within any emergency

within three to five minutes. in order to bridge that gap of three to five minutes, it's essential and so important if we have bystanders stepping in. >> reporter: san francisco fire chief joanne hayes was convinced this app needed to be deprecated in san francisco -- needed to be replicated in -- in san francisco. only a quarter of people get the help. >> give people that 08 to 50% because bystander cpr is the key -- 80% to 50% because bystander cpr is the key. >> reporter: reporting live, jade hernandez, ktvu channel 2 news. >> thank you, jade. the california public

utilities commission today is considering whether to fine pg&e for submitting incomplete safety records on its high pressure pipelines. last night, just before 5:00 p.m., the utility gave the p .u.c. about 90% of the records demadded. 8% remain missing, including a portion of the pipeline that exploded in san bruno last september. pg&e says they are still searching for the documents and plan to replace or retest 150 miles of pipeline. the homeless are getting some much-needed assistance today. it's at the project homeless connect in san francisco. kraig debro joins us live to explain what's being offered there. good afternoon, kraig. >> reporter: good afternoon, tori. you can just get everything here at the bill graham civic auditorium, homeless can get services, and they can even get services for their pets.

there's vet services here. today the need stretched down grove street and around the corner on hyde. there's no telling when people started to line up. passersby might have mistaken the line for people seeking concert tickets or a chance to get an app phone. >> we're giving them an opportunity to talk with us, where are they going? what do they need to get off the streets. >> hopefully, as we have this opportunity to work with them, to provide them with the service, i think we'll be able to turn a few heads and say if you want to get off the streets, we can tell you -- help you do that. >> reporter: this provides sal ruable services for -- valuable services that are hard to find elsewhere. eye exams and dollars, at least a $200 value, here, both are

free. wheelchair repairs are free here. the one thing that's difficult is housing. >> i need shelter now. when i go to these different types of agencies, most of the time they don't have a bed. >> reporter: this is the 38th time project homeless has sponsored this event and while there's some public money involved, obviously the auditorium is being used and there's police here. most of the services are donated from the private vector -- sector. kraig debro, ktvu channel 2 news. >> thank you, kraig. just ahead, why lab protesters were marching on the california regents meeting in san francisco a few hours ago. also, one of the most famous athletes in the world making a plea to help former berkeley students in trouble overseas. meteorologist mark tamayo says don't let the break in the storm fool you. more rain is headed our way.

also -- >> they will have to handcuff me, drag me by my ankles. i'm standing up for what's right. >> it's deadline day for a community being forced out. we'll tell you what they plan to do next.

we have developing news out of southern california, where about 90 minutes ago, five people were killed in the crash of a twin engine plane. the faa says the plane went down at 10:30 this morning, at long beach airport, bursting into a ball of flames. one person survived the crash but suffer -- but suffered severe injuries. the plane's wings and fuselage were scattered on a grassy medium and the tail was done. the plane was take -- gone. the plane was taking off -- taking off when it crashed. a u.s. congressman said this morning that pakistan has dropped charges against raymond davis and he's flying home with the u.s. ambassador to pakistan. davis was accused of killing two pakistani men who he says tried to rob him. they were ordered to pay $2 million to end the dispute.

a prominent muslim and icon has joined the effort to get two hikers freed. today, muhammed ali addressed a letter that he wrote to the prime minister there to release shawn bauer and josh fattal who were arrested in 2009. sarah shourd was released in september after ali wrote a similar letter. the next court date is set for may. the state and senate both have votes on -- have both ons the governor's -- have both have votes on the governor's plan on the budget proposal

today. we've just learned in the past few minutes that the victim of a shooting in oakland this morning has die. it happened about 8:0 and west and 37th -- 8:0 at west and 37th street. when police arrived, they found a man and woman were injured. both were taken to the hospital. but the man died a short time ago. an update on a story we've been following here on channel 2. right now, members of a richmond church are staging a sit-in to fight what it calls a fraudulent evacuation. no one knows exactly when authorities will give parishioners the boot. about a dozen people at bibleway community church are waiting for contra costa county sheriff deputies. a sheriff's spokesman told ktvu the conviction could come any time between now and next week. the church's pastor is fighting what he calls a predatory loan. he accuses the bank of forging

his signature, a claim the bank denies. >> the loan was wrong and they are doing everything they can to cover up themselves. they are forcing us out and we're forcing them to look at the loan. that's where we're at. we're willing to get arrested today. >> the church offers services for teens, mothers and others down on their luck. if you are planning to celebrate st. patrick's day tomorrow night be forewarned dui police patrols will be out in force. law enforcement answers will be targeting drunken drivers. contra costa county will run sweeps and patrols. patrols will be stepped up in eight gray -- areas with high

dui rates. now back to the crisis in japan. a teacher from san francisco got caught in the middle of last week's tsunami disaster in japan. she's now describing her terrifying experience. she was among dozens of teachers and students who had to race to higher ground when the tsunami sirens sounded on friday. she said enormous waves turned her entire town into a vast pile of rubble. i mean, i wish i had a picture of what it used to look like, a beautiful, healthy town. it was probably the most devastating thick i've ever seen. >> she said she's lucky she's still alive. thousands are missing and presumed dead. stay with cute channel 2 news for continuing coverage on crisis in japan. we'll bring you the latest developments both from japan and here in the bay area. also, our reporter, jana, is in tokyo. she's bringing you reports

online and on air. this morning, toyota announced it will keep its factories in northern japan closed at least one more week. the world's largest automaker shut down all 12 of its plants in japan on monday due to ongoing energy shortage as and that translates to a pro diction loss of 40,000 vehicles so far. the earliest those plants will reopen is next tuesday. but toyota says it will restart production of spare starts to japanese zealer -- dealerships tomorrow. the board of regents is meeting for budget talks. >> we'll be back! we'll be back! >> they gathered at ucsf mission bay this morning and they will be at ucsf medical center this afternoon. they say they are not being paid enough and are angry about the cuts. uc regents will not make any december sigses today.

he-- decisions today. they are discussing how governor brown's funding cut will affect the university system next year. we're in the middle of an active weather pattern but what somewhat of a break today. you can still see lingering clouds out to bay point with a current temperature of 56 degrees. still the possibility of a few sprinkles today across the bay area but not much in the way of significant rainfall. right now you can see a little bit of activity just to the north of calistoga. that's about it. not a lot to show you. a few sprinkles are closing in on cloverdale as well. as far as rainfall totals, very impressive up in the north bay, santa rosa, over an inch. sanfrancisco, about .14 and san jose pretty much the same deal as well with the front at least the amounts beginning to taper off as that front moves to the south. current numbers out there, showing you quite a few 50s. sanjose, 56. concord, mid-50s and napa right now checking in in the upper 50s at 57.

here is a look eight the overall weather story. we have this -- partly to mostly cloudy skies. tomorrow a sun/cloud mix. there is a chance of a light shower that will be favoring the north bay. strong storm is set move in on friday and the weekend, cold showers and a fairly good bet of thunderstorms. here's what's happening in the last 12 hours. you can see the front approach the frontal system generating the rainfall yesterday and earlier this morning. this will gradually sag to the south. you can see the pacific. there's our next storm and that will be a storm moving in on friday, packing heavy rains, strong winds and probably initiate a fairly good bet of thunderstorms. these the next significant weather event. as far as this afternoon, we still have lingering clouds out there. once again, the chance of a few sprinkles that would be favoring the north bay. this forecast model is scaling back on some of the cloud cover here but at least partly cloudy skies if not a few multi-cloudy

observations, tomorrow watch out for dense fog and showers. that will be favoring sonoma county and also parts of marin county as well. it's only a chance. for this afternoon, a sun/cloud mix, 57 to 62. 53 to 58 with partly cloudy skies. 47 to 52 degrees. temperatures this afternoon gonna warm up probably about 3 to 6 degrees from some of our current levels. sanjose 63. here is a look ahead with the five-day forecast. for thursday, a light shower and get ready for more rain over the weekend, very unsettled with the possibility of thunderstorms and we could have snow in the bay area hills. we are a kind winding up winter as we head into the weekend but it will feel like winter. >> and spring starts monday? >> sunday afternoon. >> okay. thank you, mark. today, san jose residents can comment on creating a new area code. the 408 area code is exhausted.

there are too many cell phones in the area and it should be split into 408 and 669. today's public meeting is at 2:00 p.m. at city hall. ahead why it will cost you more to live in the bay area. and a breed of dogs need your help.

taking a live look at the

big boards on wall street. the dow is down 170. nasdaq down 30. s&p is down 17.5. fees are rising for people who withdrawal money from automated seller -- teller machines. banks are scrambling to replace revenue lost by new banking regulations. chase is reportedly testing $4 and $5 fees for atm withdraws by customers of rival banks. that's up from $3. the silicon valley animal shelter is offering a name your price deal to adopt a chihuahua. officials say there are haven't -- there have been several dropoffs of the dogs. typically the fee is $150. right now you can pay whatever you want and go home with a chihuahua. coming up on the news at 5:00, in japan this morning, officials have doubled the null of crews working to cool that

nuclear plant. find out what they -- what they are doing to contain the radiation. and find out about there's fears about whether the food is safe to eat and why experts say that's unfounded. that will do it for us. thanks for watching. have a great day.