how the u.s. is hoping to prevent a nuclear disaster in japan while not putting lives at risk. >> reporter: u.s. customs and border protection is specifically monitoring traffic from japan. we have a live report from sfo. >> reporter: and what happened today that could mean a better commute for commuters of the east bay.

we begin with the obama administration announcing that the radioactive zone leaving japan does not pose a risk for this area. these are the latest aerial images of the fukushima dai- ichi plant. they are continuing efforts to cool rods while a local power company is trying to restore electricity by cooling pumps. here's more. >> reporter: japanese officials say they will keep trying to cool reactor number 3 at the fukushima dai-ichi attempt even though little has been done.

>> translator: in order to start the cooling, we've asked for water-drop operations and the spraying of water from the ground. >> reporter: engineers began looking at ways to get the power back on. officials hope the power is restored -- once the power is restored to the plant, the power will come back on. >> translator: the top priority is to cool down the storage fuel for number 4, number 4 units. >> reporter: meanwhile, several countries are urging their citizens to move across -- across from the area, about 50 miles from the nuclear plant, further than the 12 miles relative humiditied by japanese officials. u.s. government is going to provide japan with a drone and

the idea is to give the japanese government a better idea of what exactly may be happening on the ground. in tokyo, i'm martin savage. there's also word from the state department that the first evacuation flight of u.s. citizens has left japan. in the meantime, japanese citizens continue their search for earthquake and tsunami victims amidst rubble and snow. these are images from a town that experienced its own armageddon when the tsunami came ashore. it's along the northeast coast where temperatures have drop and residents are returning to an unrecognizable pile of rubble. some are finding remnants of their past lives. this is another town arock the -- along the northeast coast where searchers are discovering more bodies. the death toledo is just under 3700. but thousands of people are still -- the death toll is just under 3700 but thousand -- but

thousands are still missing. long lines are forming in sendai to evacuate by bus because of radiation fears. sendai is about 60 miles from the fukushima power plant. the japanese government has only recommended that people within 12 miles should evacuate. because of all of the concerns about radiation in japan, some new precautions are being taken at airports and local ports. jade hernandez has more. >> reporter: the u.s. custom and word border is monitoring all traffic -- and border is monitoring all traffic from japan. let's look at the video. today at sfo, it was no different except there's now concern over passengers arriving from japan since the crisis at the nuclear reactors has worsened. the customs border protection issued this statement this morning -- "travelers who show signs of radiation thickness

are referred to health authorities and provided the appropriate treatment." they also indicated no aircraft entering the united states today tested positive for radiation. earlier, a professor took us to his campus rooftop where he installed three monitors. he stresses even if radiation registers it would be radiation levels but it would not be enough to warrant potassium iodide. the professor explained what he will see on his computer if radiation from japan does eventually register. >> this is ultimately the sensor using to detect the radiation which potentially feel it will arrive here in the next couple of days, if at all. this sensor will tell us what

it is and how much it is. >> reporter: this computer- generated model shows the plume from the jeezing that north korea reactors -- japanese that nuclear reactors. back to you. >> thank you. president obama is offering words of ebb couragement and co miss -- encouragement and commiss ration to the japanese people. he says the american people are heartbroken over the disaster in japan and are confident they will rebuild. we're gonna go live to the white house and he is expected to make a statement on the crisis. so far, americans have donated far less money to help the victims of the tsunami and earthquake than they have in other recent disasters.

charities in the u.s. have raised $49 million in tsunami for the victims since the tsunami hit. nearly $250 million if in the first week was given to the victims of the indian tsunami back in 2004. expects say it's probably because japan is -- experts say it's probably because japan is viewed as a wealthy country. you can go to ktvu.com. that includes the latest stories and video. the p.u.c. is threatening to fine pg&e after missing a dock deadline. pg&e turned over thousands of the documents but the commission says it did not hand over records for pipelines under some of the largest

cities of the p.u.c. could vote on its findings a week from today. we're getting a fresh new look at a project that will make a difference for many east bay drivers, not necessarily those going in the commute direction. kraig debro has more about a milestone reached on the fourth bore of the caldecott tunnel. >> reporter: good afternoon. if you look over here to your right, you can see some guys in the cherry picker. they are actually using hand tools to dig some of that hole. but as you said earlier, tori, this is being down to address the counter-commute text -- the direction -- counter-commute direction. crews have have already punched a 350-meter long hotel inside,

using an australian tunnel device -- >> just imagine you have an arch with the bricks. if you take one brick out of the arch, it will collapse. but if you take care all of the bricks will stay in place, you have the arch itself. >> reporter: the project began last august. it's supposed to take four years to finish. but contrary to popular thought, the extra bore is being put in to ease countercommute traffic. >> i often drive in the countercommute and it takes longer sometimes than the regular commute. >> reporter: some have other ideas about where to put the construction money. >> they can build all bores they want through the hill butful they build bridge -- the hill but until they build bridges, you will still have traffic. >> i would rather see the money go into mass transit.

>> reporter: when completed, the two bores will be dedicated to westbound traffic and eastbound traffic. back to you. >> thank you, kraig. san francisco's district attorney george gascon is assuring residents that hate crimes will not be tolerated and that everyone is protected under the law, including undocumented immigrants. he made that announcement following the arraignment of three men who are accused of a brutal hate crime against two undocumented men from mexico. >> and we certainly need to stand together to ensure that these acts of violence that are based on racist behavior or gender or any other type of hate are not allowable in our city. >> the victims are two cousins outside of a nightclub on o'farrell street last november then they were attacked by a group of five light men. police are still looking for the two others. today, state lawmakers will take intwo disputed parts of

governor brown's budget proposal. yesterday, both houses approved massive cuts to state welfare programs. services for the developmentally disabled and other programs. this is to help close the $26 billion deficit is. on the agenda today, is to -- is whether to eliminate agencies and to extend income and vehicle taxes. ahead, jury selection is set to begin in barry bonds' perjury trial. a yale lab technician changes his plea in the killing of a yale teacher. to me, i love being in the ocean. >> surfers mourn the death of a second surfer killed at mavericks. we'll tell you what happened.

students are cleaning up

lake merritt. the local community is invited to take part in the cleanup and celebration throughout the day. the surfing community is mourning the logs of a well- known big wave surfer who drowned while surfing at mavericks. 35-year-old sion milosky lived in hawaii and two daughters but flew into the bay area last weekend for the mavericks. late yesterday afternoon, he was knocked down, at least two waves that followed pre -- prevented him from surfacing and his body was recovered 20 minutes later. in an interview he described his love for surfing. >> for me, i love being out on the ocean. that's just a freedom that we get. i would like to, like, spend the next couple of years spending and maybe trying to like really catch the biggest wave. that would be like -- that would be like an insane

feeling. hawaiian surfer mark foo died in 1994. a lab technician at yale university pleaded guilty this morning to murder and attempted sexual assault in the death of a student. he will be sentenced to 44 years 234 prison for his plea of guilty to murder and sexual assault. a few days after annie le disappeared, on what should have been her wedding day, investigators found herald body hidden in the -- found her body hidden in the wall where they worked. jury selection is to begin in the barry bonds perjury trial case. bonds is accused of lying to a grand jury when he knowingly

used steroids. they are also asked to sign a statement acknowledging a court- ordered ban including about the tats, via texting, twitter, facebook or other social media. yesterday, prosecutors released dozens of voice mails that bonds met for his former mistress, kimberly bell. bonds angrily demands to know her location. prosecutors say it's evidence of rage brought on by steroid abuse. the defense says it's a lover's spat. the chp has an important warning for anyone driving down to big sur on monterey county, a huge stretch of highway 1 near hurricane point is now closed indefinitely. the chp ordered the closure last night as after a massive mudslide took out 40 feet of highway 1 and pushed it 23450 the pacific colleges. at this -- pushed it into the

pacific ocean. at this point, it's too dangerous. the chp is at infineon raceway demonstrating how alcohol can impair your ability to drive. >> i want you to accelerate down the lane full throttle. and are not gonna lift off the gas until i call a correction at a -- direction at a simple point. >> drivers tried to complete maneuvers after drinking beer and wine. it's to make sure people don't drink and drive. >> it's a fun day. it's a great day out there. we know people are out there having some beverages. our whole goal is do it responsibly, have a designated driver. >> you can be impaired even if your blood alcohol does not exceed the legal limit for drive drunk driving.

-- for drunk driving. today, we have a break with the sun/dud cloud mix. and temperatures slowly -- sun/cloud mix. and temperatures slowly starting to head up. this will be a very active weather pattern for the weekend. we had a few light showers in parts of the north bay earlier this morning. there's still a chance of that as we head intoed afternoon hours. temperatures in the 50s. concord, 55. and san jose at last check reporting 57. the overall weather story is this for today a sun/cloud mix. tomorrow our next storm arrives it will pack heavy rain and heading into the weekend, some cold rain, a significant cooldown by the weekend. with that, we can talk about scattered thunderstorms approaching the bay area. here's the bigger view in the pacific. a nice circulation. you will definitely notice the

presence by this time tomorrow. for today, though, in advance of this we just have some moisture out there. for the most part, a break for today. we'll take it this -- we'll take this into your friday with gusty winds. we would be talking about snow. not a lot out there. we'll take this into tomorrow morning at 7:00, the chance of showers, highest chance morning into the north bay. but look what happens. here is that heavy rainband moving in midmorning and to the early portion of tomorrow afternoon. for today at 3:00, temperatures 55 to right around 60 degrees. by 6:00, low to mid-50s with mostly cloudy skies and then by 9:00 we bring in the chance for a chance of showers. 47 to 52. that's at the 9:00 hour. we begin to cool off today,

some spots in the 50s. here is a look ahead -- your five-day forecast, you will notice into friday we have the rain cloud showing up. wind speeds on the increase. there is a chance we could have a wind advisory kick in for parts of the bay area on friday. cold showers off and on on saturday. we could be looking at more rain and showers likely into monday. so tori, the key to this, we're thinking today, we want to maximize the outdoor activity, clear out the storm drain because tomorrow you will notice that's heavy rain moving in. we're getting urgent alerts that the u.s. senate has just approved a continuing resolution to keep the government running during the battle over the federal government. it funds operations now through april 8th. that's more than six months since the fiscal year began. the house had already passed a similar measure. the republicans have proposed a budget that has about $50 billion less spending than the

democrats' version. two weeks from today will be the last day there are fire stations in -- two fire stations in pinole. eliminating one will save $900,000 a year. firefighters say it could increase response time by seven minutes for some people. one man knows how every second can count after a fire in his kitchen. >> a neighbor across the street started banging on the door. i must have sort of dosed off -- dozed off. i really -- she called them. so i riley appreciate they are here -- i really appreciate they are here. >> the city has cut 45 city workers in the last three years as a way to eliminate $4 million in other expenses. a reminder that we are waiting for a statement from president obama on the crisis in japan. that should be coming up in

about 10 minutes. there's new talk of a deal to possibly keep the 49ers home in san francisco.

despite ongoing concerns about japan, it's a good day on wall street, a day after the markets suffered their biggest drop in seven months. you can see on this live look on the big board, the dow is up

142 at 11,756 and the nasdaq and s&p are up also. a good reason, a big reason for these good numbers. the labor department released an encouragingny jobless report this morning -- encouraging job les report this morning -- jobless report this morning. jobless claims are down 16,000 from the week before. continuing claims fell 84,000 from the week before. the city of san francisco and the 49ers are inching closer to a deal that would end their long legal battle. it would allow the 49ers to leave candlestick park as soon as 2014 and possibly move south to santa rosa. in exchange, the agreement would stop the 49ers from pursuing a claim over the -- over the rundown conditions. sanfrancisco is still fighting to keep the 9ers in the city and have them play at a new stadium not far from

candlestick park. coming up at 5:00, john fowler is tracking that plume headed to japan from california. hear what experts have to say about the potential risks of that plume. plus an exclusiveny ktvu field poll -- exclusive new ktvu field poll asks california if it's a great place to live. again, that'sen the news at 5 :00. we're gonna take a break and we'll come back as soon as president obama begins talking about the nuclear crisis.