good morning, the roads republican already wet across the bay area. we're keeping a live look at conditions for you this morning. overnight the nuclear crisis in japan grows more critical. what is being done right now to prevent disaster. and a major announcement on the beta breakers about the future of the race. it's all ahead on the ktvu morning news. and good morning, thank you

for waking up with us it's friday, march 18th i'm pam cook. pretty rainy overnight. is there a storm heading our way? let's check in with steve paulson. >> we do have the leading edge of a system beginning to move in. there are bursts of moderate rain but it will pick up. right now i want to give you a look at the system. we will have moderate rain. real quick let's put this in motion. there are area where is the rain is starting to pick up a little bit especially toward san francisco and the san mateo coast marin county. for an up state of what's going on and conditions on the wind it's claudine wong. >> reporter: good morning, steve. we are over here at four point in san francisco because we know the high surf advisory is coming here today. they are crashing here this morning. sometimes it felt like it was really coming down. we are getting a little bit of

a break from it this morning. as you said this is just the start of it. what we will do is keep an eye out on how things look whether it be on the roadways or ocean. certainly it will be a wet morning. we are driving through the city. we saw lots of people sticking garbage bags on their head. getting caught in the rain. we will keep an eye out on that for you. today japan increased the rating of the nuclear crisis it's facing from a level four to a level five on a seven level international scale. the level five put the incident in japan at the same one at three mile island. still trying to prevent a meltdown. they are frantically working to lay a new power line to the plant hoping to restore the cooling systems that way.

meantime the radio active plume from japan is expected to pass over southern california sometime today. health officials stress by the time the plume travels across the pacific ocean will be so deluted that the risk of radiation exposure will be minuscule. people we spoke with in the bay area heard it's coming. >> i'm concerned but i don't want to think about it. it seems too overwhelming. >> i think it's inconsiderate that people are people are stocking up on the potassium iodine tablets when we should send them over to japan who will be more effected by it. >> they will be checking their radiation monitors in california as the plume passes through. and will alert the public if any dangerous levels are detected. again the levels are expected to been extremely low. antinuclear activists are

holding a vigil demonstration today in oakland. they want to show their solidarity with the people of japan and ramp up clean energy alternatives. the group plans to gather at 11th and broadway and march to city hall. japan's nuclear crisis has overshadowed the staggering cost to human life from last weeks devastating earthquake and tsunami. the latest figures show 6500 people are confirmed dead. more than 10,000 others are still listed as missing. the total damage is at $200 billion and could climb much higher. back here in the bay area there are is more fallout from a corruption case involving a former contra costa county drug agent. 40 criminal cases with ties to norman welch are under review and the district attorney says about a third of those will likely be dropped.

welch and private investigator christopher butler are accused of stealing drugs that were stolen from an evidence room. a former danville officer has been arrested. a sewage spill in marin county is being blamed on negligence. ktvu first reported the spill back in december. that's when 2.6 million gallons of sewage overflowed from manhole covers. now they say there is evidence of severe contractor negligence and that j & b construction is responsible for most of the mess after leaving debris that clogged up the suer system-- sewer system. beta breakers have a new sponsor. dazzle is an online retailer that sells customized products. registration for the may 16th race is already sold out.

it's attributed to its 100 anniversary and a newly approved ban on alcohol and floats. let's check in with sal for a look at traffic. hi pam good morning, to you. the traffic is moving along pretty well. let's look at the san mateo bridge it looks pretty nice. also the morning commute looks good as you drive through the bay bridge toll plaza no issues on the bridge. it's wet though. it has been raining overnight. i was driving to work and experienced rain on the way in. just take it easy. let's go back to steve. intellect our system long advertised here is beginning to move in. coming in from the southwest here is moisture. the cold air is still a ways away. we are going to get progressively worse. and embedded with this system is a pretty decent rate. so we get the warmer sector out

ahead of it which is coming in now, and then we will get the front to come by late morning to early afternoon. and then another stronger system comes in on sunday. sometime there is is not much there but there are others starting to light up. a pretty good cell went over oakland. you can see north of bodega pay there is some north of that. showers and wind we'll have the system roll in for an afternoon and evening of rain and wind. thunder activities possible as we get that colder uni believe air coming -- unstable air coming in. it's carving itself out and it's not going anywhere for the next three days. saturday will be a showery and much colder pattern. we will get the rain and then

sunday another stronger poke will be coming in. today stormy weather is certain to add to the highway troubles along the coast of monterey county. a massive mud slide has forced the closure north of big sir. later today a team of experts will try to figure out what caused that highway to slip into the ocean. they warn it could closed for months. >> some osteoses city fixes will -- some of the easy fixes will not happen. >> cal tran is still trying to figure out what caused that roadway to collapse. at this point it's still a mystery. there hasn't been much heavy rain in that big sur -- sur area in many weeks. >> even the house of god can

face foreclosure. a pastor lead away by sheriffs deputies when he tried to save his church. the new york times tries to recover what has been lost online. northbound 101 traffic looking good. another update straight ahead.

good morning, pretty good

front coming through. we are getting rain out ahead of it. actually more showery in nature. this system will barrel in. we are seeing pockets of heavy rain. look for the rain to pick up later today with very windy conditions. >> thank you, steve. this morning the united nations is getting ready for possible military action against libya. and the people in the city of ben gay city -- bengazi cannot be more excited. this is how the celebration looked last night after they voted for the military action along with a no fly zone. it's one of the areas in libya not being controlled by libyan leader moammar gadhafi. secretary of state hillary clinton says implementing a no fly zone will declare air strikes against the country. the secretary of state also said any air strikes against

libya would first be launched by british and french aircraft, nato forces could also be asked to help out. but according to clinton, ground forces are not being considered. later today president obama will embark on a five-day trip to l.a. tin america. the president is scheduled -- latin america. he is taking the trip to focus on jobs and security concerns including drug violence. a richmond church has lost its battle against foreclosure. bible way apostlistic church pastor sydney keys and four others were arrested for trespassing and rerising arrest after refusing to leave

yesterday. the churches lender foreclosed on the church wednesday. >> this is wrong. what they are doing to these people is all wrong. >> aids of congressman george miller were also there at the church. they say it's the sixth church in his district to foreclose but the church leaders asked for help too late in the process. supporters say the church fell victim to a predatory loan. a burglary at a fremont storage facility could be related to a string of break ins. the family contacted us after seeing the report to say they believe they were victims of the same thieves. they have been storing their valuables in a storage unit after becoming homeless last month. the family discovered the theft last friday when they came to

get their eight-year-old son's sonny play station. >> i was thinking why would they do that? they can get a job and work for the money and buy one. >> fremont police say there have been nine breaks in. they will talk to san francisco police to see if the same people are responsible for the break ins in both cities. the trial for the suspected hillsborough high bomber follows testimony. she tried to get her son psyche attic -- psychiatric help a dozen times. youshock is accused of two counts of attempted murder. if convicted he could face life in prison. this morning the jury selection process continues in

beer ray bonds -- berry bonds' injury case. the questions are all designed to root out strong opinions or biases involving one of baseballs controversial super stars. >> they will try to conclude did you idolize him a little when he was doing great baseball feats or somebody you are a little skeptical of? a's fans might be a little more skeptical of berry bonds. >> now the judge hopes to wrap up jury selection by the end of the day on monday. that's when she hopes to seated the 12 jurors. he's accused of lying under oath when he testified for never knowingly used steroids. both chambers approved more cuts yet bringing their -- yesterday bringing their total

to $14 billion. they did not decide on the most controversial of governor brown's proposals. allowing californians to vote on whether to extend tax increases. another vote could come on monday. in washington, d.c. a house approved bill to cut off spending for national public radio is not expected to gain any traction in the senate. the bill was passed yesterday mostly along party lines. this is the second time public radio was targeted in the houseover representatives. last month lawmakers voted to strip money for public radio but it was rejected by the senate. starting ten days from now the new york times will start charging some people that are using their website. the first 20 online items including articles, videos and slide shows will be free. after that users will pay between $15-$25 depending on how much they access the site.

a terrible tragedy and still no answer. the criminal charges just filed against a plane maker in a horrific crash that killed 200 people on their way to paris. caught on tape the reactions that may have lead to the stabbing of a mcdonalds employee.

there is still no sign of that driver in oakland that crashed a stolen vehicle into a car carrying a mother and four daughters. news chopper two flew over 60s and camden avenue as police searched for that suspect yesterday evening opinion the driver ran four stop signs before slamming into that car. the mother was treated on the scene the daughters were taken

to the hospital but they are expected to survive. we now have surveillance images of a man suspected of stabbing a mcdonalds employee. it shows a sus -- the stabbing happened on march 1st at the spring road location. police say the man that may go by the name vincent or vinny attacked when the employee asked him to leave. the worker was stabbed multiple times and is recovering. the san francisco district attorney says white supremist gang activity is on the rise. the da is investigating several recent disturbing incidents including one provoked attack in november. police say a group of five men attacked two men from mexico while yelling white power. one victim was beat unconscious that case paved way for a wider investigation. >> as a result of this case it has furthered our intelligence,

our understanding of white supremacy groups operating in our city. >> prosecutors say it's sometimes difficult to get victims step forward. some are undocumented immigrants. they are worried they will be deported if they go to police. the judge also filed similar charges against air bus the maker of the plane that went down in stormy weather in june of 2009 while flying from brazil to paris. the investigation comes as a fourth attempt to search for the planes wreckage is set to begin. large parts of the plane including both flight recorders have never been found and the cause of that crash is yet to be determined. honda is recalling more than 50,000 new cars and minivans. several 2011 model year civics have developed a crash in the

fuel tank that could lead to a fire. and there are problems with the 2011 odyssey minivans windshield wiper systems. honda dealers will replace the system with no cost to the owner. nissan is starting to scan its vehicle made in japan for traces of radio active material. nissan is taking all appropriate measures to are aassure the -- nissan says so far there is no sign of contamination of risk to customers but the company started the testing because of public concern. general motors is suspending operations at its factory in louisiana because it can't get parts from japan. the plant will be closed all next week. gm says it will reevaluate the closure on a day-to-day basis

and it has enough to meet current customer demand. britain prince william is touring area -- is touring disaster areas in new zealand. prince williams also attended a national memorial service today where he spoke of his sympathy for the people of christchurch and the people of japan after last weeks massiveet quake and tsunami. it's coming um on 5:00 -- it's coming um on 5:00. let's check in with sal. >> we are doing pretty well so far. it is a little bit slow not slow i shouldn't say it's slow. i would say it's tough driving because of the weather. it's been a little rainy out there. there is standing water. just take it easy as we look at interstate 880 that traffic is moving along okay here. we have crashes on that wet

weather to westbound 80. they are clearing up an injury accident there. this is a look at 280 northbound that traffic moves well. let's go to steve. >> thank you, sal. let's get to the details here. pretty good system coming in. rain and wind for the friday forecast and turning colder. another round of rain and wind on sunday. do you have any good news steve? it's almost the weekend. the front the leading edge is just getting here. we still have a ways to go. that is probably the goo to. half inch to two inches is expected. gusts easily over 408 over 40 miles an hours. swinging in from the west, southwest. the front is actually back here. right there. and then right there is the cold air. what this system will do is like spokes in a wheel. first we have to get out ahead

of that pretty strong gusty wind. there are areas where there are pockets of it. this is the main band from vallejo back over top nevada right over san rafael and mill valley and back over toward oakland, berkeley, and over toward san francisco the bay bridge and south san francisco. that is the main band right now. 149 that is at fairfield. decent low coming down from the gulf of alaska. has a lot of energy and it's going to pump in kind of a showery pattern but will turn showery into rainy here. late morning early afternoon that's when the system begins to barrel through. it does. rain and wind cooler a possibility of thunderstorms today. gusts over 40. certainly liker higher elevations. there were gusts on my way in today. it's one you have to hold on here. forecasted highs kind of a

push. upper 50s. very low 60s. yesterday some of that rain kept the north bay cool especially up toward santa rosa. everyone gets the rain. although there are parts that say the south bay i will have to wait a little bit. rain and wind today. here comes that cold air. you will notice it. that will give us showers and possible thunderstorms and what looks like a good system on sunday. the bulk might be around san mateo county south. we will fine tune that later. it looks like a very wet week. >> thanks for the warning. significant overnight news out of japan. word the nuclear crisis is even more threatening. and uc santa cruz accused of having a hostile environment for certain students.

good morning, overnight japan increased the severity rating of its nuclear accident. the department of energy is monitoring the air for elevated radiation levels. they are not the only agency. we are live in berkeley with that story. the last weekend of winter and it's going to feel like it rain, wind and colder