whatever your style, take home your dream bedroom together. ikea. the life improvement store. complete bay area news con after starts right now. this is ktvu channel 2 news at noon. they call it a day of action. students and others are protesting at university campuses around the bay area and the state. good afternoon, i'm tori campbell on this national day of action. a rally is just getting underway at uc berkeley. lauren bronco begins our coverage to explain what students are hoping to achieve today. lorraine? >> reporter: you can see things

are just getting started out here. the music is blaring. students are holding a sign right now that says occupy education. it says hell is strike up there and students have created a unique blockade to symbolize their struggle. when you see the yellow tape getting rolled out, students at cal want you to think you are looking at the scene of a crime. >> within this building every day plans are hatched to steal students money to privatize uc and to plan assault on campus activists. >> reporter: students stunt symbolizes a national day of action here. even some high schools and bay area elementaries banning together to fight against tuition hikes and constant budget cuts. >> i think this will send a message not only to the state but to the citizen of the

united states we need to stop defunding public education. >> reporter: protestors are letting people in and out but they are standing in the rain hoping to get others to sway to their side. >> we are here to be confrontational with the action but we don't want people to be irritable with us. >> reporter: the chancellor sent out an e-mail this week showing support for today's movement. but protestors point to the past back in november when campus police clashed with students trying to gain support for the same mez emergency a. they -- message. they hope this time they can get the message. >> we hope their heart is in the right place and they will listen to us. >> reporter: several hundreds students up and they are put up a art display that says we are the 99%. at 5:00 they will head to the plaza that take part in another

rally. from there they will embark on a 99-mile walk to sacramento where protests will take place there on monday. live at uc berkeley, lorraine bronco, ktvu channel 2 news. >> thank you lorraine. and with that -- with music playing, about 100 protestors have shut down most of the uc santa cruz campus by blocking entrances to the school. like other students throughout the state and nation they are upset about fee increases and they say it is depriving lower income students of education. >> students are being driven thousands of thousands of dollars into debt in order to get a education that should benefit everyone. so the fact that i'm thousands of dollars in debt and i'm not even 21 yet, i find something really wrong with that. >> because of the protests, many classes were canceled or rescheduled and offices were not fully staffed at uc santa

cruz. there are reports police detained a person trying to drive through the line of protestors and knocked some to the ground but no one was seriously injured. and other campuses plan rallies and marchs. here is a list. at cal state east bay it is at the ago ora stage and lawn. cal state, san francisco state, malcolm x plaza, san jose state, clark hall by the statues, and sonoma state, stevenson quad. an academic building at uc berkeley has been evacuated because of a fire this morning. it broke out at about 10:15 on the north side of the campus. that building houses the engineering department. uc police say sparks from construction equipment started the fire in a laboratory. everyone was evacuated from the building while crews would fight the fire. rain is still falling in parts of the bay area this

noontime. this is a live look outside. the winter rainfall is not very steady. meteorologist mark tamayo said it will taper off in the next couple of hours. it was heavy at times in the east bay. randy dyson got caught in this downpour. the chp is responding to rain related crashes. and in oakland people would break out the umbrellas. similar scenes in san francisco and on the peninsula and north and south bays. and a winter storm continues to bring fresh snow to the sierra. it started to fall on monday and it excepted to drop up to five feet in total. that is great news for skiers and snowboarders but it might be a slow drive getting to the snow. we checked with caltrans and chains are required on highway 50 and interstate 80 through the mountain passes. mark is tracking what is coming our way and will be here in a few minutes with the complete

forecast. within the last hour, pittsburgh police identified the man accused of a deadly stabbing. police arrested a man from pittsburg around receiving a 911 call at a home on viking way. officers found a woman unconscious after being stabbed and paramedics could not revive her. investigators say the 27-year- old victim and the suspect were acquaintances and that the killing was not a random act. neighbors say the home was usually quiet, but there had been police activity in the past. a group that is fighting to get rid of the death penalty in california has taken a big step in their effort. and that effort may directly involve you. new at noon, connie wong joins us live to explain why this group wants to end executions. >> reporter: they said the death penalty doesn't work so here at city hall and across state they made the move to put it to the voters to decide if

the death penalty should be taken off the table. this morning boxes of signatures were brought to the clerk's office. those signatures get the issue of the death penalty on the november ballot. >> i know all about the doubt that comes with imperfect human courts, judges and juries. the nagging question, did i execute an innocent man or the other crucial question, did this execution make the world safer? i always felt the answer was no. >> reporter: anthony helped gather the 800,000 signatures. last year his murder conviction was overturned 17 years after he was put away. >> i can't get those 17 years back. but i can make a difference. and i can make a change. and come november, california voters can make a change as well. >> reporter: he stood beside medina, whose cousin faced the

death penalty for killing his own mother. she said her family mourned their mother's death while fighting for life. >> we are not equipped to deal with these issues. families will face tough times like i did in similar circumstances and will struggle to give to our loved ones all that we can. >> reporter: this measure would eliminate the death penalty and give people on death row parole and reallocate projected savings. >> can we use that money and put police on the street and solve unsolved crimes which makes us all safer. >> reporter: california said expect a big statewide push in campaign as we head to november. ktvu channel 2 news. >> thank you, claudine. hundreds of students at chardon high school walked together back to school today for the first time since the shooting rampage on monday killing three students. students, parents and staff met at a park and marched to the

school in a show of solidarity. there are no losses today but counselors are at -- no classes today but there are counselors available. and today prosecutors will charge t.j. lane who has admitted to the shootings. he is expected to be charged as an adult. a redwood city teacher pled not guilty to slapping and kicking a special needs student. alexia bogis was arained on 9 misdemeanor charges of abusing two 4-year-old students at roosevelt elementary school. outside of court she said i have never abused a child and i can't believe this is happening to me. six other employees face disciplinary action for failing to report alleged abuse in the special education department. today we could learn more about a delay in building california's high speed rail line. the california high speed rail authority will meet today to talk about an updated schedule

for the project. revisions to environmental reports for the fresno to bakersfield section of the line has slowed down the construction schedule. the rail system still hopes to start work early next year. the bullet trains will run between northern and southern california. cal trans board was scheduled to vote to increase fares to push people toward using clipper cards instead of one-time tickets and passes. the proposal on the agenda is less severe this morning than first proposed. it cuts in half the discount for an eight-ride pass and also adds 25 cents to the price of each one-time ticket. >> it is inevitable. that is how i feel about it. i don't even worry about it any more. as long as i am safe and comfortable. >> and get where you are going. >> yeah. >> cal train officials say that if at least half of the riders don't switch to clipper cards

in the coming months, they might have to again consider another fare increase. claims for first-time unemployment benefits have dropped to a four-year low. according to a report out this morning, the number of people who filed initial jobless claims last week, slid to 351,000. that's 2,000 fewer than the week before and the lowest level since march of 2008. first-time claims have dropped more than 14% since last october. and meshes spent -- americans spent more money in january than december. spending edged up two-tenths of a percent after holding steady in december. economists say that could be a sign americans are feeling comfortable with household budgets. the commerce department sedin come also rose for a second straight month in january. it was up three-tenths of a percent. the devastation is almost unbelievable. we'll show you more just ahead. mark is up soon to tell you if you need to keep umbrellas

handy and whether you'll have a messy afternoon commute. freedom of religion or an assault on women's rights. you'll hear the controversy and a very close vote along party lines. [ birds chirping ] [ inhales, exhales ] [ announcer ] cigarettes are not just dangerous when they're smoked. [ rat squeaking ] they're dangerous long after. cigarette butts are toxic. they release chemicals that poison our water... and harm wildlife. and millions... are polluting our environment. [ sniffing ] [ seagulls squawking ]

qtññ a clean-up is under way at people try to sal raj what they

can from -- salvage what they can from the tornadoes that sliced through the midwest. the twisters are blamed for 12 deaths. there were square-feet tornado sightings in nebraska, kansas, missouri, illinois, and kentucky. they flattened hundreds of homes and businesses. >> it is going to take quite a while to clear this up, get folks back to where they belong and try to make their lives whole again. >> this is after declarations are issued in the damages areas and state and federal assistance has already arrived. two american soldiers were shot to death today on a military base in afghanistan by two afghans, including one believed to be an afghan soldier. it is the latest case of afghan soldiers or militants who are disguised in their uniforms killing u.s. troops. this is video of the casket as rivalling on monday at dover air base of two u.s. military advisors who were killed while sitting in their office at the

afghan interior ministry. at least six u.s. service members have been killed by afghan security forces in retaliation for the burning of copies of the quran at a u.s. base. it was once their strong hold but now rebel forces in syria are retreating from a neighborhood. they have been under attack by government troops for the past month. rebels say they have run out of weapons and call humanitarian conditions there catastrophic. hours after the withdrawal, the government granted permission for the red cross to enter the area tomorrow to deliver food and medical supplies. meanwhile, britain announced it will close the embassy in damascus over the concern of lack of security. democrats say it is a victory for women's health, republicans say it is a loss for the first amendment guarantee of religious freedom. tara joins us from the news room with a close vote on the

controversial contraceptive amendment. >> reporter: the measure was narrowly defeated on the senate floor this morning. it was the republican's response to president obama's mandate that employers insurance offer free birth control. >> the eye eyes of 51, the nays 48, the motion to table is agreed to. >> so the republicans measure failing. it would have allowed employees to opt out of any healthcare coverage if it violates their religious beliefs or is morally objectionable. diane fine sten led the opposition and said millions of americans would have lost healthcare coverage. >> this debate is not about religious freedom, it is about allowing providers and employers the right to deny access to care for autism screening, std and cancer screening, and well-baby exams for any reason. >> but republicans called obama's mandate political bullying. >> and that's what it is.

this is tyranny. and so for political reasons, the religious groups who differ with this are being pushed around. the media, polite society and the administration are picking on religious freedom. >> so republicans saying it was a matter of freedom religion and democrats calling it assault on women's rights. live from the news room, tara moriarty, ktvu channel 2 news. a consumer group said today blue shield is hitting california customers with, quote, excessive rate increases. consumer watch dog said today blue shield will raise rates up to 14.8% for 320,000 californians. the group also claims blue shield has a surplus of more than $3.1 billion, 1,400% more than the state requires. last month consumer watch dog launched a signature drive for a bolot initiative that would force healthcare companies to

justify and get state approval for rate hikes. google is trying something new. they say it will make things easier for us, but it is making a lot of people angry and may spark legal action. google calls it a privacy policy. many others say it is an invasion of privacy. starting today, if you use google search, google plus, g- mail or you tube, what you do and say will be compiled in a user profile. google executives say it is a way to improve your experience by allowing advertisers to be more specific in who they target. >> it is about improving relevance and using information that you shared with google to make google products and services more useful for you. >> at this point, most people realize that when you go online, some of the information you give is shared. however, what may surprise you is that what you say in a personal e-mail may now be tracked and used for advertising purposes and that is what has many people

concerned. organizers of the america's cup race next year on san francisco bay said the race will be on network television for the first time in two decades. they say nbc plans to carry the competition and that will come after the nbc sports network show the america's cup world series, a set of races this summer leading up to the america's cup in 2013. organizers hope the exposure will generate interest in the america's cup among the general public. well we have been on storm watch over the past couple of days. moderate to heavy rain moving through parts of the bay area and still a bit of action right now pushing through the southern half of the region. a live look outside right now and you can't see looking out toward the east bay, for oakland still mohave county and a mostly cloudy. and the main focus has been in the southern half of the region. that is after moderate to heavy downpours this morning.

right now the cell moving closer to concord with moderate activity. as we move the maps closer to the central portion of the bay, san francisco not a lot of action, but toward oakland as we showed you in the live camera, still activity there. we'll back the maps off and show you this and still action around fremont and milpitas and in the south toward santa cruz and watsonville, we do have light rain reports and this will continue to head to the south over the next few hours. as far as rainfall totals, these are six hour accumulations and you can see the amounts. pretty impressive in parts of the north bay. mill valley .4. and san jose is adding to the .02 right now. forecast headlines for today. showers will continue to move to the south. so with that, decreasing activity. tomorrow morning fog but increasing sunshine and the weekend will be dry. and temperatures warming up big- time, back up into the upper 60s to lower 70s. here is the latest on the satellite radar, storm center moving across central portions

of the state. so the rain will continue to head out to the south. temperatures this afternoon only in the 50s and it will still be breezy out there. winter storm warnings still in place for the sierra until 4:00 this afternoon. storm totals very impressive, it has been a productive week. 3-5 feet and snow levels around 2500 feet. snow action heading to the south. in fact sun breaks out there as well. as we head into the afternoon, not a lot to show you. but for tomorrow morning we could have patchy fog reform in some of the inland valleys first thing on friday morning but we begin our warming trend for tomorrow. temperatures mainly in the low to mid-50s for this afternoon. not a change from the current levels. and your five-day forecast with your weekend always in view, and no more rain clouds after today. we begin our warming trend on friday. by saturday the warmest locations are back up into the mid to upper 60s and, once

again, back to familiar territory with spring-like weather and the readings back up into the lower 70s on sunday. maybe some more rain chances for next week but no major storms showing up just yet. >> but we needed the rain that we have gotten. >> we do need the rain. and we need more too. >> thank you, mark. we'll tell you if the dow is climbing back toward the 13,000 mark. and a startling scene from hunters. their surprising response to avoid an attack by this grizzly bear.

a big day on wall street. taking a look at big board, the dow is flat at 12,952. the nasdaq and s&p are up slightly. the san francisco unified school district has approved 485 layoff notices for teachers and other faculties. but the school board voted to spare 70 teachers at 14 underperforming schools even though the teachers don't have seenority. the district said it is bracing for what could be a $80 million loss in state funding over the next two years. in alaska, larry griffith of new mexico and buddies were enjoying a national park when they spotted grizzly bears nearby and one started charging at the group but the hunter sat still and the bear eventually went away. they think the group may have gotten to close to the bear's fishing hole. coming up at 5:00, we are continuing to monitor the state- wide day of action at local campuses. we have team coverage as

students join forces to protest the cost of education. also, a california lawmaker teams up with google to introduce a new bill related to self-driven vehicles. thank you for trusting ktvu channel 2 news. we'll see you the next time news breaks. we're always here for you on ktvu.com and mobile ktvu.com.

this nightstand! this wardrobe! what are you doing here? you're in ikea. my dream bedroom is in ikea? yes. what's that bedroom over there? that's your husband's dream bedroom. whatever your style, take home your dream bedroom together. ikea. the life improvement store.