in but are working to get more information and will bring it to you as soon as we learn more about the release of this palo alto war veteran. tonight, rain is arriving in the bay area and combine that with the freezing cold, it's a recipe for snow. good evening. >> julie haener has the night off. we have live team coverage tonight. ktvu's robert handa is in the south bay where the cold turned deadly. we begin with meteorologist mark tracking the rain and snow. >> reporter: the coverage has been on the increase over the past three to four hours of the right now on live storm tracker 2, it's very interesting up in the north bay and parts of mencino county. especially the north of willis. you can see all the coverage here, significant snowfall sticking to the roads for this part of the region. as we move the maps around, we're talking about rain right

around the north bay. in fact we'll zoom in a little closer to the north bay and show you the coverage here for santa rosa, petaluma. a little heaver forward the fairfield area. shifting the maps to the south here around san mateo, fremont and parts of the east bay around livermore, pleasant, wet roadways for this part of the bay area, especially around livermore and 580. san jose a lot of cloud cover. rain showers out to the east. santa cruz mountains and coastline the rain has been picking up. coming up in ten minutes we'll take a look at this. we have a winter weather advisory to talk about locally with the snow in the hills. also a freeze warning kicks in for part of your weekend. once again, we'll have that in ten minutes. ktvu's jim fowler is live where the rain has started falling this afternoon. >> reporter: right now the rain has begun again. it's been off and on the last

few minutes. about 5 minutes ago it began picking up once more. this is moving in as mark said from the north and west. right now here, it's 39 degrees and wind about 20 miles per hour. a little earlier, we were up on mount tamil peak. a weather station there reports the temperature there is 39 degrees with the wind chill 31. a drizzle began there about 90 minutes ago. right now as mark has been telling us, that rain is spreading, and we could see rain possibly snow on this peak this evening. roads tonight and tomorrow could be very dangerous. park rangers tell us if it does snow on mount tam, they very likely will close the roads to the park to all vehicles. now, the park is closed tonight for the night, but beginning about 7:00 a.m., they will reopen the park at least to hikers, and they are urging everyone to be very, very

careful. black ice is expected. reporting live in marin county, john fowler, ktvu channel 2 news. some snow is sticking to the ground in napa county. caltrans had a couple of snowplows this afternoon. the first flurry of snowflakes in ukiah after 3:00 this afternoon. this picture shows highway 101 at southbound north state street. the rain, snow and continued freezing cold temperatures all make for a deadly mix for people living on the street. robert handa is in san jose tonight where unfortunately three people have died from hypothermia. >> reporter: less than an hour ago at the sheriff's department, emergency agencies released information that basically confirm what we've been reporting throughout the day. this cold snap is not only dangerous, it's deadly. >> emergency workers handed out blankets and supplies at this homeless encampment in san jose

where santa clara agencies say a homeless man died in the cold snap during the past two days. other homeless people there were sad about the death and worried about themselves. >> it scares me because i'm going through the same cold. it's very freezing at night. i can't sleep. >> reporter: today the medical examiner's office and public health officials say three homeless men, all in their 40s or 50s died basically of hypothermia at several encampments. no names have been released. the office of emergency services provided 600 plan contents to deliver to the homeless tonight and ehc expanded its three shelters to accommodate hundreds of extra beds. >> in this community where we have so much wealth and innovation and all this stuff, we had several people lose their lives simply because it was too cold. and that should not happen. >> reporter: officials also say a fourth man described as homeless died last week in a garage in saratoga but did not provide any more details. >> anybody dying on the streets

is horrible news. we're trying to do anything we can to get them inside. >> it's hard. it's hard, day-to-day living is hard. >> how can people help? how can people help the homeless? >> more shelters, i guess. we need more rooms in the shelters. >> reporter: officials say they will try to do that starting this evening. coming up at 10:00, more on what they will try to do as the weather gets worse. robert handa, ktvu channel 2 news. our ktvu weather team is keeping track of the weather conditions 24 hours a day. you can follow bill, mark, rosemary and steve on our mobile ktvu app, on twitter and on facebook. new at 6:00, the ability tobreeze through airport security could be yours for free this holiday travel season. the tsa's precheck line is a service some people pay for but now a shift in tsa policy is changing that.

ktvu's ann reuben explains why. >> reporter: this was their lucky day. >> i looked at my boarding pass and sure enough it said precheck. >> on our tickets it said we could go straight through, we were just selected. >> reporter: selected at random, these travelers got to breeze through the special precheck line with their jackets on, shoes on their feet and laptops in their bags. >> it was wonderful. saved so much time. >> reporter: the program has been rolled out at over 100 airports over the last 60 days. tsa says they're getting rid of what they call a one size fits all security and focusing on a risk-based one. >> this is the most important change for tsa in the history of our organization. >> reporter: technology and data gathering allow the tsa to deem some people low risk and of those a percentage will be chosen for the special security line currently being used by prescreened travelers. >> it doesn't diminish screening. it gives us the chance to focus greater on the people we don't know a lot about.

>> reporter: and at oakland international airport that may be good news during the holiday travel season. >> it speeds things up for travelers and allows tsa to focus its limited resources on the areas most needed. >> it was very different. it was great. >> reporter: how many travelers will get selected for the precheck line? that, too, is random but tsa officials say they may operate a second precheck line based on the volume of travelers this holiday season n. oakland, ann reuben, ktvu channel 2 news. more details now in the tsa's precheck program. once enrolled travelers do not have to remove their belts, shoes or jackets at the security checkpoint. also they do not have to remove their laptop from its case or pull out the bag of approved liquids. state regulators are joining the investigation into the bart train malfunction that sent 9 people to the hospital. the train from pittsburgh to san francisco stopped in the berkeley hills tunnel after an electrical short caused the emergency brakes to suddenly activate. it was announced today that the utilities commission will be

investigating what happened. a bart spokeswoman says the cpuc initiates an investigation whenever more than two people require medical transport after a train incident. three teenage boys are in jail and two girls recovering tonight after an alleged gang rape in richmond. regional park police say the two girls, 14 and 17, were raped last friday in the alvarada park area of wildcat regional park. investigators say the boys, one aged 15 and two aged 17, gave the girls alcohol. the girls say they eventually passed out and when they woke up, they knew that they had been sexual assaulted. >> they have suffered a traumatic incident. and these young ladies are very strong and they're doing everything they can to recover. >> reporter: the boys have been booked into the martinez juvenile hall on a series of charges, including rape, rape in concert, oral copulation and conspiracy. we're now hearing from a

retired judge who agreed to head up a task force at san jose state university in the wake of hate crime allegations. >> what must come out of this task force is the actual implementation of policies and procedures that improve the climate on the campus and ensure that incidents like this will never, ever happen again. >> four white students are accused of harrah's ago black student. misdemeanor hate crime and battery charges have been filed against them. the task force will begin its work after an independent fact- finding report has been completed. that's expected by the end of january. the task force will make its recommendations by april 30th. apple asked samsung to pay millions of dollars in legal fees following their resent court battles over infringement. they asked a federal judge to order samsung to pay $22 million for legal fees and other costs. a jury last year found samsung violated apple's patent rights by copying iphone and ipad

technology. a judge is scheduled to consider the fee requests at a hearing in jrn. excitement is growing for the sunday's showdown between the 49ers and the seattle seahawks. sit a huge game drawing seahawk fans out of the shadows in this red and gold country. and ktvu's david stephenson is life with a celebration going on as we speak. >> reporter: seahawks fans hope to see anywhere from 800 to 1,000 people here tomorrow night at pier 39 to take a picture in front of this christmas tree and a party down at the hard rock cafe. still, management couldn't resist welcoming the fans with a little jab. you can see it on this banner. the nfl shop here is flooded with 49ers gear though there are a couple of racks of seahawks stuff. a number of out of town seattle fans are expressing concern about their safety sunday

atcandlestick. local seahawk fans tell us they take the rivalry in stride. >> it's a lot of fan. i get a lot of flack from the locals, which is great. i like we can get under their feathers so much. >> any hostility. >> a little bit. nothing physical, but yeah, people like to talk trash, like to give it right back. >> energized fans going at each other, totally inbounds, no problems. somebody could well be a san francisco police officer. >> reporter: the san francisco police department says there will be a number of undercover officers in seahawks and 49ers gear. the goal is to keep the physical contact on the field and prevent a repeat of some of the brawls we've seen in previous games with other teams at candlestick park. reporting live at san francisco's pier 39, david stevenson, ktvu channel 2 news. >> if you would like to share your 49er pride, we've got a friendly competition going with our sister station in seattle to see who can get more likes

and shares on facebook. go to our wall and click like or share it with your facebook friends. i told you about the system bringing rain and even snow as we speak. find out how long the freezing wet conditions will continue. it's a preschool program, so why is this such a rare site in one san francisco neighborhood? a drunken fest at a hotel wedding. the odd punishment handed down for a man who stole a nude painting. [ female announcer ] for those who love sweets your season is here. let's just call it the baking time of year. you need special ingredients. you need the staples for homemade. you need safeway sugar for just a buck eighty-eight. and that magic thing that makes everyone want another only two ninety-nine for challenge butter. and when hands get messy, quite surely they'll say, yum! wow! yay! what a sweeter holiday. safeway. ingredients for life.

what a sweeter holiday. to those who've been waiting welcome to covered california. the place to find quality, affordable coverage, and nobody can be denied because of a pre-existing condition. enroll today at coveredca.com.

customer appreciation month at subway. we're saying thanks with two of your favorite six inch subs. the six-inch cold cut combo, or the six-inch meatball marinara, built fresh from the bread up for just $2 each all december long. subway. eat fresh. more breaking news we brought you at the beginning of the newscast. north korea said the 85-year- old has been deported. he was accused of hostile acts against the country and was detained. one week ago tonight we showed you the video of an apology

made by newman, a korean war vet. many believe the statement was coerced. merrill was released after the apology and because of his age and medical condition. we don't know where newman is right now. we're working on that part of the story. we'll update that for you tonight at 10:00. poor weather led crews in the idaho wilderness to scale back the search for a san jose man's plane. many have been registered for the plane registered to dale smith. it lost radio contact after smith reported engine travel. he was traveling with two of his children, a daughter-in-law and a future son-in-law. officials are asking people to keep an area out in that area for any sign of the missing airport. families tonight in the bayview area are celebrating the opening of a new preschool that. might not seem unusual but this new preschool is a rarity in

the community. ktvu's rob roth visited the classroom and meet the children who are benefiting tonight. >> how are you doing? >> reporter: for these 16 preschoolers, it's story time. >> who knows what that is? >> reporter: this early childhood education program is finishing out its first week of operation at the ymca in san francisco's bay view district. preschoolers are a rare sight in this neighborhood of mostly low income families with few resources. parents seem grateful. >> my child was so excited to come to school and her first day she didn't want to go home. >> reporter: other than a head start program, this is the only licensed early childhood education program in the entire neighborhood. >> traditionally bay area has been isolated from the rest of the city and a place where there hasn't been a tremendous amount of economic opportunity. a lot of families living in poverty. >> reporter: it's run by the nonprofit agency. they had wanted to open a

preschool in the bay area for a long time but it hasn't been easy. >> it's hard to find space and expensive to run. we are committed to expanding services. >> reporter: according to the children's council, 458 children in the bay view are on the waiting list for subsidized child care, one of the longest waiting lists in any neighborhood in san francisco. this mother told us she's had trouble finding a preschool for her 2-year-old. >> i look around but only find one place. >> did you get in? >> it's hard, too, you know. you still have to wait. >> reporter: this preschool, a child must be from a low income family with a parent working or in school. tuition is free. the school plans to add 8 more slots next week, bringing the enrollment to 24 children. everyone agrees that's not enough for the bay view, but it's a start. in san francisco, rob roth, ktvu channel 2 news. more details now, the children's council of san francisco says there are 3300 families on the waiting list

for subsidized child care. 30% of those are preschoolers. that's about 1,000 students and the largest group on the waiting list, 694 live in the 94112 zip code, which includes the excelsior, engal side and ocean view neighborhoods. the rainfall continues to be on the increase, and interestingly, the snowfall as well, especially up in parts of the north bay. as a result the weather service issuing this, a winter weather advisory. this has been in place for the santa cruz mountains and east bay hills. this begins at 1:00 a.m. saturday morning until 10:00 saturday morning. this is a new addition within the past 25 minutes or so. up in the north bay hills in place until 6:00 tomorrow morning above 1,500 feet, snow levels coming down to around 1,000, 1,500 feet. the snowfall coverage in fact

has been decreasing so warmer air pushing into parts of the region. as a result some of the snow changing over to the rain. as far as right now the latest observation, santa rosa reporting light rain. there is a chance we could have thunder for tonight, lightning strikes being detected toward fort bragg. there's a chance we could have thunder outside of fairfield. there's the possibility between now and midnight of thunder. scattered rain showers around the central portions of the bay. we'll move the maps closer to the santa cruz mountains. also out toward fremont, and the san jose area some rain showers nearby. current temperatures are in the 40s to the lower 50s. here we go. santa rosa 41. san francisco 49. livermore 50 degrees. here's a live camera looking toward jack london square. the main event over the next few hours, the rainfall picks up. low snow levels and cold air will continue to move in as we head into your bay area weekend. overnight lows tomorrow morning, no freeze warnings. we're talking about lower 30s

for santa rosa, napa. lots of 40s for san francisco, oakland. tomorrow morning not as cold as this morning but it will be changing by sunday. this area of low pressure, the source in fact the cold front the source of the rainfall in the short-term with the low snow levels. this moves out. most of your weekend is dry but the cold air filters into the region. as a result some very cold numbers first thing sunday morning, once again in the 20s and 30s. once again tracking at least a chance of thunder for tonight at 11:00. chance after shower first thing tomorrow morning, early, and then increasing sunshine throughout the day. but it will be bisque out there for -- brisk out there for saturday. a freeze warning kicks in sunday, 2:00 to 9:00. lower 20s up in santa rosa, napa, still freezing around the bay. that in place for everybody except for san francisco. forecast for tomorrow, upper 40s to lower 50s. more began hill 48. sunday -- morgan hill 48. candlestick, temperatures in the upper 40s for the game. you can watch it right here on

ktvu channel 2. another cold start monday morning. we finally warm things up into tuesday, wednesday of next week. an art heist of sorts at a sacramento hotel has now been solved and the art thief seifs an unusual -- receives an unusual punishment. a nude woman riding a cigar print has been a fixture in the men's room at the citizen hotel bar for years. until late last month, that is, when a guest at a wedding got drunk and stole the print. surveillance video showed the heist as it was happening and the print was quickly recovered. in return for not being prosecuted, the thief had to pay penance. >> required him to work 40 hours of community service and chose loaves and fishes. >> but that's not all. look at this. in addition to that community service, the thief had to write, quote, i will never again get drunk at a wedding and steal the naked cigar picture above the urinal in the citizen hotel. and he had to write that over

and over and over. interesting punishment. coming up here, big name baseball player decides to move to a smaller city, but for more money. find out where this top free agent prospect landed today. coming up on bay area news at 7:00, on tv 36. so much for saving money. we were first to tell you how the new electronic dollars at the golden gate bridge aren't paying off. one group tonight tells us why the problem can still be overcome. join us at 7:00 on tv 36.

our sports director tonight and sharks are trying to make up for yesterday's big bummer. >> they're making it close anyway. sharks are squeezing a four- game road trip into six days. today's game in carolina is the back end of back to back games. the grinch tries to steal a victory for the hurricanes today in raleigh. she score a pair of goals in the first. sharks need something to happen in the third. justin brawn, watch him sneak a goal past the goalie cam ward. kings come back and score and are now leading 4-3 deep into the third period. seattle mariners finished 25 games behind oakland last year in the american league

west. today seattle put robinson cano in charge. he and his agent wanted a ten- year contract and got it from the mariners to signed the second baseman to a $240 million that ties albert pujols for the third largest deal ever. seattle was a busy city today. boise state head coach chris peterson accepts the same position with the washington huskies. he's been one of the most coveted coaches for years. we all knew this one was coming. 12 hours after houston lost its 11th straight game, head coach gary kubiak was fired. not a great year for him. one month ago he suffered a mini stroke and now he's out of work. wade phillips takes over as interim head coach. tiger woods. let's go to tiger. we'll talk about gary kubiak here as long as we can. there's tiger. come on, buddy. one of 18 players in this

weekend at thousand oaks. he can win his own challenge tournament for the sixth time. he made ten birdies today. his own tournament course record with a 10 under 62. there he is making one on 8 as well. that is sports. >> he is tiger woods. >> he is tiger. >> thanks. we're always here for you at ktvu.com, as well as facebook and suite twitter. thank you for joining us tonight. we'll be back at 10:00. >> have a great evening, everyone. the donation.

oh, i wish i could do more. it's just a bunch of old, out-of-date clothes. oh, i'm sure it's great. three weeks ago, our neighbors, the rands, lost their house and everything they own in a fire. fortunately, nobody was hurt. and fortunately, they're friends with wonder woman over here. all to help them start over in their new rental. which you found them. i'm no wonder woman. rand-aid was her idea. it wasn't my idea to call it "rand-aid." okay, fine. i'm wonder woman. - terrible tragedy. - they're our closest friends. - we know them. - uh, manny and their son reuben are tight. in fact, i put in one of their closets. not that it matters, but it was the only structure to survive the fire. por favor , don't even say that word!