>> reporter: good afternoon. we're here at union headquarters where leaders are optimistic that this agreement will pass, but we've also run into some workers who say, they're still undecided on how they are going to vote because they're still weighing in on what's best for them and the public. transit buses took off for the regular routes. drivers had a lot on their

mind, wondering if fellow members will pass a tentative agreement to prevent the possibility of a strike. drivers and mechanics make local 192, which has been fighting for better wages, health care benefits, scheduling, and break times. the new agreement offers a 9.5% raise over three years. it also increases worker medical benefit payments from the current $0 to $120 a month. bus drivers we spoke with said they are willing to compromise. >> am i satisfied with it? no, i think we could have done better, but we serve the public, and i think we can best seven the public by being on the job. >> i will vote yes because nobody wants to go on strike and be a big ole mess. >> reporter: other union members say this deal is hardly any different than the two they voted against. some say the increase in medical costs will wipe out most of the raise and want to

put pressure on a.c. transit. >> i'm definitely voting no. this contract does nothing for members. >> i'd rather go on strike so we can get what we want. the way they are treating us here, it's not right at all. >> reporter: voting is taking place all day today at various locations of a.c. transit. it will go on until 7:00 p.m. we reached out to the union president to ask how serious a strike possibility is but she has not returned our phone calls today. it will cost you more to ride b.a.r.t. in the new year starting january 1st. fairs are going up 5.2%. >> an average increase of $.19 per trip. >> more than 1 million americans are scheduled to lose their unemployment benefits

tomorrow. the benefits were not included in the bipartisan budget agreement that president obama signed yesterday. justin gray is live in washington. critics say it would hurt the americans. >> reporter: this ad just began running calling republicans who oppose extending the long-term unemployment benefits bad santas. congress had approved the extra benefits for the long-term unemployed 11 separate times where republicans insist before another dollar is spent, other cuts are needed. >> we can't keep adding to the federal deficit that this will cost us. >> i'm hoping that some of the grinches that prevented us from giving this extra assistance will help.

president obama said if it comes to his desk, he will sign it. justin gray, ktvu, channel 2 news. reassurances from target today that shoppers' p.i.n. numbers are safe despite reports saying they were stolen during the data breach before christmas. target reports the hacker $steal the pips but the numbers were strongly encrypted and insisted the customers' it debit card accounts have not been compromised. 19-day breach from just before thanksgiving to december 15th is among the largest recorded data security breaches in the country. new at noon, a federal judge in new york this morning ruled the nsa's massive data collection program is legal. in his decision, the judge said the program helps fight terrorist networks by collecting fragmented, fleeting communications after a ruling

earlier this month by a u.s. district court judge that said the program likely violates the constitutional ban on unreasonable searches. sniffling, sneezing, aches and pains. updating the areas hit the hardest and what's in store for the rest of the season. a cooler day in the bay area today. is this a trend for the weekend? rosemary will be here for the weekend forecast. >> and trapped at sea, a sea of ice. a slow-loving rescue going on right now to get to a ship with dozens of people on board.

. >> activist cindy sheehan is running for governor for california. she picked up her candidacy papers in fairfield. now she needs to gather 10,000 signatures by february 15th to appear on the ballot for the june primaries. sheehan, who belongs to the peace and freedom party is challenging governor jerry brown because she wants to reform the state's education and prison system. >> i have a lot of support in california, so with the top two primaries and with the way things are looking now, you know, we're very optimistic. >> she gained national

attention after her son casey was killed in iraq in 004 and she staged a-- in 2004, and she staged a protest outside then president bush's ranch in texas. a new poll shows oakland mayor jeanne kwan is favored to win re-election. kwan received 32% support and second, san francisco state professor joe tillman, third is libby half with 16%, brian parker received 10% in the survey and the other 20% favored someone else or undecided. the mayor dropped to second place in a separate mock race that gave council member rebecca kaplan 20%. she's recently deflected questions on the matter.

a fund-raiser is planned for a young woman hit by a stray bullet. she was watching television in her home when a bullet came through the wall and lodged in her spinal cord. she's been moved out of intensive care, but no visitors are allowed except for immediate family. donations will be collected outside the coliseum on sunday to cover medical expenses. the taliban claimed responsibility for a deadly bombing in afghanistan that killed three nato service members. a suicide car bomber carried out the attack about a half mile from the base in kabul. 12 coalition troops have died this month, including six u.s. soldiers who died in a helicopter crash on december 17th. a chinese ice breaker ship is slowly making its way to a russian research vessel trapped in the ice aantarctica. the ship is care rig 74

professional and amateur scientists researching climate change. it became stuck on tuesday about 1500 nautical miles south of tasmania. one of the professors on board has been sending video messages back to home base. >> just over my left shoulder, you can hopefully see gray sky. that's what they call water sky. basically meaning the open water is reflecting on the clouds just above it. that's the most likely route the chinese vessel will get to us. it is that time of year, the flu season is upon us. the centers for disease control says the infection is popping up in several states. we see where the flu season is in full swing. >> reporter: the flu season is officially upon us. although, it is just the beginning, the cdc is already

reporting widespread infection rates in several states, including alabama, louisiana, and new york. texas has been the hardest hit reporting at least five deaths from the h1n1 strain, also known as swine flu. >> the majority of hospitalizations for influenza occur in people 65 years of age or older. the majority of deaths are also in that group. we know that h1n1, this particular various does cause more infections in younger adults. >> reporter: h1n1 fist caused a pan -- first caused a pandemic that infected 52 million people, about 24% of the world, and may have killed hundreds of thousands worldwide. health officials say if you have not gotten a flu shot, you still can. >> every formulation of vaccine that you can get this year will protect against h1n1, and it also protects against other influenza viruses that we think are also circulating. >> that was victor blackwell reporting.

health experts say there are simple steps you can take to stay healthy. they are obvious but bear repeating. wash your hands often, cover your coughs or sneezes, and if you are sick, stay home. the cdc expects the flu season to peak in february a snowboarder with ties to the bay area has died in an avalanche. he was hit by the avalanche. his friend, who was a doctor, tried to save his life. they say he was in a high-risk area. michael split time living in the bay area and jackson, wyoming. utility workers in the midwest, the northeast, and canada are working long shifts to restore power to tens of thousands of people left in the dark after a major snow and ice storm. power officials say the ice and wind did severe damage to power lines. the storm has been blamed for 17 deaths in the u.s. and 10 in canada. another storm is expected in the region sunday and monday. ♪ [music]

♪ a cloudier, cooler day shaping up around the bay area for today. wall to wall clouds from the coast across the bay giving you a live view at the mid-and high level clouds over lafayette. temperatures just a few degrees cooler than yesterday at this hour but feels much cooler with the clouds over. soft sunlight in store for the rest of the day. a look here at storm tracker 2. no rain unfortunately associated with the weak system but bringing us meanty of cloud cover. we saw 14 areas either tie or break records this week. not going to be the case for today. we've got temperatures falling in the low to mid-60s still above average but cooler than where we've been. you have to get well north into washington state to point to a little bit of rain. the rest of us will remain mostly dry and especially the bay area, mainly dry as we get through today and your weekend. 54 degrees right now in concord. 53 for walnut creek. 61 san francisco.

56 for nevada and upper 50s at half moon bay. 56 degrees right now for san jose. as we get into the second half of the afternoon, again, temperatures are not as warm as we have seen recently. air quality is better but it is a spare the air day. a moderate air quality reported for the inner east bay. the rest of us still with the air quality just above 100 in that shade of orange indicating if you are sensitive to the pollution, if you have asthma or respiratory issues this is something to be aware of for today. it looks lake at winter spare the air day will be declared by the air quality management district. for the after nan today, you can expect -- afternoon today, you can expect 61 san rafael, 64 for oakland. low 60s antioch as well as brentwood along the coast. into the south bay, 66 for san jose, 67 morgan hill. 71 in santa cruz, which is still mild for this time of

year. santa cruz hit 77 yesterday. from what i understand, it was really packed in santa cruz yesterday. the extended forecast here with the bay area weekend always in view. these clouds will pass as we get into the evening hours. by team morning, we'll wake up with mostly clear skies once again and temperatures rebound into the upper 60s. sunday looks to be the warmer day of the weekend and in the extended forecast, there's no rain. come new year's even, mid-60s. >> maybe more people headed to the beach this weekend? >> perhaps. coming up, another big lottery winner northern california and a divine dessert. take a look. the special plans one family has for this holiday treat.

an early surge is gone. apple and amazon.com the big winners during the holiday shopping season. the big board, the dow is down five, nasdaq down 12. s&p down one. someone in an andreas has a winning super lotto ticket that was pulled on christmas day. no winner has come forward. the ticket was sold at treat's general store that received $40,000 for selling the ticket. the owner plans to split half the winnings with his employees. the big megamillions winner the south bay still is a mystery. one of the two winning tickets

was sold last week at jenny's gift shop in san jose. lottery officials say it's common to delay coming forward until after getting advice on how to handle the new winnings. the two winners will split $648 million. the other winner in georgia has already claimed her prize. the bay area is home to two of the five richest cities in america, including the top spot. san jose and the silicon valley have the highest median income of all 365 metropolitan areas in the country. not surprisingly, it's because of the tech companies and businesses that support that industry. washington d.c. ranks second with bridgeport, connecticut coming in third. san francisco took the fourth spot because of its connections to tech as well as tourism. boston is number five. a cheesecake is getting a lot of attention this morning. yes, i said cheesecake. a family in arizona says the holiday cheesecake sent them a message of a holiday miracle. you can see why. it cracked as it cooled and

formed a crucifix. they will not be eating it. they plan on selling it and donating the money to a local charity or church. today on channel 2 news at 5:00, more on the discovery of a body in san francisco just identified as a man who'd been missing for months. what we're learning from authorities plus the man's family who says he made a frantic phone call before he disappeared. thank you for making ktvu your choice for news. we're always here for you on ktvu.com.

>> this is "the real winning edge." it's a swimmer who not only made a huge difference in his team, but made a great difference in others' lives as a track athlete who works hard to overcome the struggles caused by her adoption. it's a hawaiian athlete who overcomes the fear of riding 50-foot waves. it's celebrities who let you know what it takes to win in life-- nathan adrian, allyson felix, and robby naish. this is how to overcome. [captioning made possible by challenger films] >> ♪ as long as it's all right i know there's a way... ♪ >> i'm apolo anton ohno. see how you can overcome when life gets tough. >> hi. i'm lisa lexington. find out how to have the real winning edge ove