mike inouye has a look at the routes to avoid this traffic nightmare. >> first off, best option, use the ferry. mary curry says they'll double the service to handle the flow. if you need your car on either side of the bay, here are other things to consider. with doyle shut down for visitors to and from the march eep a, they will find it cut off. drivers will flow on the van ness. add to the familiar mess we call 19th avenue as well. to avoid this, head east. that lower deck through berkeley and back across richmond, san rafael. more mileage, sure, but less headache. this means more traffic for the lower deck of bay bridge, too. if you get the option to use san mateo bridge to the south, then use that san mateo bridge to the south. good luck. back to you. >> good information. thank you, mike. >>> a cabbie car jacked in the east bay. police are looking for the yellow taxi and the gunman that stole it. the taxi driver tells police he picked up three mep at the bay point b.a.r.t. station and took them to an apartment complex in antio antioch. when they arrived, they pulled a gun, robbed

i'm mike inouye. there's lots to do today in the bay. let's start it off friendly. is my friend evan. he has autism. he's also a really fun kid who will be doing comedy along with the rest of the gang at comedy sports in san jose tonight. an all-age live improv group. a portion of the ticket sales go to support him in walk now for autism speaks. that's a fund-raiser you'll hear more about in may again, i promise. >>> now as we all know, the very best improvisers are kids, so the next item is probably going to knock all the older comedians out of the game, but tonight at the firehouse art center, the keen improv festival goes on. the high school improv tournament is a competition featuring talents from local tri-valley high schools. the first place winner of the competition will be in this evening's show along be with creatures of impulse and featured in the local filment project. >>> improv is a great skill to build on. another great skill builder is legos. it will help build up your engineering skills and creativity. play well technologies and 1,000 pieces of lego

mike inouye and myself will be here to guide you through it nonetheless.is that saturday forecast. rain went, thursday, clearing out quickly by friday. sun comes out, warms us back up. high pressure firmly in control saturday through monday, keeping inland highs in the 80s, guys. so the roller coaster keeps on going. >> keep riding that ride. thank you, christina. >>> imagine not being able to see your newborn baby, it is a difficult reality for many military families. >> heart breaking to think about. now hospitals are using technology to help bridge the distance. they are helping a certain soldier feel the joy of fatherhood. >> she was born ten weeks early, a fragile 2 pounds, 13 ounces. doctors say the road ahead for her looks good, but it will be a long road. >> sometimes i breakdown, but i'm trying to be strong mostly for her. all the technology now, i feel like she'll be all right. >> according to the doctors, she will likely be at st. jude's neonatal intensive care unit a couple of months. as she grows, her mother can only touch her occasionally. he

laura garcia-cannon and mike inouye helped them roll up their sleeves. laura talked with neil smith about the company's efforts. >> this is the best day of the company. it's nice to have them here with us. thank you on behalf of comcast. we love giving back to the community we work in. we love dreaming big and getting in volunteerism and funding. it's very meaningful for us to be out in the community. we expected 3,000 volunteers and got 4,200 or more. we are working on 6700 projects around the country. i love seeing the kids and families here working together. it's part of our country. it means a lot to us to give back. >> again, comcast is nbcs parent company. volunteers showed up throughout the bay area to help with republican novations inside and out. i had a chance to participate at an elementary school in west oakland. as you could have seen, but you can't. comcast folks painted the stairs. we had a chance to plant flowers and clean up the classrooms. volunteers were out in force at the shore today. the leatherback sea turtle was the focus on the s

mike inouye was on the nbc bay area float. there he is looking good.he event is a way to show off japanese culture and the diversity of the japanese american community. >>> astronomers say a loud explosion that rattled the sierra this morning was likely caused by a meteor. people who live in the tahoe area said they saw what they believed to be a meteor shower just prior to the sound around 8:30 this morning. others said they saw a fireball streak across the sky at the same time. the associated press is reporting it rattled windows and shook houses from reno to bakersfield. also a meteor streak in the south bay this morning. people saw a brilliant green streak race across the sky in a northeast direction. >>> and we're going to go right to meteorologist rob mayeda with more on what may have happened in tahoe this morning. what was going on? >> pretty interesting. first to see a fireball at 8:30 in the morning, to see it bright even with the daylight out there. we think what happened is the fireball that probably exploded in the skies just to the southe

in san jose, laura garcia and mike inouye motivated hundreds to roll up their sleeves at harry sloniker academy. >> yeah, this is the best day in the company. it's wonderful to have our partners, nbc universal, out here with us. thank you on behalf of comcast. we love giving back to the communities that we work in. we love dreaming big and giving in the form of volunteerism or technology or even funding. it's very meaningful for us to be out with the community. it's wonderful to see. we've got 57,000 people out around the country working on 650 projects. everyone's so enthused. i just love seeing all kids here and the families here working together. >> volunteers showed up at schools throughout the bay area to help with renovations inside and out. i also had the chance to participate. i was out at lafayette elementary school in west oakland and we painted stairs and we had the chance to plant beautiful flowers and clean up a bit as well. it was very nice for comcast. >>> let's check in with meteorologist ryan mayeda with a look at weather. you were helping with comcast cares as well. >>

. >>> first here's mike inouye with your community calendar. >>> this first evend is a book signing. surrounded with wine producers, the bay area we're well familiar with wine, and today i call your attention to an olive oil testing at cupertino library. she's the author of "the passionate olive." learn about oil tasting and up to 100 other things, actually exactly 100 other thing. olive oil, i love it. >>> from love to oeuf, the egg, get a head start on the pictures with the easter bunny before the line gets too hairy. in san francisco we'll have that, along with the face painting, a jumpy house or hop house, i get, and easter egg hunt, brought to you by the hate ash bury council. >>> and the sounds of the islands will fell chabot college, and i'm positive, positive, you'll be able to get something with spam in it, likely rice with chili, where on campus, and even you could win tickets to go to how. remember, bring back some chocolate macadamia nuts or a t fine. after year. feed me! saving you money -- now, that's progressive. call or click today. things fun. sometimes she lets us p

but first, here's mike inouye with a look at the weekend calendar. >>> good morning.'s lots to do "today in the bay." which comes first, the chicken or the egg? for saturday, the egg. six of them that you'll get at the botanical garden. there's a hands-on workshop there. you'll introduce kids to the joy of natural dyes. the edible workshop. now this is from the sea. for that, head across the street to the pier in san francisco for the sing-a-long. i know it is the muppets, but they are singing from 8:00 to midnight tonight aboard the ship at the maritime national historical park. bring warm clothes, your singing voice and a mug for hot cider at the monthly free event. the muppets are not included. >>> so far we have the land, we have sea, and air. santa has his sleigh, so it seems fair for the easter bunny to arrive by helicopter. today at the hillard aviation museum, just a hop off the free, go a hair to the south near the holly street exit and be set for the 10:30 arrival of the big bunny himself. stick around for the egg hunt, face painting and the jump and slide.

mike inouye, there's hope if headed to the sierra. >> that's right. westbound moving. lanes reopened, all westbound lanes reopened 15 minutes ago. we're just now seeing this shot at the toll plaza start to move. the map shows you it is slow across the bridge from 880 across the span to foster city. that means a lot of traffic going to 101. watch,t on s on the east bay. >> thanks so much. >>> we will have a look at the forecast after the break. sound a whole lot better when you put them in a taco shell instead of a pyramid. old el paso. when you gotta have mexican. this reduced sodium soup says it may help lower cholesterol, how does it work? you just have to eat it as part of your heart healthy diet. step 1. eat the soup. all those veggies and beans, that's what may help lower your cholesterol and -- well that's easy [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup. >>> welcome back. take a look at all of these people on the golden gate bridge enjoying this beautiful day. it is gorgeous in the bay. temperatures in the upper 70s. right now, we'r

mike inouye is here to tell us about the traffic. hopefully smooth sailing. >> smoother.ck-up. we expect that. there are a couple of accidents in the area but they are moving to the shoulder. going to the left side of your screen, that's northbound 17 and northbound 880 crossing over the freeway where northbound 880 continues on our maps. look at all this red. no earlier accidents near that interchange. there is one on great america parkway. south bay is slow, jon. >> appreciate the update. for the latest, make sure to check out nbc bay area on facebook. [ female announcer ] this is the story of sam, who made an unexpected arrival. [ woman ] he was 4 months early, weighing 1 pound, 12 ounces. [ female announcer ] fortunately, sam was born at sutter health's alta bates summit medical center. [ woman ] the staff was remarkable. they made me feel safe, trusting, cared for. [ giggles ] they saved his life. i owe all of them my son. [ female announcer ] alta bates summit medical center and sutter health -- our story is you. >>> we are back now at 8:30 on a thursday morning, 5t

let's look at the drive now with mike inouye. >>> look at the top of the screen coming down the eastks blend with the merge off the richmond bridge. no real alternate, that's what you have. 880 at the bottom of the screen. live northbound slow at the coliseum. 680 tough all morning. lanes open the bulk of the commute. slow southbound, continuing out of pleasanton into the south bay. >>> for the record, mike inouye, above and beyond the call of duty all day long. thank you for joining us. another local update in a half hour from now. >>> we had this, this glow about her that was just, you know, incredible. you know. and i'm -- i'm -- i'm thinking to myself, you know, she must be -- she must be doing really well, because she looked really well. >> for the first time since the passing of whitney houston her ex-husband bobby brown is speaking out, and that is what he had to say about the last time he saw whitney, about a week before her untimely death. we will hear from bobby brown in an exclusive interview wednesday, only on "today." >> hard to believe she's gone. >> yeah. >> and i got

mike inouye has the information. >> accident 101, north and southbound, same area, both clearing fromo mountain view, passing by 237. 101, 880 an accident. northbound 280 at 85, still on the shoulder. live look at 880 past the coliseum. volunteer builds here. marla, back to you. >>> for the latest traffic and news updates, check us on facebook, search nbc bay area. we'll be back at 8:56. >>> we're back now, 8:30 on a tuesday morning. the 17th day of april, 2012. we're taking a look at a big crowd that's gathered on rockefeller plaza, some women who are standing tall. >> savannah tall. >> excuse me, i've got to go with my ladies. >> outen the plaza, i'm matt lauer -- >> did you know they were going to be here? >> no! we didn't plan it. but i think we have a connection. >> my people. >> my people! >> out on the plaza i'm matt lauer along with savannah guthrie. savannah is here while ann is taking some time off this week. we've got natalie here and al, as well. and if you are looking for a great place to go on your next vacation, conde nast traveler is out with their list of the hottest

majority leader harry reid, senate appropriations chairman daniel inouye, a number of republicans including cagw's porker of the month, mike rodgers, the republican of alabama, have been clamoring for the restoration of earmarks. representative rodgers said earmarks are required in order to pass legislation, referring mostly to the transportation bill, which has had trouble reaching the house floor not because of a lack of earmarks but because it is simply too expensive. senator reid has stated often that earmarking has been going on since we were a country and there is a constitutional oblths for congressionally directed spending. senator inouye says he will continue to do everything he can to reinstate earmarks. until a permanent ban is established, taxpayers will be justified in believing that members of congress are being creative in trying to skirt the moratorium and continuing to obtain earmarks. it is certainly reasonable to conclude that the 59 members of the senate who voted against senator toomey's amendment would like to continue having earmarks. as in previous years, all of the items in cagw's 2012 congressiona