what was going on. she was emotional and obviously upset. she told us there was a fire here before. this is landmark here in berkeley. she was already talking about rebuilding and reopening. >> i'm pretty shaky right now, but i'm just glad no one was in the building. >> reporter: world famous chef alice waters got a look at the fire damage at chez panisse firsthand. >> the extent of the damage is really the front porch, which, of course was built from the very beginning by beautiful woodworkers and so it's a very historic piece that has -- that has disappeared. >> reporter: overnight smoke and flames poured from the front and side of the popular berkeley restaurant. firefighters knocked it down quickly and pointed out the good fortune of a well-placed sprinkler. >> had it not been for that single sprinkler, we probably

would have had significantly greater amount of damage. >> reporter: water, known for her california cuisine, said on the advice of a builder sherks had it installed. >> i didn't want any sprinklers because it would destroy the look of the downstairs. and he said, you know, it's all wood. and i'm going to build a light fixture around the sprinkler so that you won't notice it. >> reporter: she said there was a fire here in 1982, and this reminds her of that ordeal. once again picking up the pieces. >> it was frightening for my -- my partner died. and it has a lot of promotional just sadness. >> reporter: the damage estimates are around $200,000. inside there is damage, but firefighters say it could have been much worse. a lot of the damage is smoke damage. the cause hasn't been determined, but they're telling me they're looking closely at the electrical system.

a manager tells me the kitchen has already been inspected and cleared. waters said that she might try to open the cafe upstairs first, then maybe put a screen downstairs while they're doing the rebuilding. it's unclear exactly when it will reopen, but she hopes it will be soon. reporting live in berkeley, christie smith, nbc bay area news. more details about chez panisse. the restaurant was started in a home on shattuck avenue in 1971 by alice waters and paul arato you. it's named for a french film character honore panis serks. it was named best restaurant by "gourmet magazine." alice waters was named best chef in america for her work at the restaurant in 1992. this just in, oakland police wrapping up a major sting operation, arresting at least a dozen people believed to be responsible for a list of shootings and homicides. police cruisers and s.w.a.t.

vehicles lining the streets of neighborhoods this morning as police and other law enforcement agencies serve search warrants. the raid started before dawn. and authorities say they arrested a total of 12 people and seized one ak-47. oakland police chief howard jordan says the efforts have required a lot of teamwork. >> in addition to all of our federal, state and local partners that have joined us today, we have commitments from them to be here as long as necessary so that they can help us reduce violent crime in oakland. >> police say their work is not done. they're still looking for seven more suspects who are expecting to learn more in a press conference coming up expected to happen at 11:00 this morning. in the south bay a large homeless encampment is being forced to move out this morning. police and city crews showed up a couple hours ago to start cleaning up the area. but many people who were living at the camp are wondering where do they go next.

bob redell joins from us the ca camp's location which is between the san jose airport and the rose garden. >> reporter: good morning to you, marla. san jose police have already cleared out most of these encampments on this parcel of vacant land owned by the city. so far no arrests for trespassing and little confrontation between officers and the people who live here. >> you're currently trespassing on city property. if you refuse to leave, you would be arrested for trespassing. would you like to leave? >> sure. >> reporter: from what we can tell all the homeless people have agreed to cooperate with police demands despite the fact that adamantly they do not want to go. the city did give notice on wednesday about today's eviction. concerns about these encampments have become unsightly, unsanitary and a risk to public safety. at one point there were as many as 100 people out here. something that grew over the past month or so. today there are 20 to 30 people who remained. we don't know where the others

went. that's a question resident has for themselves this morning. you're kicking me out. now where do you want me to go? >> i don't even know how long i've been here. i think eight months. i worked all my life. and i'm sick. that's why i'm where i'm at today. it's sad that they would give us no resources. there's a resources at the shelter. you get a number to get a bed, then you get bed bugs. then you get robbed. you're better out here. we don't rob each other. everybody labels us. everybody is down here for a reason. whatever the reason is, if one person's homeless, it's a problem. that's it. >> encampments are a symptom of a much larger problem of homelessness. when we're dealing with encampments themselves, we have to think about balancing the needs not only of the people that are living out here but the needs of the community and the potential damage to the environment as well. we have to be careful and respectful of all the different constituencies that work hard to

look at the underlying problem of why this encampment exists. that's because our community is facing a crisis of homeless bs. we need to address that. >> reporter: the city said it will store these people's belongings for 90 days for pickup later. but we saw the city throwing away most of their items. not clear how much will end up in storage. one lady advocating for her friends who live on the streets still, she was hoping for another week a reprieve so she could try to move some of these people into homes. the city pointed out to us that nonprofits have been reaching out to these people for the past month. sometimes people don't want to go into a shelter because the rules are too rigid. they feel like they're losing their freedom. others don't qualify. keep in mind, even if everyone wanted to go in, there's not enough beds in san jose for everyone who is homeless. that being said, the city said it could find emergency housing for everyone here for tonight, but like i said, that's emergency housing. that's just for one night. then it's on a nightly basis after that. reporting live here in san jose,

bob redell, nbc bay area news. we now have an official date from the vatican for day one of that conclave. vatican officials announcing just this morning the election process to choose the next pope will begin tuesday of next week. nbc's mark barger has the details. >> reporter: after days of anticipation, the date for the start of the conclave to elect the new pope was announced today. the conclave will begin on tuesday. the cardinals voted on when to start the papal election during their evening meeting. once the voting does start, the question immediately becomes how long will the conclave last. >> if a conclave goes more than a week, they va bigger problem than simply missing holy week. they've got a very divided conclave that is having a hard time picking a pope. >> reporter: in preparation for the start of the conclave, workers have been busy preparing the sistine chapel, getting things ready. that's where the cardinal electors will hold their sessions to vote on the next

pope. raised flooring has been put in to protect the delicate floor of the chapel and devices meant to jam any attempts to bug the proceedings. two stoves have also been involved. one will be used to burn the ballots. the other used to crete the smoke that tells the world the result of the votes. now that the start of the conclave has been set, attention turns to who will be the next leader of the world's 1.2 billion catholics. reporting for nbc news. the funeral for late venezuelan president hugo chavez is under way. we do have new video to show of you the funeral service. dozens of world dignitaries are in attendance including rubin leader raul castro and iranian president mahmoud ahmadinejad. chavez was reportedly close to ahmadinejad and often praised him for his anti-west, anti-american stance. venezuela's acting head of state says the former president's body will be permanently displayed inside a glass tomb at a military museum near the

presidential palace. chavez died tuesday reportedly from a heart attack. it comes after a years long battle with cancer. osama bin laden's son-in-law has pled not guilty this morning. suleiman abu ghaith has been charged with plotting to kill americans because of the september 11th attacks. he spent most of the last decade locked up in iran before being arrested last week in jordan. a new plan to ban gun shows is at the cow palace and other parts of the bay area are being introduced this morning. senator mark leno drafting a bill that would allow local control over gun shows. the county would have to pass a resolution before a gun show could be held somewhere like the cow palace. this marked the latest attempt to stop gun shows at the cow palace. if you recall, back in 2009, then-governor arnold schwarzenegger vetoed such a ban. a school district in daly city looking for donations to

fund condoms for students. the jefferson union high school district wants to be able to give condoms out to students who have taken a class in health education. students would have to talk to a counselor before actually getting the condoms. san francisco's unified school district offering a similar program to students as do some high schools in redwood city and contra costa county. washington reacts to a better-than-expected unemployment report, but it is enough to change the tone in congress? the latest on efforts to avoid yet another financial crisis. also, bieber fans, all those beliebers out there, they get a scare in london. he stumbled off the stage in the middle of a concert. what he's saying this morning. and from bieber fever to spring fever. we've got a warm-up on the way, but that means your pollen levels are going to soar as we head through the weekend. not just the weather changing. also your clocks. we'll give you your new sunrise and sunset when we come right

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well t latest unemployment report shows some promise for the economy. unemployment dropped to 7.7%. now, that's the lowest point in four years. employers also added a whopping 236,000 jobs last month. that's the largest monthly increase since last november. but the improving numbers are now threatened by the $85 billion in sequester spending cuts which would cut an estimated 750,000 jobs by the end of the year. to fix that, president obama is reaching out to republicans, planning to meet with them on capitol hill next week. >> coats off, sleeves rolled up. really discussing ways we might begin to breach some of the differences. >> i'm hopeful that something will come out of it, but if the president continues to insist on tax hirks i don't think we're going to get very far. >> the next budget crisis is

less than three weeks away. the house passed its budget to avert a shutdown. the senate is expected to pass its own next week. google says it's cutting 1200 jobs, all with its struggling motorola division. the tech company bought motorola last year and laid off 4,000 jobs back in august. google says it's reducing 10% of the workforce allowing it to focus more on software for smartphones and less on feature phones. motorola has been struggling to stay relevant in a cell phone market increasingly dominated by apple and samsung. google says it will help laid off employees find future employment. the latest technology trends are on display at the south by southwest festival in austin. the high tech event begins today and brings music, independent movies and also new technology together over a five-day stretch. the festival started in the late

'90s and famously helped san francisco bay's twitter get off the ground. it's give apps like foursquare a boost. scott mcgrew is there this weekend. >> my guess is he's going to have a very good time. >> not something we see very often in southern california, but this morning snow. bad enough there to shut down a major freeway. a portion of i-5 near the town of gorman. it got serious snow this morning. shut down with all that white stuff there. chp reporting slick roads and very low visibility. a lot of the big rigs got stuck just after sunrise. winter storm warnings have been in effect all morning long for los angeles, riverside, san bernardino and ventura county. >> that video looks like it was shot on the east coast. >> exactly. wet stuff and snow, all this mess. >> in the bay area we're blessed with a beautiful weekend. christina loren. >> you know what the worst part about the grapevine getting shut down, you get stuck in

bakersfield. good morning to you. a great day shaping up. a look from high atop san bruno. you will notice in addition to our clearing skies, our winds are picking up. that will be the case as this area of low pressure races out of here. this is what shut down the grapevine earlier this morning. but conditions are improving, starting to see a little bit of weakening from that area of low pressure. it's going to race across the east as we head through the next few days. for us that means high pressure can build in. and we have a beautiful warm-up on the way just in time for the weekend. 61 degrees already. seeing some comfortable numbers out there. 55 for san jose, 41 still a little chilly in gilroy head through the day today, temperatures will climb maybe five degrees more at best. we basically hit our highs for this time because we still have all the cold air. it will take a little time to max out. winds are going to pick up as we head throughout the day today. they're already doing so along the coastline.

westerly wind at 20 miles per hour sustained in novato. we're gusty closer to 40 miles per hour. so you want to keep that in mind. the winds will strengthen between now and 4:00 p.m. the colors pop, that's where we see the heaviest winds all the way through. then those will start to drop off. highs today comfortable, 60 in san jose. we've got that time change. spring forward. the one we don't like. you lose an hour in sleep. however, another hour of sunshine. sun won't set until 7:13 in the evening. so that's the good news. a little more sunlight for your afternoon activities. hiking, biking, walking, great weather to accommodate anything you want to do. only caveat is higher pollen levels as we kick i off next week. >> no fun for the allergies. it was a big disappointment for tourists in greece. the famous acropolis and other

historical sites are shut down today because of a strike. the culture ministry called a 24-hour strike over government plans to change its organizational structure. employees had to stand at the front gate to turn away tourists and explain the strike. >> that's a big time downer. this was scary for all the beliebers out there. justin bieber giving fans a scare after nearly collapsing on stage in a london concert. the video shows the bieber appeared to become light-headed, stumbled to the back of the stage, then disappeared. a spokesman says bieber was treated backstage for shortness of breath. he finally did catch his breath h to be run to the hospital. he tweeted out a picture of himself in the hospital this morning. good news, rest assured. he's feeling much better. a shirtless picture he tweeted out. kind of happy we didn't show that. justin bieber just 19 trying to be too sexy. >> he was probably dehydrated. >> yeah, something like that.

a bay area city gets a feather in its cap. why fremont is being recognized as one of the best managed cities in the country. also, earning his star. a bay area native now immortalized in hollywood. we'll let you know how he's reacting to the big time honor. coming up next r, 30 rock.

the city of fremont getting some national recognition this morning for something it has that no other city in the bay area has. checking in on wall street's list of the best-run cities in all of america. fremont, check this out, has the 11th lowest crime rate in the country and the lowest poverty rate. the lowest poverty rate at 6.6%.

the city is so well managed it doesn't even have a credit rating. that's because fremont does not need to issue debt to raise money for community projects or resources. somebody there doing something very right. the number one best-run city in america? that honor goes to virginia beach. fremont happens to be the only bay area city to make this list. congratulations to fremont. actor james franco is now immortalized in one of hollywood's most famous landmarks. yesterday franco received his star on the walk of fame. the 34-year-old was joined by his parents for the ceremony. he's still shocked his name was included with other legendary performers. this morning his newest movie hits theaters, "oz the great and powerful" it's called. a prequel to the "wizard of oz." it follows him as he crash lands in oz and is mistaken for a powerful wizard. >> i hope that's good because

the original is an all-time classic. >> and mila kunis is in there. ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] now's the time to save 5% off every day with your lowe's consumer credit card.

♪ so you think you can dance? this 6-year-old girl is setting the bar pretty high. she goes by the name b girl kara. she's a member of a british break dancing troupe. she can do all kinds of moves that put dancers triple her age to shame. >> that's called getting on the good foot and doing the bad thing. >> she's on fire there. love it. reminds me of the movie "breakin'". >> i used to do that. >> join us tonight at 5:00, 6:00 and 11:00. that's a nice tie, by the way. >> thank you very much.

- [sighs] oh. - now, remind me, did you just do the philadelphia cotillion, or did you also debut internationally? - i'm happy to say that i don't even get that. - how was your trip? - terrible. i had to give up my window seat to some seven-year-old who had to sit next to her precious mommy. - what about the actual purpose of your trip? how is the search for the new cast member going? - okay. i saw a few good alternative comics in san francisco. - san francisco? i asked you to find an actor from middle america, a real person. you're not going to find him in the people's gay-public of drug-ifornia. - jeez, relax. i'm also setting up auditions in toronto. - canada? [chuckling] why not just go to iraq? the television audience doesn't want your elitist east coast, alternative, intellectual, left-wing-- - jack, just say jewish. this is taking forever. - stop trying to amuse yourself and start thinking about what makes

actual human beings laugh. - who wants-- my puddings! [laughter] - now that's what i'm talking about. - what a dumb-- oh, no, he's really hurt. - hey, tracy, did you hear? fred dawkins, the incredibly overweight guy that pac-man was based on died last night. - i will eat a bowl of cherries and some ghost meat in his honor. orange and black decorations? is this halloween or princeton parents' weekend? i don't know whether to be scared or proud of my cousin. - it's halloween, sir. - proud it is. - but this "almost all saints' day" isn't gonna be much of a celebration. i just heard that world-famous clog dancer jugbert cody has gone to a better place. - he's in cabo? - no, sir. he passed away. but at least he died doing what he loved-- blogging on the huffington post. - wow. two down, one to go. - what do you mean? - the rule of threes-- celebrities always die in groups of three. you better be careful, tray. - yeah, right. that's not a real thing.