good morning. well, a big change in our weather from the last couple of days. it's cooler and breezy and it's also going to be maybe a possibility of thundershowers today. >> reporter: flames broke out in a berkeley home early this morning. and firefighters weren't just dealing with fire, they were dealing with downed power lines, broken gas meters and crews tell us this situation is still developing. all of our lives are in their hands. at any times we could wreck and all die. >> a dramatic confrontation after a muni driver is caught

on tape texting with a bus full of passengers. it's all ahead here on the ktvu morning news. good morning. thank you for waking up with us. it's thursday april 7th. i'm pam cook. little rain overnight. steve paulson here to tell us about the weather this morning. hi, steve. hi, pam. we a big change. yesterday was nice and sunny, wind picked up in the afternoon. highs were in the 60s. today we'll be in the 50s. some rain towards san jose, santa clara valley and showers peninsula and little on the east bay. highs in the 50s. wind will pick up and cold air will continue to settle in. cool blustery day. here's sal. right now traffic is moving well on westbound 24 getting up to the tunnel. no major problems. traffic is doing very well getting up into oakland. also this morning we're looking at traffic here on northbound 101 in san francisco. that looks good. 4:31.

let's go back to the desk. topping our news this morning in berkeley firefighters are investigating a fire that was very tricky to fight. it brought down power lines and caused two gas meters to blow near a home on dwight way. pg&e crews are on the scene. they aren't leaving any time soon. and ktvu's claudine wong is there as well. claudine, what can you tell us? >> reporter: well, pam, firefighters are still on scene. pg&e is still on scene. and this situation is still developing. you take a look down and you can see they're bringing in heavy equipment. they're still trying to deal with a power line issue that's out here. let's take you through what happened though. this is the home that caught on fire early this morning just after 1:00 this morning. but the fire was only the first part of this. i want to show you what's going on out here. there was a power line that was connected here. you can see the end of it up here that's still hanging. it has been cut down but it was basically laying across the street. so firefighters couldn't cross it. they had to go fight it from one side of the street and the

other side of the street because that line was still hot. and that was just the first problem. there were also gas meters on either side of this house. and they blew when this fire began this morning. so when firefighters got here all they could do was basically sit and watch this gas line or these gas meters as flames shot out of that. they called pg&e. it took pg&e about an hour and a half to arrive. it's unclear why it took them so long at this point. we think crews were stretched pretty thin. at this point you see heavy equipment down the street right now. what firefighters are telling me what pg&e wants to do is basically dig up the street to make sure that they crimped the line underground. how long that will take we're still not sure. red cross is out here. four people were inside this home when this fire broke out. they all got out safely. we're still not sure how this fire started. but we do know everyone will be out here for quite a while. we're going to keep an eye on this situation. try to get an update from pg&e.

crews here are not talking. we're going to talk more to the firefighters and we'll keep you updated here on the morning news. live in berkeley, claudine wong, ktvu channel 2 news. thank you, claudine. also this morning investigators are still on the scene of a big fire in san francisco's mission district. it was first reported shortly after 8:00 last night on mission street near valencia. the building contains both homes and businesses. strong winds caused the flames to spread to two other buildings. it took 100 firefighters nearly two hours to get that fire under control. one firefighter was hurt. >> he was fighting the fire on the inside. i believe fell from an attic extension ladder approximately four to five feet. we transported him to sf general. he's undergoing evaluation. >> he's now listed in stable condition. the red cross is providing shelter for the people left homeless by that fire. and investigators have been on the scene all night looking for the cause. an oakland firefighter is being treated for burns

following an explosion at a motor home. it happened on redding avenue last night at about 5:00. firefighters say the driver of a disabled rv was working on the engine when the fire started. firefighters arrived and were working to put out the flames when the engine exploded. the injured firefighter suffered burns to his face. this morning on capitol hill democrats and republicans will meet again to try to beat a deadline of midnight tomorrow to agree on a spending bill to avoid a government shutdown. president obama summoned congressional leaders to the white house for a meeting late last night. afterwards the president said it would be inexcusable to allow a government shutdown. but the two sides remain at odds. >> i have confidence we can get this done. we're not there yet. but hope lies eternal. >> i do think we made some progress. but i want to reiterate there's no agreement on a number and there's no agreement on the

policy. but there's an intent on both sides to continue to work together to try to resolve this. >> house republicans say they'll push today for another stopgap spending bill to keep the government running in case there's no agreement by the midnight deadline tomorrow night. now if there is no agreement reached on the budget, the consequences will be felt nationwide. coming up at about 4:45 how a government shutdown could effect your tax return and some services and sightseeing right here in the bay area. a muni bus operator in san francisco is back on the job. but that's after being caught texting while driving with a bus full of passengers. the incident happened in february on a 24 bus and was caught on cell phone video. the passenger who shot the video says he was kicked off the bus after confronting the driver. he believes the driver should be fired. >> all of our lives are in their hands. so at any time we could wreck

and all die. >> absolutely against our rules and regulations. any time something like this happens we try to take immediate action. >> muni says the driver has been on the job for nine years. now she was suspended without pay for three days for violating both state law and muni policy. in castro valley a motorcyclist was killed after slamming into a truck while fleeing from a sheriff's deputy. that happened last night at about 8:00 on redwood road near the 580 onramp. the chp says the intersection reopened about 30 minutes ago. alameda county sheriff deputies tell us here at ktvu that a deputy spotted the motorcyclist driving erratically. that deputy then attempted to pull him over. >> the driver of the motorcycle fled, ran two stoplights and was going through a third stoplight when the semitruck

passing through and they hit. >> the motorcyclist died at the scene. we do not yet know his name. the driver of the truck was not injured. the california highway patrol is now investigating. well, if you're driving in san francisco this morning you may see a lot of kids riding their bikes to school. today is san francisco's third annual bike to school day. a record turn out is expected with about 40 campuses taking part. the event is meant to encourage bike riding and promote safety along with students and teachers and parents and city supervisors also expected to participate. so when you hit the road for work today, sal, be careful of those cyclists out there. that was a very nice transition, pam. i must say. >> thank you. >> i liked it very much. good morning to you. she's absolutely right. just be careful out there. pay extra care as you might see some kids out there on their bikes going to school. let's go out and take a look at westbound 80 as you head to the

macarthur maze. that traffic is moving along very nicely. no major problems this morning on 580 coming up to the macarthur maze. bay bridge toll plaza seems nice and it is nice getting into san francisco with no major problems. also this morning we're looking at 280 and san jose. traffic is moving well now. in case you're just joining us, steve talked about it. little some showers today. some of the roads may be wet. let's bring steve in and have him talk about that. sal, that was a very nice transition as well. >> thank you. >> yes, sir. sal is spot on. we have some shower activity mainly peninsula south bay and east bay. little break north bay but look upstream. this is not a big rain producer but it is very dynamic and we have a possibility of not only showers but thundershowers and snowfalling up in blue canyon says snow, truck key says light snow. decent totals for a while t. is a more favorable pattern for snow in the sierra than rain for us. it's going to be a cold

blustery day as temperatures come back in the 50s. little bit lit up santa clara valley coming out of 17 on monterey highway towards south san jose and heading towards morgan hill. and a little light moving near marin county but also stretching back from the east bay, allot month pass, san jose, livermore to pacifica. nothing too heavy but it's there. brief heavy showers are possible today as this system plunges south there's a lot going for it. cold air will be here for a couple days and get it out of here by the weekend. the end result is going to be a return of winter here. a cold system drops in today. highs only in the 50s. and no doubt about it because the days are longer, angle of the sun is higher and you get pretty good dynamics out of this. possible thunderstorms today especially as we get through the afternoon hours any breaks in the clouds and some heating and then that snow continues -- snow level continues to drop by tonight and tomorrow morning could be around 3,000 feet if it has anything to work with. cooler, windy today. showers mix of sun and clouds, highs in the 50s.

54 to 58 should cover it. did you want matter coast, bay, inland. everybody's going to be in the same ballpark. some lingering showers may last very cool in wind protected areas friday into saturday. but the rest of the weekend this time of year you rebound pretty fast. next couple days are chilly but better on the weekend. >> all right. thank you, steve. the barry bonds trial is coming to an end. this morning lawyers will make their closing arguments and the jury could begin its deliberations by the end of the day. testimony came to an abrupt end yesterday when bonds' confident defense team rested. it did not call barry bonds or anyone else to the witness stand. >> my sense is the defense feels like it is sitting about as well as it could expect and the minute you start putting witnesses on, you have accompanying risk. >> in sharp contrast prosecutors called 25 witnesses to the stand during two and a half weeks of testimony. the jury of eight women and four men will determine if bonds lied when he testified

under oath that he had never knowingly used steroids. later this morning phillip garrido's expected to plead guilty to kidnapping jaycee dugard and holding her captive for 18 years. lawyers say a guilty plea means that garrido will spend the rest of his life in prison. it also means that it will allow jaycee dugard to avoid testifying in the case. we're still waiting to see whether nancy garrido will stand trial. her lawyers say she's holding out for a deal that allows her to avoid a life sentence. shut down and shut out. the effects the government shut down will have for a lot of people on vacation here in the bay area and across the country. plus a warning about a phone scam that's already cost some victims thousands of dollars. who the scammers pose as they try to get to their victims. good morning. westbound 92 traffic looking pretty good getting to the high- rise. no major problems.

tell you more coming up.

good morning. maybe heard pitter patter of rain. highs only in the 50s. so far the rain's not that heavy but a windier and cooler day and maybe some thundershowers later this afternoon. rescuers in japan are racing against the clock to recover thousands of missing bodies after last month's deadly earthquake and tsunami.

almost 15,000 victims are still unaccounted for. crews have not been able to search much of the coast near that crippled nuclear power plant because of fears of radiation. but now they've brought in heavy machinery to try to find more bodies before they decompose. u.s. search teams from new york are also helping with the efforts. libyan leader moammar gadafi sent a letter to president obama asking him to stop the air strikes. and the rambling three page letter he called the nato air campaign an unjust war. secretary of state hillary clinton says if moammar gadafi wants to end the air strikes, all he has to do is step down and leave libya. well, if congress is not able to agree on a spending bill and the federal government is shut down, the effects will be far reaching. about 800,000 federal employees will be furloughed including 140,000 here in california.

income tax returns filed electronically would continue to be processed but not the mailed in returns. and national parks would be closed including all coo razz which is a national landmark. >> it's important aspect of our country so that people when they come to travel here they can just see things that we've maintained. it would be a shame for it to shut down. >> at yosemite national park rangers say if there's a government shut down, visitors already inside the park would be given 48 hours to leave. well, oakland mayor quan has reportedly asked for a special meeting tomorrow to consider a mail-in ballot election for a parcel tax measure. quan is proposing an $80 tax on single family homes to help shrink oakland's $46 million budget shortfall. that money would help pay for police, fire and other city services. city leaders estimate that the mail-in election could cost up to $1 million. well, there's a new show of support for that giants fan who

was brutally beaten outside dodgers stadium. this one took place in los angeles last night. dozens gathered for a vigil outside the usc medical center where the victim is in a medically induced coma. the paramedic and father of two suffered critical brain injuries when two men attacked him during last week's dodger- giant game. the mayor of los angeles expressed his views before last night's vigil. >> there's no question that people ought to be able to go to a game, a dodger game or any game, with their families and not be terrorized in the way this individual was. >> here in the bay area bryan stowe's co-workers held a huge tailgate party in san jose. his employer, american medical response, opened its san jose parking lot for the barbecue and fundraiser. it raised at least $100,000.

later this morning the verdict for two former college athletes accused of rape. a young woman claims she was gang raped at an off campus party four years ago. she's seeking $7.5 million in total damages. now originally seven others were sued, but their cases were either dropped or settled. people in antioch are calling for an end to violence after several recent shootings. yesterday they came together to rally support from the community. just after that rally shots rang out just a block and a half away. police say the shooting left bullet holes in a car and a garage. no one was injured but many people say they fear for their lives. >> i hardly go outside my house. and when i do, i got to watch over my shoulder all the time. i mean come on what kind of life is that? >> earlier this week two shootings left a 19-year-old

man paralyzed and sent stray bullets through a little boy's bedroom window. the antioch police department has lost about 25% of its officers because of the budget crisis. ratherton police have a warning about a telephone scam. frank is a victim. he got a call from someone posing as his grandson who said he needed money wired to a lawyer right away. he later found out he had sent $3,000 to a scammer. there are at least eight reports so far. another man says he wasn't taken in when he received a similar call on monday. >> what's the name of your oldest grandson? and at that point i said, well, i know the name of my oldest grandson, but what's your name? and with that he just hung up. >> police warn the calls could be coming from someone in town or even in another country. so it's hard to trace. they want anyone who receives a suspicious call to contact them

immediately. well, the southwest airlines flight that had a hole open up in the roof created new questions about the safety of u.s. airline flights. that incident could now change how older aircraft are inspected. and an embarrassing situation for one of president obama's close friends. why he's in trouble with the law.

welcome back to the morning news. the navy is investigating the cause of a fatal fighter jet crash near fresno. both the pilot and weapons officer on board died but their names are not being released. the f.a.a. says the jet was on a training mission. the jet is the same kind the blue angels fly in air shows. the head of the f.a.a. tells congress his agency is reviewing safety requirements for older commercial aircraft like the southwest jet that

made an emergency landing last friday. that incident could lead the f.a.a. to increase inspection requirements for older commercial aircraft which are becoming more common in airline fleets. but f.a.a. administrator would not comment on that possibility. a richmond woman is facing felony charges this morning after a police chase sent five people including a police officer to the hospital. police say taylor was driving yesterday when she hit four cars during a high speed chase in pin ole. it started after police spotted taylor's car which was linked to a robbery. the chase ended after the police car was hit. and police say none of the injuries is critical. one of president obama's closest friends has been arrested on suspicion of soliciting a prostitute. one of four men busted monday in an undercover prostitution sting. he's free on $5,000 bail. the 49-year-old attended school in honolulu with the president.

he often joins mr. obama for golf and other activities when he's visiting hawaii. the white house has no comment on the arrest. all right. coming up on 5:00 let's check in with sal for a quick look at the commute. i think you said friend could be soon former friend. former friend. good morning. [ laughter ] >> no comment. >> no comment. let's go out and take a look at what we have now. traffic is moving along okay westbound bay bridge toll plaza. no major problems there. it is a nice light commute but as everyone has been saying it's a little windy and there has been a little bit of rain. so take it easy out there. 880 traffic is moving well but the wind is still shaking our camera. if you're on hayward or down to hayward, union city or fremont that traffic still looks okay. let's go to steve. all right. sal, thank you, sir. it is windy out there. cooler temperatures right now in the 40s. one band of rain going through peninsula, south bay, east bay. north bay is in between but waiting upstream the next part of the system where the bulk might stay offshore but it will

be very, very close. once we get going here by that i mean afternoon hours possibility of thundershowers and maybe some hail. severe weather out in the valley would not surprise me. and a lot of snow on the go up in the mountains corporating right now winter weather advisories out. you can see nothing too heavy. little line there is stronger in the santa cruz mountains over 17 towards monterey highway and also 101 south to morgan hill. 40s here. 46 livermore. 46 redwood city. oops. that's not right. i meant that but i forgot all about it. it happens. i have like a hundred graphics in there. once in a while it's blank. i'll fix that. system's diving down. here comes a really cold air up there. that's where anything could happen. by that i mean you could get some thunder and lightning. there have been a few lightning strikes observed off the oregon coast. potential is there. you can see how that's carving itself out. that's all diving towards southern california. the low looks like it will go right down by santa barbara, go offshore and then swing inland around southern california.

we'll be on the northern edge by friday but also on the cold edge. cold system highs in the 50s. possible thunderstorms. we have some rain moving through. kind of scattered. nothing too heavy yet and if there's any available clouds and precipitation left you could make it down to snow down to 2500 feet. cooler, windy today. showers possible thundershowers mixed bag of sun and clouds and 50s for your temps. mid-50s pretty much will cover it. there won't be much of a spread here on these temps as we continue to stay very cool today and tomorrow. but it's april. we can rebound fast. critical minimums on friday morning and also saturday morning. but then after that we'll start to warm up back into the mid- 60s. thank you, steve. developing news in berkeley this morning. firefighters and pg&e still on the scene. why they say they aren't going anywhere. more radiation concerns in the bay area this morning. how it's making its way to us from japan.

>> reporter: pg&e crews had planned on digging up this street following an early morning fire and a gas meter break. but those plans may now have changed. we'll have that update for you coming up. lots of sunshine the past couple days. and mild to warm temperatures. that's all changed today. we have rain moving through and also it's going to