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Breaking news at six pictures of a BART train off the tracks inside the BART tunnel at Oakland's 12th Street Station tonight.
Two trains leaning against each other after a collision which sent some passengers to the hospital.
NBC Bay area's Vicki Wynn is live outside the 12th Street Station where that BART bump happened. Vicki, lay it out for us.
Jess, at least six people suffered very minor injuries after this slow speed train collision here at the 12th Street BART Station.
Let's take you back to some of that video. The crash happened about three o'clock this afternoon.
The train to Richmond collided with the train to Pittsburgh Bay Point as they were pulling into the station. 300 passengers were on the trains at the time.
BART officials say the trains were moving slowly under speeds of 25 miles an hour, but it's still unclear what caused the crash.
They say passengers aboard the two trains reported feeling a slight jolt, but no one suffered any major injuries.
Again, six people taken away on stretchers as a precaution.
One train was in manual mode and another train was in automatic mode.
So the computer was controlling the automatic one and the train operator was controlling the manual one.
And so we just have to look into what happened.
As for delays, BART says they are minor only for passengers traveling to Richmond 10 to 15 minutes at this hour.
There are crews already here. We've seen them going down the escalators.
They hope to have everything back on track, repaired and back to normal by tomorrow morning's commute.
Live in Oakland, Vicki Nguyen, NBC Bay Area News.
All right, Vicki, thank you. We are following developing news which ended at SFO.
A jetliner landed there after a bird strike and a sudden diversion in Denver.
It happened to a United jet shortly after it took off in Denver.
An airline spokesperson says a bird hit one of the engines.
Both engines continued to work and the plane returned to Denver for a landing that was precautionary in nature.
Nobody was hurt and the passengers were on their way again to San Francisco.
The issue, of course, of bird strikes has become a focal point since a U.S. Airways jet was forced to land in the Hudson River in New York last month.
We have a crew en route to SFO. We hope to hear from some of the passengers tonight at 11.
Bye-bye, Vegas. An about face from Wells Fargo tonight.
As you know, the bank received billions in bailout money.
But what you don't know is that it then booked a company junket to Vegas.
Not just any casino either, but to the ritzy and very pricey Wynn in Encore Hotels.
NBC Bay Area's Mrs. Atek reporter Scott Budman is live outside of Wells Fargo tonight with word now that those reservations have been canceled, Scott.
Yeah, Jessica, this is one trip to Vegas that will stay in Vegas.
Wells Fargo admitting the timing was terrible on a planned vacation to reward its employees.
So it is circling the stagecoach wagons and backpedaling on the whole thing.
The problem is that Wells, still arguably a very strong and vibrant bank, recently got $25 billion worth of your money in the taxpayer bailout.
And given the state of the economy, along with other banks canceling their planned corporate vacations, Wells had a lot of explaining to do.
So it's scrapping the whole thing.
We're looking at them on a case by case and where it makes sense.
But I can tell you we're going to continue to demonstrate that recognition is important at Wells Fargo.
It may not be grand in scale, but it will still be personal and will demonstrate to our team members that we were really proud of their accomplishments.
And it probably won't be in Vegas at least this month, if any time soon.
Probably the right move given the backlash that it got when word of the vacation came out.
You know, Wells Fargo has been trying to get the word out that some of that $25 billion in bailout money has already been finding its way to customers, allowing them to get into new homes.
But that message very much overshadowed by the bad public relations the trip to Vegas caused.
Reporting live tonight in Millbrae, I'm Scott Budman, NBC Bay Area News.
Let's hope none of that bailout money ends up in any vacation spot.
Well, Apollo Alto Bank is one of 42 banks in the nation to get federal funds, but it's not calling it a bailout and it doesn't want you to either.
The private bank of the peninsula will get a $6 million infusion in funds under the capital purchase program.
The bank is one of just six in California and 42 nationwide to qualify for more than a billion dollars in funds.
Now, the capital purchase program is intended for healthy, viable banks that have more money to lend.
Under the program, the bank must comply, though, with restrictions on executive compensation and limits on dividend and stock repurchases.
Well, there does seem to be a different kind of political buzz building at the state capitol tonight where there is word of a possible budget deal in the works.
We've heard this before. NBC Bay Area's Mike Lurie is live in Sacramento.
Mike, why does there seem to be an urgency here tonight that we haven't heard before?
Well, Tom, we're hearing the buzz just like everyone else is that there may be a deal in the works possibly tomorrow or maybe on Thursday with a vote perhaps as soon as Sunday.
Now, negotiators are being very tight lipped, but we can give you now a preview of what that budget deal might look like.
We understand there may be a chance of a vote by Sunday or Monday.
Oh, gosh, we hope so.
It's crunch time for the big five with the top legislative leaders trying today to hammer out a budget deal with Governor Schwarzenegger.
After a marathon meeting last night that lasted until 11 p.m.
Both sides are reluctant to reveal details, but we've learned the framework for a deal that might include these elements.
Program cuts, something Republicans are insisting upon, along with a firm spending cap to stop politicians from allocating money California doesn't have.
Democrats are demanding new revenues in the form of a tax increase.
And Governor Schwarzenegger wants an economic stimulus package to jumpstart shovel-ready construction projects.
A lot of it is different workplace rules that don't encourage businesses to stay or to come to California.
So there are a number of different things we're doing to try to stimulate the economy and create jobs at a time when Californians have one of the top unemployment rates in the country.
But trouble is brewing from special interest groups.
Powerful unions are threatening Democrats with recall campaigns if they vote to relax labor regulations,
while the Republican Party is vowing to actively campaign against any members who vote for tax increases.
Now, the Big Five did meet for several hours behind closed doors today.
Again, they are getting close, but then again it could also blow up because that's happened before too.
But we are monitoring this very closely to see what happens next to them because right now, Tom, things are very, very fragile.
And then, Mike, let's assume that the Big Five strikes a deal.
Now this thing goes to the assembly and the Senate for a vote.
How do they vote?
You know, really that's the $41 billion question because that's how much money is at stake in the next 17 months if they fail to strike a deal.
But the assembly, we're looking at possibly three Republican votes that need to go in favor and on the Senate side also three Republican votes.
And that's assuming, though, that all the Democrats vote for it.
No guarantee this time around because there are some politicians who may lose their jobs if they vote yes.
Mike Lorie in Sacramento tonight. Thank you.
State Comptroller John Chung is in the hot seat tonight.
Facing accusations that he ordered $2 million worth of new office furniture in the middle of the state budget crisis.
Chung has put tax refund checks on hold because the state is running out of cash.
Well, tonight he defends himself, saying that the new furniture reduces fire and safety hazards and will save taxpayers money in the long run.
Teachers and school administrators say they are trying to stop the race to the bottom.
California already ranks 47 out of 50 states when it comes to school funding.
And the governor's proposed budget cuts would sink it right all the way to the bottom.
An idea that has parents outraged tonight.
NBC Bay Area's Tracy Grant is live in San Francisco where hundreds of people are gathered right now to protest those cuts. Tracy.
Well, Jessica, actually the crowd has thinned out here at City Hall.
There were a lot of people here just a short time ago.
And then the protest ended.
But the whole reason for being here was to plead with the governor not to put the schools back on this budget cut roller coaster all over again.
Now, we've definitely seen this before.
The protests, the signs, the anger at the prospect of budget cuts that some say could damage school districts across the state.
Governor Schwarzenegger's recommendations would cut 10.8 billion dollars out of the state's education funding.
That's 60 million dollars from the San Francisco Public School District all by itself.
Now, teachers, administrative staff and parents say they're still licking their wounds from last year's cuts and layoffs and they can't afford to do it again.
We've tolerated enough.
I think we all need to stand united and say, you know, we elected you.
Now do your job.
If this governor goes through with his cuts, it means it's going to be bleeding at the school sites and our children are going to be hurt and our teachers are going to be handcuffed.
The protesters say there will be many more marches to come and they want parents to get involved.
Now, San Francisco schools actually made it through last year's budget cuts because of the city's rainy day fund.
But if these new cuts come through, it's really not certain if they'll be able to get that kind of financial help all over again.
I'm in San Francisco, Tracy Grant, NBC Bay Area News.
All right. Thank you, Tracy.
Schools chief Jack O'Connell is weighing in on school crisis as well.
He agrees with parents that the cuts to education would irreparably hurt California schools.
California's per student spending ranks us a dismal 47th in the entire country.
We would have to increase our spending by almost two thousand four hundred dollars per student or 31 percent simply to reach the national average.
The governor argues that he has increased funding for education every year he's been in office and that roughly 40 percent of every dollar the state spends goes to schools.
People in San Mateo are on the lookout for a mountain lion.
And for good reason tonight, yesterday someone not only spotted a big cat, they shot video of it.
The lion was walking up Claremont Street near Peninsula Avenue not too far from one oh one just before five o'clock.
This is the fourth mountain lion sighting in San Mateo County in the past week.
No crabbing from Bay Area fishermen tonight.
They have finally reached a settlement with the owners of the Costco busan.
You remember the massive oil spill back in November of 2007 delayed the opening of the Dungeness crab season by several weeks.
Now although the terms of the settlement are confidential, attorneys say 70 crab fishermen did receive payments.
The deal means that the fishermen will not pursue a lawsuit against the Costco busan's owners.
However, they are moving forward with lawsuits against the pilot and the pilot association as well as the state.
A unique East Bay drugstore chain known for its holistic health remedies closed its doors today.
Three locations of the Berkeley-based Elephant Farm shut down and announced plans to file for bankruptcy.
The chain was known for selling Chinese herbs and other alternative treatments.
The owners of the chain say they tried unsuccessfully to find a buyer.
In the end, the ailing economy dealt the fatal blow.
Elephant Farm's website says thanks for six special years.
Three games are on hold for Electronic Arts.
The Redwood City Video Game Company posted a $641 million loss.
EA, which makes the Madden football games, will delay the release of Sims 3, Godfather 2, and Dragon Age to 2010.
It's also planning to develop fewer games in the future as it focuses more on big hits.
EA also upped its job cuts plan to $1,100 and says it'll close some 12 facilities.
Well, coming up tonight, test your TVs.
If you want to know whether you're ready, go around the house right now, turn on all of your television sets.
Digital TV goes live in just two weeks and we're going to test the system in three minutes.
I'm Damian Trujillo live at the Comcast Call Center here in Livermore.
Coming up, I'll have some tips if you find out you're not prepared for digital television.
And dry wine, not just a taste preference this year.
And drought concerns in Bay Area vineyards.
I'm meteorologist John Farley.
Again, today we had record highs, but would you believe we're finally going to see some rain?
I'll give you specifics so you can make some plans coming up in a bit.
It's sale time at Frontier Ford with 2008 F-150s and the great 2009 Focus, both sale price from only $10,988.
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Welcome to Progressive's Concierge Claim Center.
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It's sale time at Frontier Ford, morning, noon or night, seven days a week.
Come to Frontier Ford on Stevens Creek Boulevard, San Jose.
NBC Tonight, after barely escaping elimination...
It's my job to protect him, and I didn't do it very well.
The youngest player fights to stay in the game.
I want to be here.
I'm trying my best.
All new Biggest Loser couples, tonight, 8, 7 Central on NBC.
New SVU returns with a stunning performance from Dabney Coleman.
Hey, don't tell me what to do!
New SVU, tonight, 10, 9 Central on NBC.
Okay, get ready because we are less than a minute away from a digital TV test.
And the only way that you're going to know whether your TVs are actually working and ready for the big switchover.
For right now, this is coming up pretty soon.
The Federal Communications Commission is requiring broadcasters to switch off analog signals and broadcast solely in digital.
This switch happens in just 14 days. That's the way it stands right now.
Now, if you have cable, it's not an issue for you.
But if you have those old rabbit ears, then you're going to have to pay close attention to what we're talking to you about.
This is what's going to happen. We're going to put a graphic on the screen.
If you see the graphic that's on your left, your TV is ready for the switch.
You're good to go. You have to do nothing.
If you see the graphic on the right, you're going to need to take action or the picture will go off in two weeks.
We have all the tips live from McCall Center, too.
Here's the test.
This TV is ready for the digital TV transition on February 17, 2009.
Please check every TV in your home now.
No further action on your part is needed.
This TV is ready for the digital TV transition on February 17, 2009.
Please check every TV in your home now.
No further action on your part is needed.
This TV is ready for the digital TV transition on February 17, 2009.
Please check every TV in your home now.
No further action on your part is needed.
This TV is ready for the digital TV transition on February 17, 2009.
Please check every TV in your home now.
No further action on your part is needed.
This TV is ready for the digital TV transition on February 17, 2009.
Please check every TV in your home now.
No further action on your part is needed.
This TV is ready for the digital TV transition on February 17, 2009.
Please check every TV in your home now.
No further action on your part is needed.
Were you annoyed enough by that?
Pretty elementary, my dear Watson.
Don't worry, we were too.
The question is, did you see what you were supposed to?
You were supposed to see green as in go.
So that's very important.
We've got some things that you need to do.
If you didn't see the green, yes, there are some things.
We're going to head out to NBC Bay Area's Damien Trujillo,
who is live at a call center with some tips for us tonight.
Damien, what do we do?
First of all, you know what, that was the most riveting two minutes of TV
that I've seen in a while here in the Bay Area.
This monitor up here at the Comcast call center should start lighting up,
because that means folks will be calling in if they saw some problems
with their signal.
But they have about 220 call takers here at the Comcast call center
to answer those calls.
There are a lot of questions they might have on this digital transfer.
Last, when this thing started about two years ago,
there were roughly in the Bay Area 220,000 people getting their signal
over the air or via their rabbit ears.
Right now that's down a half, about 100,000 customers,
but that still means that there's 100,000 people out there
who are getting that signal, who may lose it if they don't do something
about it by February 14th.
Let me bring in Andrew Johnson.
He's the Vice President of Communications for Comcast.
What are the tips for our viewers in case they run into some problems today?
Yes, certainly, and first and foremost, thanks for being here this evening.
Obviously we suggest to any person who's got a pair of rabbit ears
or an antenna on their roof that they need to take some action
over the next two weeks.
And the quickest action to do that is really to go out
and buy a digital converter so they can continue to get the free
over-the-air broadcast signals from NBC that they have for the years.
That's the easiest thing to do.
The second tip I would offer them is, even though the government program
has run out of money and they're hoping to put some more funds into that,
would be check online to get a coupon so you can get a $40 rebate
on the cost of that converter box.
They've been averaging anywhere between $40 or $60 out in the retail outlets.
Thirdly, of course, any cable company or any satellite company
that does here in the Bay Area, we're ready for the digital transition,
and we certainly offer an alternative package to any of those folks
who are interested in our services.
And last and probably something we should probably start talking about is,
on February 17th, any of those folks who have the government converter boxes
are going to need to power cycle them on and off
so the new digital channels can get scanned in.
So those would be the four quick tips I would offer, Damian.
All right. And check your news because this thing might change.
Congress is working on adding more coupons and maybe also on extending this deadline,
so make sure that you are in tune for that.
And if you buy that converter box, there is no annual, monthly, weekly fee.
It's a one-time fee just to purchase it, and then you're good to go.
Okay. Thank you very much, Damian.
And by the way, one of the monitors here right next to me is not ready,
so even we're behind.
And as Damian mentioned, there is a catch.
The DTV switch may be delayed to June 12th.
He just alluded to that.
That's because the House of Representatives is expected to pass a bill tomorrow
which already passed in the Senate.
You may recall the House defeated a DTV delay bill last week
that required a two-thirds majority.
Tomorrow's vote would really require only a simple majority,
and then President Obama will sign it if Congress does indeed pass it.
So stay tuned.
On the subject of technology, in a maintenance room hidden away at Santa Clara University today,
the campus was stripped of what used to be a staple of college life, dorm room telephones.
Since everybody carries cell phones these days, landlines are about as necessary as lanterns.
In this case, progress has a downside.
Colleges used to make money on the plug-in phones,
but Santa Clara will save on maintenance costs.
We'll probably leave some number of landlines.
Maybe it'll be one per floor, maybe down at the information desk,
maybe there will be some resident directors or some of the staff that live in the residence halls
that will maintain a line.
Here's another sign of the times at SCU.
The school briefly ran out of network addresses for the record number of students
wanting access to the school's wireless network.
California vintners say they are in trouble.
Lack of rain may mean smaller crops and an iffy harvest in the fall.
Rain protects the grapes from freezing in the winter.
No rain leaves crops with no defense.
Growers in Napa, as a result of trimming vines and mowing ground cover
to keep the vines from fighting for that water,
right now that's all the growers say they can do.
Even if we have normal rainfall in February, even in March,
it's not going to make up for what we haven't gotten.
And it just takes a lot of water to replenish the soil moisture and we're worried.
Napa Valley growers are holding out hope for a wet February and March.
And John?
And everybody.
Are you pronosticating that far in advance?
No, the story is people always want long-range forecasts.
And the distance that the science can go right now is somewhere in the 7 to 10 day range.
And really beyond that, no good forecasts exist.
I always go to these groups and I give talks and they say,
hey, the farmer's almanac says this for next February.
And I say, well, you know, check it.
Because really the science is only good, like I say, 7 to 10 days for how much we can predict.
So in terms of long-term stuff, we just really don't know.
We can hope for better than average because that's really what we need.
We also have the people out there reading the oceans every year saying this should be a wetter than normal year and what have you.
Yeah, well, there is some limited forecast skill in the ability to do long-range forecasts in El Nino and La Nina years.
But those have to be very strong El Ninos or very strong La Ninas.
Most of the rest of it falls in the middle.
So really it's very tough to say.
And of course we need the rain, but we didn't get it today.
We got records.
You can see San Jose 74, Santa Rosa and Mountain View tied the records for the date.
These are the rest of the highs and it was warm.
North Bay, South Bay, East Bay, didn't matter where you were.
Let's show you what things looked like just as the sun had set.
This is San Francisco looking west.
Notice we're starting to see some clouds and those clouds will eventually produce some rain, but that's not going to happen until tomorrow night.
So overnight tonight, temperatures not as cold as it has been the past couple of nights.
We'll get a little bit of fog, but we'll also get that high cloud cover in place.
That'll help to keep the minimums from dropping too far.
Here we go in the morning.
We start out kind of on the chilly side.
Once again, we go through the day.
You'll see the clouds will continue to thicken by tomorrow afternoon.
It'll be cooler than today, but still we're all going to top out in the 60s with the warm spots in about the mid 60s.
Now here's a look at that storm system as it's coming in.
The clouds out to our west.
It will deliver rain, but that'll be after sunset tomorrow and it'll continue beyond that.
I'll give you specifics on all you need to know coming up in just a bit.
Don, thank you.
As Barack Obama settles into the Oval Office, community leaders are working to bring home his message of self-reliance.
NBC Bay Area's Christie Smith shows us one man's journey from the inauguration to East Oakland.
From St. Benedict's Church in East Oakland, Father Jim Matthews relives the trip of a lifetime.
Of course we have Congresswoman Barbara Lee, Assemblyman Andres Swanson.
It was a prayer service for our President-elect.
These folk were the folk who had no tickets.
I had one of the infamous blue tickets.
Where there was no room left, but in another area he snapped photos of his experience at the inauguration of President Barack Obama.
You know, just being in this city was magical.
This is the hotel where President-elect Obama and family had to stay in.
And an icon, Ben's Chili Bowl.
Obama came there for a famous chili dog, and the manager told us that since that visit they're not able to close.
This is the day after the swearing-in.
With history in the books, he's back home, looking at the neighborhood thinking maybe the man who promised hope will keep on delivering by example.
St. Benedict's keeps strong ties to youth activities. He sees both progress and work ahead.
We have no more excuses. No more excuses.
Now pull up your pants, go back to school, and begin to do something for yourself.
He wants young people to accept the help that's there.
In Oakland, Christy Smith, NBC Bay Area News.
Coming up tonight, heartache for a Bay Area family who accuse Oakland police of killing a loved one.
It takes a toll on you when you don't wake up and hear your brother laughing or, you know, when you don't see his face.
What is the family demanding from Oakland police in the case that triggered an FBI investigation?
President Obama takes the blame after tax troubles take down two more top-level appointments.
And an American hero in the Bay Area of the Vets Group helping her defy the odds to walk and talk again.
There's only one place that will text you or email you when you get a package.
The UPS store.
And that's something only we can deliver on.
Times are tough, but the governor and some Sacramento politicians are going too far.
Using the budget crisis as an excuse to abolish our successful class size reduction program.
This deceptive plan could permanently increase class sizes and provides no accountability to ensure local administrators spend the money in the classroom.
Smaller class sizes improve student achievement.
Tell your lawmakers ending the class size reduction program won't save California one dime.
It only hurts our kids.
Behold the Golden Local.
14 inches of spinning status.
Who is worthy? You decide.
Vote at NBCBayArea.com.
What are you doing?
Fixing the name. It's fiber none.
Looks like one.
But I know, I'll put an end there.
Ah, fiber one honey cluster cereal. That's really good.
It tastes good, so there can't be fiber in it.
It's actually got about half a day's worth of fiber.
It says so right in the box.
Really? Try it.
Honey, touch of brown sugar, crunchy clusters.
Any cardboard?
Cardboard, no.
Delicious, yes.
So where's the fiber?
Maybe it's in the honey clusters.
Fiber one, cardboard, no. Delicious, yes.
The day looks so much brighter.
The family of a man who died nine years ago after being arrested by Oakland police say allegations of police brutality are finally being heard.
As NBC Bay Area's Jodi Hernandez reports, the family of Jerry Amaro is speaking out and still, almost a decade later, calling for justice.
My brother took care of me when I was a child. You know, like he put food on my stomach, you know.
And I, it was just really hard because I loved him so much.
Twenty-two-year-old Stephanie hopes her family will finally get justice for her brother.
Jerry Amaro died in 2000 after his family says he was beaten by Oakland police officers while being arrested on drug allegations.
I want justice for my brother. I want justice for my family.
You know, I don't want the Oakland police to do this to someone else or anyone else be a victim of police brutality because it's unnecessary.
Amaro's family says they've thought all along.
Police covered up what really happened.
Now, nine years later, the FBI is looking into the matter.
Captain Ed Poulsen, who was recently promoted to head up internal affairs, has been put on paid administrative leave while the investigation takes place.
Civil rights attorney John Burris says Amaro's family deserves compensation.
I think that he was wrongfully killed and that his civil rights were violated and that officers use excessive force on him.
And that one of more of those officers kicked his ribs in or injured his ribs.
Poulsen's attorney told NBC Bay Area his client did nothing wrong, saying attempts, quote, to tar him this many years later are not supported by the evidence.
But Amaro's family believes the truth will come out.
I don't want anyone else to have to go through this kind of pain.
Stephanie says her pain will never go away, but winning justice for Jerry will help.
In the East Bay, Jody Hernandez, NBC Bay Area News.
The family says it would like Captain Poulsen to be fired and prosecuted.
President Obama's hopes for quick action on health care reform may have gone out the door today along with Tom Daschle, the man he had nominated to be secretary of health and human services.
Daschle could not hold on as pressure grew over problems with his back taxes.
Earlier in the day, Obama had lost another administration appointee, also over taxes.
I look forward to working with all of you as we remake this Department of Justice.
The swearing in of Attorney General Eric Holder helped take some of the sting out of an otherwise painful day for Team Obama.
First out the door was Nancy Killefer, the woman picked to fill the newly created position of chief performance officer.
It turns out she didn't pay certain taxes for household help until a lien against her Washington, D.C. property forced her hand.
Given that resignation and a blistering editorial in the New York Times, Tom Daschle then withdrew as Barack Obama's nominee to be health and human services secretary.
He had failed to pay more than $100,000 in taxes he owed.
With him went the likelihood of speedy health care reform and the administration's hopes for a smooth transition.
This was the president's reaction during an interview with NBC's Brian Williams today.
He owned up to it and ultimately made a decision that we couldn't afford the distraction and I've got to own up to my mistake,
which is that ultimately it's important for this administration to send a message that there aren't two sets of rules.
So the president has two positions to fill, even as he introduced his nominee for commerce secretary, Republican Senator Judd Gregg.
And he was anxious to talk up his education secretary as he visited a public charter school in Washington today.
What I've asked Arne Duncan to do is to make sure that he works as hard as he can over the next several years
to make sure that we're reforming our schools, that we're rewarding innovation the way that it's taking place here,
that we're encouraging parents to be involved.
Well, this was touted obviously as a new era of responsibility, so how far off the tracks is the Obama train tonight?
NBC Bay Area political analyst Larry Gersten is here.
All through the campaign they talked about having high standards, high ethics, but tonight the president came out and very blatantly said,
hey, I screwed up, I'm the one at the top, I take the blame.
How far does that go with the American people and with lawmakers?
Well, it's certainly different from what we saw with the Bush administration, right? Remember Bush was the one who said you never could remember a mistake, right?
But I mean, I think this really gets to the bottom line here is there's a huge difference between campaigning and governing.
And the Dashiell case is just one more example of that difference, hitting people in the head one more time.
You know, it's not that these people weren't vetted, it's that the Obama people thought they might overcome these transgressions.
Oh, it's not so big a deal.
Well, you know what? When you set a high standard and you tell everybody you're going to do it, by golly, you better live up to it.
If you don't, as you said, the train goes off the track.
Let's move on to the stimulus plan, the issue of the stimulus.
Republicans essentially have said this is laden with pork.
Their ideas, particularly on the mortgage issues and now on a car credit for the car sales taxes, they really don't sound bad.
Who's winning the PR war with the public right now?
Well, right now the Republicans are having a pretty good time, Tom.
You've got to give them their due. That's all there is to it.
They may not have the votes, we know that. The Democrats have more votes.
But I'll tell you something, they've got a powerful microphone, there's no question about that.
The irony, of course, is let's keep things in perspective.
The Republicans were the ones who busted the budget over and over and over during their six years in control.
But you know what? That was then, this is now.
Obama, for his part, has promised to end that pork.
And so the Republicans have found a few cases in that $825 billion bill where there is pork.
And by golly, they're going to hit that again and again.
Meanwhile, the Democrats are playing defense and that's the last thing they wanted to do coming out of the gate.
So how does the Obama administration get the train back on the tracks?
Yeah, well, what they've got to do is get back to message.
There's no question about it. They've got to get going, they've got to say it clearly, they've got to regain the discipline.
Very much necessary for the Republicans. They've got to stay on their message and they've got to reach out to the public.
These are simple things, you know, crisis management 101.
They better go back to class because I'll tell you something, they've got to do that in order to get things going.
Remember, it's only two weeks. Let's be fair here. It's only two weeks.
A lot of people coming on board real quickly and this is part of the fallout.
If things work, the Democrats will still get plenty of credit.
Yeah, all right. Larry Gersten, as always. Thank you, sir.
Well, as you just heard Tom mention, the Senate just added another provision to that stimulus bill, tax breaks for new car buyers.
Car buyers would be able to claim an income tax deduction for sales tax paid on new vehicles and interest payments on car loans.
The whole bill, though, is still a work in progress.
Earlier today, Senate Republicans blocked Democrats from adding more money for infrastructure projects like highway rebuilding and mass transit.
Instead, Republicans want to beef up housing help.
They want more tax credits for homeowners and incentives for banks to finally lend out that money and lend it at about 4 percent.
And here's where that auto sales tax credit would mean a lot.
The latest auto sales numbers show that big discounts and financing incentives are not enough to overcome the economy right now.
Chrysler sales in the U.S. dropped 55 percent in January compared to last January.
For General Motors, the decline was 49 percent.
Both companies are using federal loans to stay in business. They're hoping to get more bailout money this month.
Ford posted a 40 percent sales drop but has said it does not intend to take any federal money.
Well, we're going to take a look at the rest of tonight's top stories in just a few minutes, including that Wells Fargo little trip to Vegas.
Also coming up, she was wounded in the Middle East.
Many people don't think or didn't think she could walk or talk again.
But a Bay Area community gave her a second chance in the story we call Bay Area Proud.
And why the Giants' chances of landing superstar Manny Ramirez may have gotten a whole lot better tonight.
Sports Director Raj Mathai just ahead.
Saving you money in the morning tomorrow on NBC Bay Area News.
Simon Sutherland.
President Obama has a big choice to make when it comes to the war in Afghanistan.
A new Pentagon report suggests the U.S. should concentrate on targeting Taliban and al-Qaeda safe houses instead of focusing on democracy building.
The recommendations were prepared by the Joint Chiefs of Staff and are just a portion of what will be presented to the White House.
To date, almost 32,000 service members have been wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Thanks to groups like the Sentinels of Freedom, some of the wounded veterans are getting a second chance.
NBC Bay Area's Damien Trujillo visited recently with one veteran who is making the Bay Area proud.
The fight is not over for Mariella Malin.
The former soldier was attacked four years ago while in a convoy in Kuwait.
Mariella was run over and crushed while on duty in the Middle East purposely by an individual that wasn't happy that Americans were there.
She lay in a coma for eight months. Doctors doubted she would walk again.
Her speech was gone, but she had other plans.
I remember getting hit and how much it hurt. And yes, I do remember just, I guess, blacking out.
When Mariella woke up, the veteran began her second war, a war against her disabilities. And guess who's winning?
Because I'm a fighter.
Mariella is one of thousands of wounded veterans who have to start over, but they're not alone.
It's remarkable. It really is.
Doug Miller flew helicopters in Vietnam. He's now working for the Army's Wounded Warrior program.
My job is to make sure that things are moving forward, that she gets the care and treatment that she needs.
We can do more than just put a yellow ribbon on the side of our car.
And Mike Conklin is founder of the Sentinels of Freedom. The group helps veterans like Mariella get back on their feet.
The Sentinels recruited the Home Builders Association of Northern California to make Mariella's home disabled-friendly.
And they're going to cut up. I'm like a doorway or a hole for me to go from my bed to the bathroom.
It's just the least we can do to thank her for her sacrifice on behalf of her country.
These individuals, these young men and women that come back with this level of disability, are not throwaways. They don't need to be warehoused.
Mike Conklin says helping is the easy part. The hard part? It comes from warriors like Mariella Malin, veterans who refuse to give up the fight.
I like a challenge.
In Livermore, Damien Trujillo, NBC Bay Area News.
Mariella Malin gets weekly physical, occupational and speech therapy, and she hasn't given up the dream. She still wants to be an interior designer.
The Sentinels of Freedom is based in San Ramon, and it's helping 32 veterans right now across the country. And what great, great work they do, obviously.
She is a fighter indeed. You can tell it.
Raj Mathias here. Maybe a possible change of the Giants?
It's fun to talk about it. If I had to bet a dollar. Dreadlocks for all of us.
I say no way, Jose. Dreadlocks for everyone. We'll tell you what's going on with Manny and why he rejected the Dodgers today and how the Giants play into it.
Tom Cable, in or out. The Raiders finally make a decision about their interim head coach. And more regarding Michael Phelps. Possible criminal charges now. We're back in a moment.
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Tonight at 11, would you mow a lawn in exchange for a babysitter? How about cater a dinner for a gym membership in return?
Bartering, no longer a thing of the past. In fact, some businesses are really depending on it.
We're getting a lot of interest in what we do from companies of all sizes.
An age-old system returning to the present day.
It's been around forever, but we put sort of a modern-day twist on it.
What businesses are willing to trade to stay alive in 09. Tonight at 11 on NBC Bay Area News.
Wells Fargo canceling a pricey trip to Vegas. It's one of our top stories tonight.
The San Francisco-based bank found itself with a PR problem when word got out that it was planning to put up employees in high-end hotels.
That's because Wells Fargo, which mostly managed to stay out of the financial meltdown mess, accepted billions in federal assistance to keep mortgage money flowing.
Wells Fargo reconsidered and says tonight that it is canceling that trip.
Don't get your hopes up yet, but word is circulating at the state capitol tonight that there may, may be a budget deal in the works.
That after top legislative leaders met with the governor again for another Big Five summit.
The two parties are trying to compromise on cuts, spending caps, and some tax increases.
At least 13 people at last count now are suffering from minor injuries after two BART trains collided in downtown Oakland today.
BART says the two trains were moving slowly underground when they made contact about 3 o'clock this afternoon.
The 12th Street station is open tonight, and only Richmond-bound trains are seeing 10 to 15-minute delays.
It is still unclear exactly what caused this collision.
Raja's here, and it looks like the cable guy may be wired.
So all the headlines can now say Comcast, Dish, TV.
Get some endorsements out of it.
It's a thankless job being head coach of the Raiders.
Amen.
And we like this guy. I feel bad for him. Tom Cable, here it is.
The problem is he's now official. No more interim tag for the Raiders head coach.
It's beneficial. They'll announce him tomorrow, but we know the deal today.
The 44-year-old Cable took over for Lane Kiffin, who the Raiders fired after four games last season.
Cable is not a big name. He's not going to energize the Raider Nation, make everyone go out and buy more season tickets.
What he is, though, hardworking, blue-collar approach, and most importantly, here you go, loyal to Al Davis.
So the Cable file, here he goes. The interim head coach was 4-8 this season.
Keep in mind, the Raiders won their last two games of the regular season.
He is the Raiders' fifth head coach in the last seven years. We went through a lot of them here.
And ever since that Super Bowl season of 2002, it's been downhill in a big way for the Silver and Black.
From 03 until this season, they have the NFL's worst record. They are 24-72.
Some big baseball news is unfolding by the day. Some might say by the hour.
The Giants' chances of getting free agent superstar Manny Ramirez just got a lot more interesting.
Ramirez today rejected the Dodgers. Now, this doesn't mean he still won't sign with the Dodgers,
but today he rejected L.A.'s offer of a one-year contract worth about 25 mil.
So what does that mean? Really, there's three options here. The Dodgers can still offer him another contract, which Ramirez accepts.
Option number two, the Giants can come in, make a move, and offer him big money.
Or option number three, maybe there's a mystery team out there. Some might say the Yankees, and they can jump in.
Spring training, by the way, begins in two weeks. The Barry Bonds trial begins March 2nd.
Today, the New York Times is reporting that Bonds flunked a drug test back in 2003.
This wasn't the cream or the clear steroids linked with Balco.
This was a totally different urine sample, which was positive, according to the New York Times.
Tomorrow, a federal judge plans to unseal and therefore release publicly hundreds of pages of court documents
linked to the government's case against Bonds for lying to a grand jury about steroids use.
This story isn't going away. The now-infamous photograph of Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps might soon lead to criminal charges.
This is a picture published by a British tabloid Phelps smoking a bong at a South Carolina house party a few months ago.
He immediately issued an apology, but now police in Richland County, South Carolina.
You know where that is, Tom? Richland County?
Somewhere in South Carolina.
They might press charges for marijuana use. This would not be his first run-in with the law.
The 23-year-old Phelps has already pled guilty to drunk driving back in 2004.
If we can prove it, we will charge him. And we're looking into it.
I just don't think you can have something like this done and publicize and say, I'm sorry, and then we're supposed to forget about it.
He broke the law. If we can prove that he was smoking marijuana in Richland County, then he can be charged.
As for his endorsement, Speedo and Omega are supporting Phelps right now. No word yet, though, from Visa and Kellogg's.
We do have word from Don Nelson, the Warriors' coach, rightfully so a little grumpy today. Take a look.
Put them behind you, just like we would if we didn't want them. Put them behind you and get ready for the next game.
Well, not really. If they were winning, they would be smiling a lot more. Nellie's a smileable guy.
Warriors practiced today. Nellie and Chris Mullen, you've got to wonder how long Mully will be around.
Monte Ellis looked fine at practice. He got banged up in last night's game, you might recall, in the final couple of minutes.
But no problems today. And speaking of last night, Warriors blew a 12.4th quarter lead, and they lose to Tony Parker and the San Antonio Spurs in overtime.
They find creative ways to lose, the Warriors do. They are now 15-34 on the season.
We have a recount from the Super Bowl. How about this? They've recalculated the television ratings.
Sunday's game is now the highest rated Super Bowl in history. Today, a lot of people called in sick.
They scraped together some money for a parade in Pittsburgh. With all the budget crisis, parades aren't on the top of the list for anyone.
Twenty-degree weather and a lot of cheers.
Hey, we're going to bring a seven-time championship next year, baby. Let's go do it again.
It's Heinz Ward, one of the Steelers stars. You all remember, we still have parades around here.
Stillers, man. Stillers.
That's what it's called, stillers.
You've got to bring your own confetti, you've got to bring your own flags.
It doesn't matter how cold it is.
Our last parade was 15 years ago down Market Street.
I remember it.
It's a long time ago.
We gladly bring our own confetti. There's no issue.
For our children, it's just a memory.
No, it's not a memory.
It's a story we tell, isn't it?
Not raining confetti, not raining either, yet.
Yet. But look, take a look here. We've got a little action out to our west.
You see the storm system is not moving real quickly, but it's going to get here and it'll deliver rain.
I'll tell you when and how long coming up in just a bit.
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Next, John, engagement ring shopping for Jand and White Hero Pilot Sully Cries Every Night.
Plus, Christian Bale's Meltdown, the remix.
Oh, good!
Next.
It's time to start driving, America.
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Times are tough, but the governor and some Sacramento politicians are going too far.
Using the budget crisis as an excuse to abolish our successful class size reduction program.
This deceptive plan could permanently increase class sizes and provides no accountability
to ensure local administrators spend the money in the classroom.
Smaller class sizes improve student achievement.
Tell your lawmakers ending the class size reduction program won't save California one
dime.
It only hurts our kids.
More record high temperatures today.
Yeah, holding on to this stuff.
Think about this.
Yeah, there's a lot of days here in the past couple of weeks we've been talking records.
Let me show you where we went today.
San Jose, 74.
That's enough for a record for the date.
And you can see Santa Rosa and Mountain View both tied the records for the date.
So it was warm all over the place.
And just in case you missed the numbers, let me give them to you here.
Morgan Hill, Evergreen, Saratoga, all 75 degrees.
Fremont at 71, Danville 69.
So this is more like, you know, March, April than what we're getting at this time of year.
64, San Raffaella, what we used to get, what we are used to getting at this time of year.
Sonoma at 70, 73, Santa Rosa 65, the high in Concord.
I'll show you what things looked like just after the sun had gone down.
Now notice this is Oakland looking back across the bay and you see a little, you know, the
high layer of clouds in there.
That is the beginning of a cloud layer that's going to thicken up as we go through the night
and through the day tomorrow.
And it's going to deliver rain to us finally by tomorrow night.
I'll show you where it is.
Here's the center out in here.
It looks like most of that is going to track to our south, but we'll be on the north side
of it such that we'll see some rain starting tomorrow night and it looks like it will continue
off and on through Friday night.
So we're going to get a little out of this.
I don't know exactly how much I'd say, probably a mid-range storm on Thursday and then a little
bit less on Friday.
The way it looks, we could use all the rain that we're going to get out that we can get.
This one doesn't look like it's going to do any significant or make any significant dent
in our drought, but again, we'll take what we can get.
And by the time you get to your weekend, it looks like it'll be dry for your plans.
All right, if you're going to the Sierra, snow level pretty high, but lowering to around
5,000 feet by the middle part of the day on Thursday up to a foot.
So certainly bring your chains and by the weekend, the skiing should be just fine after
a fresh foot of powder comes on in.
All right, let me give you a peek at what I expect overnight tonight.
We'll see temperatures thirties and some forties.
And again, we'll see the clouds around, high clouds and a little bit of fog.
So the temperatures won't go down quite so far as they have over the past couple of nights.
Here's my look at tomorrow.
And you can see with the clouds in play, we won't get quite so warm.
Sixty four in Gilroy, sixty three San Jose, sixty two Livermore up the peninsula temperatures
in that range.
Sixties for the most part, Half Moon Bay coming in at fifty nine across the bay.
Sixty three Oakland, about the same in Concord.
And again, same deal.
We'll see the clouds filling in pretty much everywhere Bay Area as we go, especially afternoon
and evening North Bay temperatures.
You can see in the sixties.
Here's my seven day forecast.
Rainy on Thursday.
Looks like a wet morning commute, often on rain after that.
More rain on Friday.
Then the wind will pick up, clear things out for what we have in terms of weekend outdoor
plans.
No problems.
And it looks like we stay dry thereafter.
Now, of course, another thing I want to talk about here and that is tonight is a spare
the air night.
So it's illegal to burn any fires tonight.
Fireplace wood stove, pellet stoves, anything going on.
It's illegal to burn tonight because the air is fairly stagnant.
And what happens in the wintertime is still a little different from the summer in the
wintertime.
When the nights are cold and the air is fairly still, the reason why they call it spare the
air nights is because when the smoke goes up, it just settles.
It doesn't go anywhere.
It pools right up in the valley floor.
So that's why it's a spare the air night tonight.
All right.
It probably won't last because obviously the system is moving in tomorrow.
Yeah, it won't happen tomorrow.
And then as soon as the rain comes in, the rain will clear out the air.
So yeah.
And then John, in terms of after we get this little patch of rain that we're going to get,
can you tell at this point if there's any other rain in the horizon?
There is a chance Sunday, Monday.
Right now I've left the rain off there.
Just being it's been such a dry season, it looks like we're leaning that way.
There is a chance if everything comes together and we'll have to see after these couple of
storms come through, there's always a ripple effect downstream.
So that's what I'm looking at.
Yeah, let's hold on to that possibility.
Yeah, let's do it.
Thanks everybody for being here.
See you tonight at 11.
Yeah.
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