years ago. democrat kent conrad of north dakota also announced he'll retire at the end of his current term. >> meg whiteman making her first public appearance. set to appear at a women's roundtable at redwood city. the former ceo of e-bay will speak to women executives and entrepreneurs. she became the biggest self-funded candidate in u.s. history after spending $144 million of her own money on the failed campaign. she lost by 13 percentage points. >> san jose-based semtrycon with the smallest atomic clock today. the device is being tested in portable military jammers we block i.d.'s. >> mexican president will be the

commencement speaker for this year's graduating class at stanford. in a statement explaining the choice, stanford called him a respected foreign leader who has been in public service his entire life and who is country is intertwined with the u.s. >> in china, the annual spring festival travel season begins today as billions of people return home to celebrate the upcoming lunar new year holiday with their families. thousands of travelers started rushing to train stations in beijing trying to go home for chinese new year which begins in two weeks on february 3rd. news reports in china say 2.5 billion people are expected to take a train trip in the next 40 days. amtrak has never seen anything like that, huh? >> no. and amtrak i think would have a little trouble with that. >> 2.5 billion, yeah. >> i think so. a young boy is snatched from his central valley home. next at 5:30, why the man who

abducted him may be headed to the bay area. >> also the president of china begins a state visit to the u.s. next the message silicon valley leaders will deliver when they meet with him today. >> and the dangerous discovery that snarled rush hour traffic in the east bay. >> here's a look at the high temperatures across the country. the northern half pretty cold, southern half pretty mild. 82 miami, 49 atlanta. up to the pacific northwest, 40 seattle and port land. right now philadelphia does have flight arrival delays and snow skirting boston, denver and salt lake city could cause

i have fallen in love with making bird houses. caw caw! [ director ]what is that? that's a horrible crow. here are some things that i'll make as little portals. honestly, i'd love to do this for the rest of my life so i've got to take care of my heart. for me, cheerios is a good place to start. [ male announcer ] got something you'll love to keep doing? take care of your heart. you can start with cheerios. the natural whole grain oats can help lower cholesterol. brrrbb... makes you feel ageless. [ male announcer ] it's time. love your heart so you can do what you love. cheerios. [ bob ] squak. ♪ i'm terry mcsweeney live in walnut creek where tonight parents, teachers and students at three schools will find out if theirs is on the list of

schools recommended for closure. the story in a live report. >> also this morning a traffic stop takes a deadly turn after san pablo police shot and killed a man. >> the roof cam in downtown san francisco. notice the lack of fog. that's the big weather story. also the breezes that pushed them away and how warm can it be over a two-week span above average? >> and still can't find any major problems for your commute this morning. live shot of the bay bridge plaza shows everything is flowing well. >> the san mateo district attorney says state regulators are moving too slowly in turning over documents in the san bruno pipeline explosion. the d.a. is trying to determine if it involved criminal misconduct. >> 5:27 on this wednesday. good morning. thanks for joining us. i'm kristen sze. >> i'm eric thomas. the chp issued a statewide amber

alert for a child kidnapper previously convicted of manslaughter. >> the man and boy may be headed to the bay area. our amy holyfield is live near many of those freeway signs with the latest. >> still no sign of them. the amber alert signs are still on this morning. investigators are hoping that commuters will see the information and maybe someone will call in the tip that they need. the boy is four-year-old julianna kardanis. he disappeared yesterday. he lives in patterson. police believe this man kidnapped the boy, 27-year-old josé rodriguez. they say he pulled the boy right out of his grandmother's arms. he has a criminal history including conviction of involuntary manslaughter and having sex with a minor. >> the primary concern is the safety of that child and locating the suspect in the vehicle he's driving. >> the suspect's car is described as a silver or beige toyota corolla with a capitol

hill license plate number of 6 hbw-445. detectives looked at surveillance tape overnight and were better able to get a description of the car. the windows are tinted. they were able to spot a spare tire on the passenger side of the car. a couple more details for you to look for. they sent a detective to san jose last night because the suspect does have family there. so the detective is there working the case. but overnight they also discovered that the suspect has more family in the central valley so they're also focusing on that area. live in san francisco, amy holyfield, abc 7 news. >> amy, thank you. today is the day a fierce battle to keep seven schools open in contra costa county comes to a head. the mount diablo school board will study several different cost-cutting proposals. live in walnut creek where the school board will meet tonight. >> from a list of seven, three schools will be selected by an

advisory committee for closure. the list will be given to the school board and then the ball is in the school board's court. take a look at the situation last week in concord. there was a demonstration by parents and students at silverwood elementary. a rally to keep its doors open. but silver wood is one of the seven schools the district is considering closing to save $1.5 million out of $12 million it needs to cut from its budget. the district says enrollment is declining. this district has already cut $50 million from its budget in recent years and a lot of people are hoping there will be another option. but 5:30 this evening an advisory committee will produce a list of schools that should be closed. of the five elementary and two middle schools, three will be chosen. it's like a lottery that nobody wants to win. the school board will make its

decision february 8th. >> contra costa authorities are investigating a fatal shooting involving a police officer following a traffic stop. it happened 8:30 along san pablo dam road near ventura avenue. the driver stopped for the officer but a passenger in that car ran from the vehicle and into a gas station parking lot. investigators say the officer caught up with him. the man then tried to grab a handgun from his own waistband. >> they struggled over a firearm that was in the suspect's waistband. the officer broke away from the suspect for a minute. the suspect continued to pull for the gun ignoring the officer's commands, and the officer fired his weapon at that time. >> the man died at the scene. police haven't released his name. >> this morning investigators in the east bay are trying to determine what three suspects were planning to do with several pipe bombs discovered in a self-storage facility in pacheco. that was the bomb squad

detonating four of the five pipe bombs last night. they were found in the storage unit so they were detonated as a precaution. the narcotics enforcement team says they were led to the storage unit where they encountered a young woman from martinez. they searched the unit and found a backpack with four pipe bombs. the fifth was found nearby. >> in less than an hour, president obama will officially welcome the chinese president to the white house ahead of the state dinner. it may be pomp and circumstance but the silicon valley has a lot at stake. >> those companies will be closely watching this meeting. many tech products designed in silicon valley are manufactured in china. many bay area tech companies have offices in china with hopes of expanding even more. but the relationship between u.s. and china can be described as friend and foe. there are authority issues even so the u.s. is rolling out the red carpet for the president visiting for two days.

tonight president obama will host a lavish state dinner for mr. ho who actually will arrive at the white house 30 minutes from now. they will hold a joint news conference later this morning about 10 a.m.. during this visit the two discuss several hot topics including national security. they hope the chinese can ease tensions with north korea. also human rights. but trade and economic issues, the biggest point. with china's currency low, they can produce cheaper goods which they can sell overseas which they say is unfair to american businesses. the u.s. is the largest market for its exports. >> well, my hope is that we have a normal relationship, a very positive, cooperative comprehensive relationship where in some areas we're going to compete. there's no doubt about that. but in many areas we're going to cooperate. >> china has recently had strong

disagreements with silicon valley companies including google and hewlett-packard both over web filtering and sensorship. just last year the policy to sensor online speech possibly caused long-term business damage. the mayors of oakland and san francisco are also attending. >> jenelle, thank you very much. it's 5:34 now. the san mateo county district attorney says the california utility commission isn't moving fast enough in turning over critical information about the san bruno pipeline explosion. our media partner, the san jose mercury news, reports the cpuc still hasn't released several documents requested months ago. his office, the state attorney general, and u.s. attorney are trying to determine whether pg&e should face any civil or criminal charges in connection with that deadly blast.

a cpuc spokes american said commission is cooperating with investigators and blames the delays on the d.a.'s office unwillingness to sign certain nondisclosure agreements. >> take a look at this picture behind us. we don't have fog so hopefully better for your travel and all future flight delays. >> reading over mike's shoulder. the winds are responsible. >> absolutely. northerly wind about 12 mph. taking away the fog and the westerly wind coming through the san bruno gap. that is keeping the fog away from sfo. that's unlimited visibility. we have some haze, fog trying to form along napa, hayward, san jose and half moon bay. it's going to have a hard time. those are a few areas where the winds are calmer. let's talk temperatures. 8:00 in the morning we're mainly 39 livermore, 42 napa. then we have mid to upper 40s throughout the rest of the inland valleys and along the bay to even san rafael and san

francisco. by noon we'll all become a little more homogenized. mid to upper 50s around the bay and out to the coast keeping upper 50s to low 60s in our valleys. breezy at times today, especially around the bay shore and the coast. we'll have upper 50s around fremont, rest of us low to mid-60s. compared to average, temperatures are about 3 to 5 even 6 degrees warmer than average. in the low to mid-60s. this will play out all seven days of your dry accu-weather 7-day forecast. let's turn it over to frances. commute kind of quiet? >> great start if you're thinking about heading to work soon. live cameras starting off with the san mateo bridge. no delays in either directions. you will notice those amber alert signs on the freeway. be on the lookout for that. especially that silver toyota. we'll check out 101 in millbrae. the ride fine but the camera a

little bouncy so it is breezy. headlights northbound heading in towards san francisco. southbound good all the way to san jose. 101 in the north bay. the drive time only 20 minutes from highway 37 in novato down to the golden gate bridge. >> frances, thank you. it's 5:37. >> california cities launch a preemptive strike against budget cuts. >> don't go against the governor in the state of california in a process of warfare. >> still ahead, how the rush to spend money before sacramento takes it away. >> and the costly perk of being a muni driver. why san francisco may be backing ofofofofofofofofofofofofofofofof [ beeping ]

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>> closed captioning brought to you by mancini sleepworld. it's 5:40. a paid parking plan for muni drivers on hold indefinitely. the muni board of directors was scheduled to put in place fines for drivers that didn't pay an $80 fee for parking cars in bus yards and other muni property. the board approved a plan last year to charge muni employees for parking at work to generate revenue for the agency. next month labor negotiations are scheduled to begin between the city and muni drivers and the parking issue could be brought up at that time.

>> cities across san jose city officials are meeting today to find a way to protect redevelopment funds promised to the city before governor brown presented proposed budget cuts. other cities across the state are doing the same thing. the basic strategy, spend it before they take it. abc 7's christina rusk has more. >> the will have laid down a gauntlet last week when he proposed vapor rising redevelopment agencies by eliminating $1.7 billion in funding. fremont city manager fred diaz says the city mobilized quickly and called a special meeting. >> you don't go against the governor in the state of california in a process of warfare but i think what we came up with was a sound strategy to move our projects forward. >> the legal maneuver is based on the idea any redevelopment money already committed to a contract can't be taken away. fremont's preemptive strike monday night commits $121 million to six projects already in the works. the bulk of the money, $108

million, is to build the irvington bart station. that transit project has been in development two years and something that will benefit the entire region. there are 398 active redevelopment agencies around the state. a handful of them including fremont have already taken emergency action and many more are in the process. san jose which has one of the largest redevelopment agencies in the country just announced its own emergency session to be held late wednesday afternoon. at the same time there are rumors the legislature may try to invalidate or freeze this last-minute flurry of activity. the only sure bet this hail mary pass in the budget deficit debate is not the last political play. in fremont, karina rusk, abc 7 news. >> 5:42 now. can you hear this? your cellphone bill may be about to go up.

the bloomberg business report is coming up. >> a spectacular and deadly scene in philadelphia as a repair job on a gas pipeline goes horribly wrong. >> the shootings caught on tape. this latest clue for investigators coming up. >> and forget cash or credit cards. starbucks introduces a new way to pay for your cappuccino. >> the new study that claims a lot of college students3q

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>> welcome back. coming up on 5:46. california forecast time. breezy around tahoe and cooler today. no record high temperatures with 42 there and also yosemite. you find it breezy along the coast. big sur at 64 today. tulie fog and 53 fresno. you see the fog returning to san diego 61. l.a. 74, palm springs 77 for the warm spot. here's eric and kristen with more news. >> thanks, mike. it's 5:46. >> taking a look at the stories we're following this morning. a statewide amber alert has been issued for a four-year-old boy who was taken from his grandmother's arms yesterday. the sheriff believes the suspect may be headed to san jose with the child. the four-year-old was abducted in patterson south of tracy yesterday afternoon. officials say the suspect is his mother's ex-boyfriend.

27-year-old josé estefan rodded. >> a traffic stop, happened around san pablo road. the man ran from the vehicle and the officer caught up with him. the man then tried to pull out a handgun and that's when the officer shot him. >> this morning contra costa county investigators are trying to determine what three suspects were planning to do with several pipe bombs discovered in a self-storage facility in pacheco. last night the bomb squad detonated four of the five pipe bombs found in a storage unit as a precaution. the latest coming up for you at 6:00. >> a gas main explosion in a philadelphia neighborhood left one person dead injuring five others and forced dozens of other residents from their home. it happened last night. the blast blew up a street as you saw and sent a 50 foot

fireball into the sky. fire dispatchers received reports of a gas and water main break in the neighborhood about an hour before the explosion. it took firefighters nearly two hours after that to bring the fire under control. this morning the red cross is assisting residents who were affected by the blast. >> in less than two weeks, the faces and stories have become familiar. the victims and the gunman from the tucson arizona shootings. this morning we're learning investigators are apparently getting tremendous help from very clear surveillance video at the scene. emily schmidt has the latest including inside from gabrielle giffords' husband. >> the 9-1-1 call placed seconds after the tucson shooting shows the chaos of the moment. >> he went in, started firing and then he ran. >> now investigators are reviewing video not yet released to the public that show what led up to that moment. it is clear surveillance store video from the safeway where just outside congresswoman

gabrielle giffords was meeting with constituents. >> it happened at a congress on your corner. you know, my wife giving the people she serves the opportunity to speak to her. >> had you been worried for her safety? >> absolutely. yes. and she was. she was really, really concerned. but she -- she thought this was the right thing to do. >> giffords husband mark kelly told diane sawyer that he's seen the picture of the accused gunman jared loughner and seen enough. but the f.b.i. is using the surveillance video trying to see more about loughner's actions and demeanor. loughner talked to a store clerk moments before firing more than 30 rounds of ammunition. it's unlikely the tapes will be released before loughner's trial. two shooting victims remain in the doctor including congresswoman giffords. >> the progress she has made has

been nothing short of a miracle. >> colleagues on capitol hill introduced bills to ban high capacity ammunition clips like the one used in tucson. >> it's 5:50 let's make it. a little breezy out there this morning and that makes it a little more visible. >> right. definitely the fog is gone, mike. >> yeah, definitely is. that means good news for those trying to get some people over to sfo. no flight arrival delays this morning. it is breezy as you can see, especially along 101 in the north bay this morning. mount tamalpais about 2600 feet up. you can see the wind blowing the camera around and that's why. excuse me. we have a lack of fog but as we look at temperatures, it's still in the 50s santa rosa, san rafael and san francisco, concord and half moon bay. where we don't have the breezes, napa and fairfield at 39. livermore 41 with los gatos, everybody else in the mid-40s. around the monterey bay, also breezes.

look at monterey and salinas 52. santa cruz 57. that's close to your normal high. not as windy watsonville and 40 and gilroy definitely still 37. sunny this afternoon and mild our temperatures. still breezy at times especially around the coast and the bay shore. mostly clear and cool tonight, probably cooler than this morning because we won't have the breezes to overturn the atmosphere like we do now. normal the warm air rises and the cold air sinks down because it's heavier. won't have that tonight. next two weeks, two weeks into next month, dry. fremont 1 degree warmer. san jose, oakland and santa rosa anywhere from 1 to 3 degrees cooler. an extra minute and 30 seconds before sunshine before it sets at 5:19 this evening. low to mid-60s in the east bay valleys today. low to mid-60s also along the bay shore. widespread mid-60s as you head through the south bay with san

jose, cupertino and saratoga 65. low to mid-60s on the peninsula. upper 50s to low 60s abeing lo the coast. near 60 in downtown south san francisco sausalito with low to mid-60s through the north bay valleys. cloverdale a little warmer 57. cooler at the beaches, upper 50s for you. carmel a little cooler at 59. mid-60s in your inland valleys. tonight tulie fog stays in the central valley. it won't be nearly as breezy. temperatures more upper 30s to low 40s inland. mid-40s the bay shore and out to the coast. san francisco a little warmer at 48. two areas of high pressure. this low found the weak spot and that's what brought us the wind shift that has no rain with it. the high pressure will kick it off. it will strengthen throughout the next several days. that's why we're going to have warmer weather, especially when the high starts to develop over the great basin starting tomorrow and get that offshore wind pattern. look at our temperatures, low to mid-60s everywhere, all seven

days of the forecast. no fog until possibly tuesday morning. hope you enjoy the sunshine. here's frances. >> definitely will. hope you enjoy the ride to work. really no slow spots other than westbound 4 antioch. but the oakland maze westbound 80 traffic flows well out of emeryville and berkeley towards the bay bridge toll plaza where it's still delay-free at this point. north bay commuters also have a nice ride across the golden gate bridge. a clear shot here and that's also fine and moving well out of novato and san rafael this morning. in the south bay we'll check out the 280 and 17 interchange. headlights are northbound 280 and that's highway 17 right across your screen turning into 880. you can get your traffic whenever you want it by going to our website abc7news.com. click on the bay area traffic link. eric, kristen? >> frances, thank you. it's 5:53. >> sprint is jacking up prices and funeral homes are

discovering a new business. >> bloomberg's jane king with our "moneyscope" report. >> good morning. your cellphone bill may go up raising prices for unlimited smart phone data use by $10 a month effective january 30th. the price going through about $80 for unlimited talk and data to $70 for new and upgraded customers. talking about southwest today raising domestic fares up to 5 bucks each way. delta and united raised fares on monday. chrysler revving up plans for new minivans. planning a hybrid minivan by 2014 but it may not look like a traditional minivan. funeral homes breathing new life into business by hosting weddings. a growing number of funeral parlors are hosting bargain weddings, birthdays, holiday parties and promise. i'm jane king with the bloomberg business report. >> 5:54 now. tests by an environmental group

have revealed possibly unsafe levels of mercury in local supermarkets and restaurants in california. gotmercury.org did the research by purchasing tuna, swordfish and sushi last year. those tests revealed that 81% of swordfish examined showed high levels of mercury. >> consumers should be warned about high mercury seafood, especially women and children. we know that women still prodominantly do most of the shopping for their families. >> gotmercury.org wants california to require grocers and restaurants to post warnings. but a group accuses gotmercury.org by exsag racing the risk. >> you can pay for a latte with a cellphone instead of a credit

card. starbucks stores in the u.s. will begin accepting mobile payments. owners of blackberries, i-phones and i-pad touches can wave the phone in front of a scanner and money is automatically taken from your starbucks county. >> you have kids in college in you may not want to hear this but a new report says the first two years of college are a waste of time and money. in a typical day, researchers found that college kids spend about 4 hours on their school work and 14 hours socializing or working jobs. researchers found two big reasons for the poor study habits, they say many professors tend to be more focussed on their own research than on teaching younger students. early on many students are more interested in their social life instead of studying. who would have thought. >> makes you feel good about all that tuition you're paying. >> oh, please. feeling faint. >> just ahead at 6:00, fixing the doctor dilemma.

>> almost 45 days. >> that's ridiculous. >> how a new law will shorten the time it takes to make an appointment with your doctor. >> the patterson family is begging for the return of four-year-old juliani

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detectives have released new information in the case of a missing boy from paton