this corner is so dark. our light is shining on it but other than our light it is so dark out here and a little strange. there are a total of 1694 customers without power here in vallejo. it went out about 3:00 this morning, including this safeway here at lincoln road west. safeway got out its generator, cranked it up and started smelling gas. that's why you see the pg&e truck here to investigate why there's gas in this area. turns out the generator was leaking gas. at that point the managers decided it's time to call it a day so they sent everybody home and put a sign on the front door telling employees call back at 7:00 this morning to find out if the store has reopened. so they don't expect this to open anytime soon. it's going to be a costly power outage slash gas leak out here. but for the safeway and for all the people in vallejo who are sleeping right now hoping that their alarm clock's going to wake them up in time for work.

almost 1700 people customers without power in vallejo. >> see how amy's dressed this morning. >> the hood and the rain still coming down. we still have showers and i encountered heavy ones coming in. >> winter's back. >> temperatures in the 40s and we have some snow around lake county and mount hamilton. here's live doppler 7 hd. windy conditions, too. the rain continues to overspread the entire bay area and will continue to increase in coverage and intensity as you head out the door this morning. here's a look at the line of showers around san francisco and daly city eastward. further south we've got rain as you head down 280. saratoga and we're also looking at more showers into our east bay communities. they will continue to intensify throughout the morning hours. a little break. more rain tomorrow. but we are looking at the possibility of a dry weekend.

i'll tell but that come kingdom up. frances. >> lisa, well, we got the wind advisory for the san mateo bridge. you can see what you can expect this morning. the roads are slick. there have already been a few accidents this morning. both hands on the wheel heading across the san mateo bridge or the richmond san rafael bridge and the venetian bridge has a high wind advisory as well. the 218 and 17 interchange. headlights are northbound 280. traffic is light. in the southbound direction just before this shot at highway 85 there is an injury crash. keep that in mind. so far if you're coming out of the santa cruz mountains, you want to be extra careful there as well on highway 17. >> it's 4:34 now. this morning city inspectors will be back out to see if the storms have caused more damage to a crumbling pacifica cliffside. a preliminary inspection was yesterday but it's still unclear if the rains have further destabilized the cliff. just two months ago a large

chunk of hillside fell off. two apartment buildings at the top of the cliff have been red-tagged since 2009 when residents were forced to move out. this morning the national weather service is warning that accommodation of continued rain and the arrival of high tides, the highest of the season, could create the perfect conditions for major beach erosion and coastal flooding. >> but it's bringing what tahoe skiers and snow boarders have been hoping for. fresh snow just in time for the holiday weekend. some schools, especially ski week, they were out the doors yesterday as the storms dumped a new blanket of snow throughout the area. many skiers complained the runs turned hard and icy but all that is now in the past. >> it's completely different. it's a whole new ball game today. >> what we needed. about four weeks or so since we got some fresh snow. >> crews spent a lot of time clearing roads and helping residents clear out yesterday.

they got several more feet expected by the weekend. >> it's 4:35 now. a veteran state drug agent based in contra costa county and a private investigator in concord are awaiting formal drug charges accused of selling drugs stolen from an evidence locker. their arrest in venetian following a month-long undercover investigation. >> norman wells worked for 12 years for the state department bureau of narcotics enforcement, the same agency that busted him. he was a special agent supervisor of the central contra costa narcotics enforcement team and worked out of this building near the pleasant hill police department. his arrest in venetian wednesday morning triggers many questions. >> narcotics prosecutors depend more than any other type of case on the creditability of the investigating officers. >> so many past drug predictions

could be jeopardized. >> it could compromise every investigation conducted by the narcotics task force under this officer's tenure. it could be something that would make the san francisco crime lab fiasco look minor by compares son. >> also arrested was 49-year-old christopher butler who runs a private detective agency in concord. >> he's been a very good tenant for six years. i believe he's innocent until proven guilty. >> they work together as antioch police officers. the department of justice launched an undercover investigation in january that culminated in their arrest. bail is set at $660,000, for bustler $840,000. >> san francisco city attorney is cracking down on crack pipes. dennis horrara accused of

selling pipes used to smoke crack cocaine. they will seek penalties for code violations. district supervisor says neighbors have complained and he hopes the crackdown will lead to fewer smoke shops and more book shops, hardware stores or print shops. >> president obama is said to visit the bay area this evening. it's a private event at an undisclosed location. the guest list is expected to include facebook.com founder mark zuckerberg, apple ceo steve jobs and eric schmidt. >> many of the hi-tech executives that met with the president in washington back in december will focus on the meeting. mr. obama will spend the night here in the bay area before heading to hillsboro, oregon, in the morning to visit intel. >> mayor chuck reid will deliver his state of the city address and the city's budget problems are expected to be a major

focus. mayor reid is expected to talk about the $110 million budget short fall facing the city and the possibility it may have to eliminate the jobs of about 1,000 employees. this year's address will be held at the san jose convention center and scheduled to begin around 7:30. >> the california supreme court is wading back into the legal battle over same sex marriage. last august a federal judge declared proposition 8 unconstitutional but it was immediately repealed. they were involved in the original case. the state supreme court has agreed to decide that issue but the court won't hear arguments on it until at least september. >> so tough watching that tahoe video wishing i could be up there. >> i think we all heard the sigh from kristen's side of the table. >> actually showers this morning. more snow's coming down there, too. >> we may see some here, lisa? >> already seeing that mixed

presip with the cold temperatures in our higher elevations. numbers in the 40s. fairly uniform with 46 in fremont, 45 in san rafael. and you notice the showers on your way in this morning. becoming more widespread. here's live doppler 7 hd. if we zoom in, you'll notice it in the north bay we've got rain, 101, santa rosa. berkeley, emeryville over 80 this morning. so if you're headed out early to the mountains you will need your chains. snow continues to come down in sierra nevada. wet all the way to the south bay. more organized showers around saratoga. high tide 10:15. 6.6 feet waves possible and we are looking at the winter storm warning until 10:00 tonight and additional 1 to 2 feet of snow. more rain tomorrow. looks like we'll get a little break over the weekend. more rain for president's day. >> good morning, everyone. we're going to check out contra

costa county. the commute right now pretty quiet but roads are wet. we're seeing some spinouts already in the east bay this morning. southbound 680 here still slow as well. but both hands on the wheel as you come off the venetian bridge where there's a high wind advisory. interstate 80 in berkeley, so far no major problems reported westbound. of course, if you're heading eastbound up to the sierra, you'll need your chains both on i-80 and highway 50. at the bay bridge toll plaza, look out for the usual ponding and the splashing in some of those lanes as you approach those holes but overall still delay-free into san francisco. eric, kristen? >> thank you. just about 4:41. >> why a cancelled high-speed rail project in florida could derail california's plans for a statewide bullet train. >> did you watch last night? it's man versus machine on jeopardy. why the bay area scientists

good morning, everyone. a live look from our sutro camera. you can see a little bit the winds out there. one whole section of the screen, that's probably where the rain is coming down. we're seeing some heavy downpours in spots this morning. lisa argen will tell us what the forecast for the rest of the day looks like in a few minutes. >> california's now the nation's only state close to building a high-speed rail line after florida dropped out of the running. the san jose mercury news reports california could get up to $2 billion in federal funding grants for its $43 billion railway line now that florida doesn't want the money. governor brown says he would welcome the funds and reiterated his support for the project. but opponents say without florida, there's doubts whether there's enough national support for california. studies have shown high-speed rail could end up losing money

for the state even after it's built. >> engineers are winning praise after their computer won on jeopardy last night. abc 7's alan wang shows us the computer named watson that outstarted some of jeopardy's best place. >> we're looking for brand stoker. and we find -- hello! >> watson crushed two of jeopardy's top human contestants. but the real victory is watt ton's ability to understand the questions. >> breathing this for the latin for despise. >> what is contempt? >> correct. >> two of the 25 ibm computer scientists who developed watson. >> i was very pleased. we were hoping to be competitive. >> in the category of actors who direct, watson showed his weakness as the humans ran the category. >> the great debaters.

ken? >> denzel washington? >> the humans have an advantage when the answers are short and they can anticipate the questions. >> humans often buzzed in before they even new the answer. >> watson excelled picking the daily double. another one of watson's weaknesses is that he's deaf and he showed it on day one of the commission. >> what are the twenties? >> watson? >> what is 1920s. >> no. ken said that. >> in the future watson will be able to hear and his first application will be to assist doctors in diagnosing patients by listening and using its vast source of knowledge. san francisco, alan wang, abc 7 news. >> as you watched the program, you saw what ken jennings wrote on his answer, i for one welcome the computer overlord. you know what, he doesn't have

his way but i'm sure ibm is working on that, too. >> the engine problem that's forcing honda to recall 700,000 compact cars. >> a familiar scene in the middle east this morning. this time in bahrain. demonstrations have turned deadly after hundreds of police stormed into the central square firing tear gas and rubber bullets. the area is now in lockdown. i'll have the latest in a live report. >> also an interprizing 8th grader with the benefit of the giants' world seseseseseseseses@ dinner's ready!

it's french's crunchy onion chicken! (announcer) for a quick and easy dinner crush french fried onions. dip chicken in egg. coat with onion crumbs and bake. when dinner's made with french's french fried onions, everyone's happy.

french's. happy starts here. look for it in the canned vegetable aisle. >> good morning. waking up to snow on top of mount hamilton and 2,000 feet in the north bay, lake county, you got snow as well. the rain more organized today. in fact, look for the showers to stick around for the entire day with chilly temperatures and breezy winds and more snow in

the mountains. >> if you want to check on your flight, you're headed out of town this holiday weekend, check out our website abc7news.com. kristen? >> lisa, thanks. overseas armed patrols and tanks are patrolling the streets of bahrain this morning, the latest center for political protest in the middle east. four people have been killed. jenelle wang is live in the news room with the latest developments. >> it's a familiar scene in the middle east this morning, this time in bahrain. the military has taken control of key parts of the capital and put them on lockdown. demonstrators have been holding rallies since monday calling for sweeping political change but things turned violent after a pre-dawn raid. (gunfire) >> at least four people were killed and many more critically wounded and missing after hundreds of police officers stormed the protestors' makeshift encampment in pearl square. women and children were asleep

intents when they were faced with tear gas and rubber bullets. they are demanding greater political freedom and more jobs. police have put barbed wire around the city's central square but protestors vowed to return today. the u.s. clarified its stance toward protest movements saying it does not and has not been taking sides between demonstrators and government. its support is for democracy, human rights and non-violence. >> we call on both sides in countries where these demonstrations are taking place to be nonviolate and for the governments to be responsive. >> out on the street! >> like the unrest in other countries, another reporter was caught up in the violence. miguel markoz was beat up but fortunately not injured.

yemen, that country is seeing its seventh day of demonstrations. trying to get 1 million people across yemen to try and oust the president of 32 years. libya and iran are also seeing anti-government demonstrators this week all inspired by egypt's recent revolution that ousted egyptian president hosni mubarak. >> jenelle, thank you very much. a san francisco 8th grader has discovered that the san francisco giants did more than just make fans proud during the playoffs and world series. it seems the team helped reduce crime. thousands of people helped celebrate the victory and the good will but some computerize the crime stats reported that burglaries dropped last october and november compared to the previous year.

police are impressed telling the san francisco chronicle it's a very good theory based on what she saw. the crime fighting san francisco giants. >> right. well, civic pride can really lift the city. when we feel good, i'm sure there can be a reduction in crime. feeling good about the weather? if you like skiing you sure do. >> where's that window to get up there? extended until friday. we are looking at more snow continuing to pile up. maybe the best time to get there not until saturday unless you're already there right now looking out the window, you're looking at the wet weather in san francisco. let's take you to live doppler 7 hd where we have some snow coming down about 2,0$2,000 feen lake county. here's clear lake. you notice the presip mix and the white representing the snow. south of that we're looking at rain, highway 1, 101. some of this very light but we are looking to get more organized later on throughout the morning.

80s oakland, berkeley, alameda. wet weather for you also out towards moreraga, walnut creek. the winds are going to kick up as the front approaches later on this morning. this is mount hamilton. we're looking at the cold temperatures in place. mid-40s though at home at the surface but higher elevations, we're looking at the breezy winds and kind of a rough go with a high surf advisory with waves building 13 to 16 feet and in san francisco the high tide at 10:15 right when that frontal ban is pushing through the north bay. we will be looking at some hail with those heavy downpours today. the snow level around 2,000 feet. the high tide and another round of rain tomorrow. so here's a computer animation that shows the heaviest rain this morning into the north bay but as we advance it we continue

to see the line push south through the afternoon but it's not until late in the day we begin to see that break throughout much of the bay area but notice 9:00 it's still wet out there in the south bay and even into the overnight hours still looking at the rain. tomorrow by the late evening hours, early evening hours we're looking at that break. maybe a break late into saturday as well. winter storm warning with 1 to 2 feet of snow. the snow will continue into friday. 54 today in oakland. look for upper 40s in the north bay. low 50s morgan hill. here's the look ahead. we've got the rain today, more rain tomorrow. a bit of a break over the weekend. president's day looks wet again into tuesday. good morning, frances. >> lisa, it looks like from your model still rain for the morning commute. so far a few accidents, none causing big delays at this point. here's a live shot of the golden gate bridge where roads are slick once again this morning. northbound traffic for

headlights still fine out of morgan hill. look out for the ponding. that's 880 right across your screen. of course, if you want to avoid driving, consider mass transit. so far ace, muni, bart, caltrain reporting no delays. get traffic when you want. go to abc7news.com. >> frances, thank you. 4:55 now. honda is recalling nearly 700,000 compact cars worldwide to fix a defective pastor that -- part that may cause the engine to stall. honda says it's received about 100 complaints about the problem but there are no reports of accidents related to the defect. >> a consumer watchdog group is asking the fda to take immediate action over the chemical use to color cola drinks. the coloring creates a risk for cancer. the caramel color is made by

combining sugar and ammonia over high speed and pressure. last month california health officials listed the chemical as a carcinogen but there's a debate how much of a risk cola drinkers face. >> you're not going to get cancer if you drink soda once in a while. >> just because something happens at a very high dose in animals, it don't necessarily mean that's going to translate to very low doses in humans. >> coca-cola issued a statement saying the caramel we use does not cause cancer. and the american beverage association is suing to get the chemical off its cancer list. researchers say the biggest health threats posed by cola drinks is actually the risk of obesity. >> 4:57 now. the rain and wind around done with the bay area yet. on the storm watch with live team coverage next at 5 a.m.. >> i'm amy hollyfield live in

vallejo where a power outage and the smell of gas throws things off track for a safeway. i'll explain coming up. >> and a san francisco police officer is punished for her role in the department's videogate scandal. why she says she is not sorry. ♪ leftover desserts, boardroom, now. and hurry before the interns get here. thanks but i already have some yummy black forest cake. black forest cake? ♪ so? [ female announcer ] need a guilt fretreat? tryoplait light. and i've lost weight. [ female announcer ] with 30 delicious flavors, all around 100 calories each. yoplait. it is so good. the yoplait you love, now in a 4-pack. try it today.

♪ i'm amy hollyfield live in vallejo where employees at a safeway store had to go home when the lights went out and they smelled gas. the story coming up. >> light rain this morning

becoming more organized. seeing heavier downpours throughout the later morning hours. >> i'm picking up on a new injury accident just reported in san francisco on 280 and 101. i'm getting details for you. you'll find the typical ponding and slick roads for your morning commute. be extra careful on your way to work. >> with the storm, the pounding storm surf hitting the coast this morning is causing new concern about an apartment building sitting on the edge of an eroding cliff in pacifica. it's a thursday, 5:00. thank you so much for starting your day with us. i'm kristen sze. >> i'm eric thomas. we have developing news out of vallejo this morning. a power outage there has helped knock out electricity to help degrees of customers while triggering a gas leak at a big grocery store. amy is live in vallejo with more how these events are related. >> eric, actually the lights just came back on just a couple of minutes ago. the lights came on here in