it could be another rocky start on wall street this morning, as overseas markets lose momentum. investors reacting badly to the threat of downgrading u.s. debt. also this morning, a possible dramatic turn-around at caltrain. board members indicate they have a plan to save current service and keep all the stations open for at least another year. >> fog, low clouds and even a little drizzle for your morning commute. i promise some warmer weather before another chance of rain tomorrow. >> we're off to a rough start. we have a sig-alert in livermore on westbound 580, plus roadwork throughout the bay area, including on the bay bridge. we'll have a complete traffic report coming up. >> the san jose city council tackles the issue of medical marijuana clubs again today. the council is set to decide where to drastically slash

the number of pot clubs in the city. good tuesday morning. 4:30 a.m. thank you for joining us. i'm eric thomas. kristen is off today. financial markets in asia lost ground in overnight trading following a surprise slide on wall street when standard & poor's downgraded the long-term outlook for the nation's debt to negative. but there are other worries about the strength of the recovering u.s. economy. abc7's lilian kim has more. >> "wall street journal" ended the -- wall street ended the day lower. it tumbled as the standard & poor's lowered the outlook from stable to negative and said there is a one in three chance the rating on the debt could slip if washington doesn't come up with a plan. the white house tried to offer assurances. >> the fact that republicans, he and the republicans agree on a target $4 trillion in deficit reduction over ten to 12 years is an enormously positive development. >> grim outlooks are also

having an effect on gas prices. but unlike stocks, they're not plummeting, they are storing. wall street is accomplice. speculators in oil future market who bid prices up are betting that things will get worse in the middle east. >> it's not a fear premium. it's a risk premium. they accept a risk and you pay premium based on the risk. >> that premium is costing consumer 35 cents extra a gallon. so in bay area it is costing $4.25 a gallon. it's taking such a toll, people are running out of gas. calls for emergency gas service are up 13%. >> what you could draw from this is the fact that people are trying to stretch it when it comes to the gas in their tank further than they would normally. >> perhaps the one bright spot is the job outlook. jobless rate dipped. hiring spree like companies like mcdonald's could lower the unemployment rate more. the restaurant chain plans

to hire 50,000 people in the one-day hiring event. >> 75% of managers started as crew people. people in the top management in the corporation also start as crew. it's not just a hamburger flipping job, though a great entry way to the job market. >> that was abc7's lilian kim reporting. we have information posted on today's mcdonald's hiring event on our website. go to abc7news.com. look under see it on tv. caltrain may have a plan to keep all the stations open for another year. but it's not all good news. passengers may have to pay more. it could cost a quarter more on one-way fares and dollar a day increase in parking fees is likely part of the package. our media partner "the san jose mercury news" are told caltrain board members are told on thursday to approve a plan. money come from funds typically used for transit maintenance around the bay area or for money that had

been earmarked for caltrain construction projects. muni drivers will begin voting this week on whether to give the leaders the right to call a strike if current negotiations with the city fail. the transportation workers union that represents muni's 2200 transit operators will begin a seven-dy voting process on friday. if approved the initiative would allow union leaders to authorize a work stoppage. the san francisco municipal transportation agency is trying to trim the labor package by $26 million. would you like to get into a university of california school in the solution is easy. move out of state. the acceptance rate for out-of-state students is up almost 10% this year. abc7's alan wang takes a look. >> i have had a lot of anxiety problem of school. >> cesar perez is not even trying to get in u.c. berkeley based on his friend's experience. >> he tried to get in u.c. berkeley with a 4.0 in high school. he has been -- not get

accepted. >> the u.c. system says it accepted just under 70% for california freshmen for the fall of 2011. down a percent from last fall and 2% the year before. >> u.c. is accepting 9% more out-of-state students out of fall, mostly because they pay more. about $23,000 more annually. >> i feel like u.c., we're supposed to be meant for california students. >> the fact is, we're admitting out-of-state students on top of, not at the expense of california students. >> u.c. spokesman vasquez says the system doesn't have capacity problem. it has a funding problem. >> the international students are paying for the other students. >> u.c. agrees saying the fees from the international students are helping maintain salaries. meanwhile, 16,000 california residents are on a waiting list to get into the u.c. schools. to put things in perspective, u.c. says it still out-pacing most major

school systems. right now; u.c. says 6% of admissions are from out of state. it will cap out-of-state enrollment amount 10%. in berkeley, al a.man wang, abc7 news. president obama will hold a white house meeting to talk about immigration with bipartisan panel. former california governor arnold schwarzenegger a new york mayor michael bloomberg will be there. latino and immigration activists say mr. obama failed to live up to the promises on immigration. record 393,000 immigrants were deported last year. former governor schwarzenegger says he will not apologize for commuting the sentence of the son of a former assembly speaker involved in a murder. nunez pleaded guilty to murder of stabbing death of student in 2008 but mr. schwarzenegger cut his system in half in the final hours in office. the victims' family and prosecutors were outraged. schwarzenegger says he

understands the anger but says, of course you help a friend. >> the san jose city council is expected to take action today on how to limit and license the growing number of medical marijuana division penceries in the city -- dispensaries in the city. they accused zoning district for pot club at meeting a week ago but they could not agree on the proposal to cut the clubs from current 110 to 10, 15, or 30. they could not decide on process for which collectives would be allowed to operate. some suggest they should ban clubs altogether. 4:37 now. mist and drizzle on your way to -- didn't i say that yesterday? check in with mike for a look at the forecast this morning. >> i think it may be more widespread this morning. it happens when you have warm air inevecting over the cooler air mass. warm air and the warmer temperatures we expect this afternoon, creating mist and drizzle this morning. you will find more wet roads than you did yesterday.

we will talk to megan about that in a second. you can see the west to east, we call at it zome flow. it typically is a moist flow. radar return not impressive. the temperatures are up from 1 to 4 degrees compared to this time yesterday. take a look at what it is outside when you step out. we have low to mid-50s up in the north bay valleys. mid-to-upper 50s everywhere else. 60 in mountain view. to 52 in half moon bay. this afternoon, we will be cool at the coast. up 50s to low 60s. mid-to-upper 60s around the bay shore to richmond to san rafael. inland, 70 to 72 degrees. around monterey bay, we have monterey at 61. increasing sunshine and upper 60s for the rest of the bay. low to mid-70s inland. watch out for free pollen -- tree pollen. it will be high. better chance of rain, organized and heavier tomorrow and thursday morning. still looks dry with a warmer trend through the weekend. good morning, megan. any hot spots, possibly? >> we have an early hot spot

for you. better news, though, in livermore right now. if you are making your way westbound on 580. we had an earler injury crash blocking the two right lanes at portola. involving a car that flipped over. we got word from the c.h.p. they cleared the lanes. all lanes are open. check this out. we are still seeing delays, the speeds under 20 miles per hour making your way past the scene of the crash. if you are computing on 680, through contra costa county, a live look in walnut creek. no delays here. but as you make your way southbound you will find the roadwork through the san ramon valley. various lanes are blocked in both directions of 680 until 5:00 this morning. at the toll plaza, no problems making your way through the tolls but there is roadwork heading to san francisco. two right lanes blocked between the incline and treasure island. it also should be clear at 5:00. >> thank you. 4:39 now. another air traffic controller is in trouble. this time not for sleeping on the job. the story straight ahead. and the financial perk state lawmakers get are under fire.

next, the living expenses

good morning. 4:42 on the abc7 morning news. a live look at san francisco international airport. s.f.o. you can see there what looks to be a bit of fog and low ceilings. that could delay things later on. maybe mist and drizzle as well. we will check in with mike to see what is going on and how it will affect the travel plan. pg&e says the san bruno explosion would have happened even if the company would have kept updated records. the september 9 blast that killed eight people was due to rupture on a 30-inch transmission line with an incomplete weld. pg&e's records did not show a weld. in documents released yesterday, pg&e said there would not have been additional concern even if anyone had known because such welds do not have a record of failing. pg&e could face fines of up to $400 million if state

investigators find faulty record keeping contributed to the san bruno disaster. a push is underway in sacramento to strip state lawmakers of another perk. members of the tea party rallied at the state capitol to demand cuts in state spending. that includes the $142 a day lawmakers are paid for living expenses. the per diem ads $30,000 a year to the salary. >> these are the tax money that people are taking and gal vanting around with -- gallivanting around with it. i don't appreciate it. >> chuck devore says there could be unintended consequences. >> you could get younger lawmakers that don't have families. >> decision whether to roll back per diem is up to the citizen compensation commission. another air traffic controller is in trouble, but not for sleeping on the job. he was caught watching the

movie "cleaner" sunday morning. at one point, the controller's microphone was activated and the movie sound track went out to several aircraft. the controller and a supervisor were suspended. f.a.a. suspended eight controllers and supervisors since last month for losing contract in aircraft. in five cases the controllers fell asleep. >> 4:44 now. britain steps up security as the royal wedding approaches. coming up, the terror threat raising concern. also, the new parking facility san francisco is rolling out to put a new spin on "feeding the meter." >> my business fuel expenses has gone up $400 a month. >> gas prices continue to spiral toward $5 a gallon. who is making all the money from it? allegation of animal abuse against local biotech firm. documents review how they treat lab animals. [ mom ] can a little bowl of cereal change your life?

i think it can. one of the challenges for kayla being gluten-free is actually finding choices the whole family will love. five flavors of chex are gluten-free, including the honey nut flavor, and that's amazing to a mom like me. as a parent you dot want to have to tell your kids "no" all the time. it's nice for me to be able to say "yes" to something th they want to eat. [ male announcer ] chex cereal. five flavors. gluten free.

welcome back. check out the heat brewing in the south. look at dallas. 93. all the way to the midwest, 83 in st. louis. notice chicago, 41. that is a 42-degree spread across about 250 miles. guess what is going to erupt in the midwest and up the mississippi and ohio river? that whole area of yellow, potential for severe weather, damaging tornadoes. it could be butchy rise if you are going to dallas, over dallas, kansas city, st. louis, chicago, detroit. a lot of delays today. check out the flight tracker. abc7news.com. >> 41 is the high in chicago today? >> yeah. >> amazing. >> >> how about that? >> okay. mike, thank you very much. 4:47. security is tightening in london with special teams making preparations ahead of the april 29 royal wedding of prince william and kate

middleton. there is concern that an i.r. abz splinter group may -- i.r.a. splinter group may want to gain attention with attack. they are checking the areas where explosives could be hidden in drains or traffic light. scotland yard says high cameras will focus on the rooftop, railway and waterways. >> we will make sure that the security is in place, providing security for the reassurance of those in charge of the event on the ground. as we get nearer to the event, itself, clearly they don't want the noise of the helicopter over the top. we'll move away. >> the wedding is one of the most anticipated public events in recent years and will draw extraordinary collection of royals, including the queen, politician, and 54 heads of state. californians are reeling from the ever-upward spiral of gasoline prices. but we are not alone. abc's rob nelson takes a

look at what is happening on the highway and gas stations in the rest of the country. >> stop, stop, stop, stop. >> the national average price for a gallon of gas is $3.83. americans are starting to cut back. in california, where the average price is above $4, drivers are running out of gas in record numbers. >> taking a toll on the funds right now. i'm not a six-figure person. >> triple-a says calls for emergency gas service are up 13% as the drives try to stretch the gas tank further. >> we try to calm them down and let them know we know it's tough times and everybody runs out of gas nowadays. >> not a shorten causing high prices. opec said monday there is a glut on the market. mast its are it could -- estimates are it could produce 10 billion more a day if needed and u.s. oil refineries are only at 81% of capacity. oil companies are raking in huge profits.

analysts predict first quarter profits are expected to go up 41%. >> it's an outrage. outrage. >> many are blaming the sharp rise in prices on the commodities future market. two washington senators say there is not enough policing and blame the federal regulators for missing a deadline to implement new rules on excessive oil speculation. >> speculators in the oil futures market bid prices up, betting that things will get worse in the middle east. >> they accept the risk and you pay a premium based upon the risk. >> that risk or fear premium is costing drivers around 35 cents extra a gallon. it's going right in pockets of those speculators. rob nelson, abc news, new york. san francisco motorists will soon be able to pay for city parking by phone. the new technology will follow the roll-out thursday of the sf park pilot program that will use sensors and smart meters to advise where the parking is available. the pay-by-phone application will go online later this

year. that technology will also send a text message to motorists telling them when the meter is about to run out. there will be a 45-cent charge for every transaction made through the phone. what a surprise. 4:51 now. >> you have to pay for the convenience. >> i know. there you go. >> it does beat driving around the block. >> san francisco fighting for a parking spot? you bet. 4:51. time to look at the forecast. we have mist and drizzle. fog out there? >> fog going to be flight arrival delays at s.f.o. because of this. you can see it there. this morning, as we look from emeryville to san francisco. it's a moist, mild morning as the air mass is reminiscent of the south. it's tropical than it is up here. for this time of the year. take a look at the temperatures. it's 52 right now in santa rosa, half moon bay. everybody else in the mid-to-upper 50s to 60 at mountain view. around the monterey bay, inland, we have temperatures in the mid-to-upper 50s. so our highlights, afternoon sunshine. warmer today.

so the clouds, the drizzle, the fog will all fade starting around 9:00. rain, we'll have some tomorrow. especially in the evening and overnight hours. lingering showers on thursday. dry this weekend with the temperatures close to average, which is where we'll be today. dublin at 69. the cool spot. over on the to the east bay shore. we have the mid-to-upper 60s. look at that, 69 today in castro valley. head to south bay. we have the temperatures in the upper 60s for sunnyvale, santa clara, milpitas. everybody else in the low 70s. 70s in los altos, dropping to 66 in san mateo. 64 in millbrae. upper 50s along the coast today to 60 in the sunset. downtown, south san francisco. low to mid-60s. we'll have the mid-to-upper 60s through the north bay valley. look at napa, sonoma, calistoga, cloverdale and ukiah, around 70 to 71. upper 50s at your beaches. low 60s for monterey. down here at carmel. we have mid-to-upper 60s, santa cruz, watsonville, salinas.

low to mid-70s, morgan hill, gilroy and hollister. traveling around the state. big sur, 51. tahoe at 48. with rain. 55 in eureka. got upper 60s around chico and san francisco. 74 in fresno. to 85 in palm springs. upper 60s to near 70 around l.a. and san diego. red sox in town. premium game out at the coliseum. haven't got your tickets yet, i think it means they are more expensive than normal. temperatures are 50 to 65 degrees. partly cloudy. a two-game set. tonight, look at the temperatures. midthe upper 40s in north bay. upper 40 to low 50s for the rest of us with lingering fog. otherwise, quiet tomorrow morning. partly sunny and warmer. partly cloudy. the low will generate rain tomorrow. let's jump ahead. to 5:00 wednesday. you can see pretty quiet. right around 9:00, the rain starts to roll in. hangs around during the overnight hours into thursday morning commute.

then the front slowly pushes through and we have scattered showers left over for thursday afternoon. temperatures will be coolest those two days. we will start to see a rebound with dry weather friday and saturday. warmest should be sunday with a slight chance of rain. still pretty warm on monday. hope you have a great day. here is megan with an update. >> thank you, mike. good morning. the slow spot is in livermore making your way along westbound 580 due to an earlier crash at portola that has the two right lanes blocked. everything has been cleared. we have speeds below 30 miles per hour, as you make your way past the scene of the crash. right now, the drive-time on westbound 580 from 205 to 680 is 25 minutes. get a live look at the east shore freeway. interstate 80 heading right through the berkeley area. the headlights move westbound. no westbound delays. drive-time from the carquinez bridge to maze is 19 minutes. as you make your way eastbound on 80, you will find lanes are blocked due to roadwork between highway 4 and carquinez bridge until 6:00. on the san mateo bridge, traffic is moving nicely in

both directions. for the latest traffic updates, go to our website, abc7news.com. just click on the traffic link under abc7 extras. eric? >> megan, thank you very much. 4:55 now. white house declared a major disaster in california from the tsunami triggered by the march earthquake in japan. damage to the santa cruz harbor alone is estimated more than $22 million. that is in addition to $4 million in damage done to boats docked here. the white house declaration makes the santa cruz eligible for federal repair funds. disaster declaration will also cover the crescent city harbor on humboldt county coast. they are calling for ethics investigation for photos that party member sent to members. maril marilyn davenport sent e-mail with body on baby

chimpanzee. it was the talk of the committee's meeting in irvine yesterday. davenport sent another e-mail yesterday ahead of the meeting apologize for the incident and asking for forgiveness. >> she didn't send out anything out on party letterhead. didn't send out inflammatory statements out there and didn't sign anything as committee member. she thought she was doing something quietly most folks that might have found humor in it. >> the e-mail should haven't happened in the first place. despicable. it shouldn't have happened. it was poor judgment. >> the local party chairman says despite her sincere apology he condemns her action and says she should resign. stop animal exploitation now says santa cruz biotechnology has a history of violating the animal welfare act. the non-profit provided pictures from two usda inspections at the company last year.

and the government report that documented malnourished and sick goats. >> within one year's time, racked up more than 11 pages of animal welfare violations. many of which deal with adequate veterinary care. allowed animals to suffer for extented period of time. the public has a right to know what is going on. >> santa cruz biotechnology did not respond to repeated request for comment on the usda inspections. 4:57 now. a small earthquake shakes the bay area. it was over in seconds. the impact lasted for hours. that's next at 5:00 a.m. . a hail mary pass from the caltrain agency just may save the service that so many peninsula commuters depand on. i'm amy hollyfield. good news coming up. president obama prepares for a two-day trip to the bay area. coming up, how you can play a virtual role in his visit.

you gotta try honey bunches of oats with almonds! it's got real, sliced california almonds with a third less sugar per serving than honey nut cheerios. wow! delicious! try honey bunches of oats with almonds! welcome. and happy baconalia! baconalia? mm-hmm.

why, it's the sacred festival of bacon. a celebration of baconian delight. come celebrate baconalia! we're open to 7 new ways to enjoy bacon. denny's. america's diner is always open.