here. along the outer banks, thousands are scrambling to get ready for irene. >> the window for preparation is quickly closing. >> reporter: preparation that focuses on the potential for a direct hit. >> the areas from cape lookout to hatteras and in between are where we think the center will go. >> reporter: the surf is up, but so are tensions all along the eastern seaboard. >> this is the first time we've come across this type of threat. >> reporter: in virginia, crews cleared away anything that could become flying debris. in massachusetts, boats were pulled from the water and out of harm's way. in new jersey, traffic stretches for miles away from the shoreline. >> all indications point on this being a historic hurricane. >> reporter: even president obama is ending his vacation on martha's vineyard early to avoid the storm and urging millions to do the same. >> if you are in the projecting path of this hurricane -- projected path of this hurricane, you have to take

precautions now. don't wait, don't delay. >> reporter: not everyone is ready to move to higher ground. >> i've been through a few of them. >> reporter: and mark ambler says he'll go through one more. >> hanging out and hanging on. >> reporter: he's not alone. the aisles and carts are full at this kitty hawk walmart, the shelves are not. families like the bookouts stocking up to stay. >> it's easier to stay to take care of your house if the water comes in. if the windows break. >> reporter: but the waiting doesn't come without worry. you questioning your decision to stay? >> i'm starting to wonder. it's going to be a rough night. the house is going to rock, probably be without power shortly after it starts. ripe uncertainty that grips the entire east coast right now. one thing that does seem fairly certain is that irene is headed this way. landfall is expected sometime early saturday morning. of course, conditions should take a turn for the worse here much sooner than that. jay gray, nbc news, kill devil

hills, north carolina. >> the crew at the international space station sent back images of irene. the storm is some 500 miles wide and is affecting people all the way here in the bay area. nbc bay area's elise kerchner is live with a look at the impact on air travel. >> reporter: well, it's already significant. flights to here from newark, jfk, boston, philadelphia have been canceled because of hurricane irene. airport officials say this is just in the beginning. over the next few days, more and more flights will be canceled here. as the first signs of hurricane irene hit along the east coast -- >> 12:15 -- >> reporter: the calm before the real storm at san francisco international airport. >> i am going to new york city, jfk. expect to arrive at close to midnight tonight. and rescheduled my flight from

tomorrow back to today. >> reporter: travelers scramble to touch ground before irene does. >> i'm supposed to catch a train out of new york in the next couple of days. i'm hoping they're not going to shut down amtrak. >> reporter: even if passengers make it to new york before the powerful storm does, the city's metro transit system will be shut down by noon tomorrow. >> i stock up on food, stock up on water, and hope they're still delivering pizza. >> i'm originally from the east coast. that's never happened. >> reporter: this woman is desperate to get east to see her newborn grandchild. >> so i'm hoping i'll get to see the baby over the weekend. >> reporter: if she doesn't get out today, s.f. spokesperson mike mccarron says it will be near impossible to get out tomorrow. >> i'd be on the phone or internet now, with a travel agent trying to reschedule unless you absolutely have to be there. i don't think anything's going to go out tomorrow to the east coast. >> reporter: and again, starting tomorrow, all flights to and from the east coast could be canceled, and that could impact travel all across the country.

so, for example, if you're flying to hawaii, your plane could have started off in new york. so if you have any travel plans over the next few days, make sure you call ahead, maybe think about rescheduling that trip. live from sfo, nbc bay area news. >> thank you. it could get ugly. let's turn our attention to meteorologist rob mayeda in the studio because jeff ranieri is in new york tracking irene. we expect the hurricane to go to a category 1. what kind of impact will that still have on snork>>the biggest impact in terms of winds will be felt first at landfall, probably 12 hours away from hitting the outer banks of north carolina. we can see the eye wall with hurricane. that's where the hurricane-force winds are just offshore, approaching the coastline. maybe a category 1 toward long island and new york come saturday. you see winds sustained at 100 miles per hour. for now, temporarily talkinga a category 2 hurricane. a large storm, tropical storm-force winds almost extending out 300 to 4 hundred

miles outward from the center. hurricane-force winds about 80 miles from the center. the storm will cross over land into north carolina. that is where we'll see those winds of 100 miles per hour. notice the path tracking right up along parallel to the eastern seaboard, east of philadelphia, new york city heading on into sunday. and that's when it's going to transition from a category 1 hurricane over to a tropical storm as it passes through new england. the impacts, though, still expected to be tremendous, up to 15 inches of rain inland. storm surge may be the biggest concern. this is coming in also with a high tide, coming in for saturday evening. some areas could see a temporary rise in sea level. close to ten feet. that is the big concern, especially around long island and cape cod. as you see the system continues to track off to the north. we'll have an update on hurricane irene, plus a tropical connection to our own weather pattern this weekend coming up in the forecast coming up. >> see you then. of course, we invite you to stay with nbc bay area news for continuing coverage of hurricane irene. we'll have that for you on air here, also on line.

and you can head to nbcbayarea.com and click on the weather tap for up-to-the-minute information. amtrak canceled most of its weekend service south of washington, d.c., because of the hurricane. but amtrak's california zephyr faced a different problem today. the train carrying about 175 passengers derailed in southwest nebraska, causinging two locomotives to roll on to their sides. you can see they are -- fortunately all the passenger cars stayed upright. only a few people were taken to the hospital with neck and back pain. none of the injuries were life threatening. two oakland men are heading to prison for the rest of their lives for the murder of an oakland journalist. former leader of the black muslim bakery and his bakery associate boat getting life sentences without the possibility of parole for the 2007 killing of oakland post editor chauncey bailey. prosecutors say the men targeted bailey because he was writing a critical article of the bakery. bailey's family says they are relieved that they can finally

move forward. >> i'm glad everything is over with now. it's been a very long and hard -- very hard on the entire family. you know, it just hurts so many different other people including the family, too. >> the men received another life sentence for the killing of michael wills, an oakland chef, who was targeted simply, they say, because he was white. bay and mackey still insist they are innocent. is it the end of an era as we reported two weeks ago? san jose's music in the park summer concert series may be coming to a close. the main reason -- violence. nbc bay area's damian trujillo is live at plaza decesar chavez where he witnessed a fight at the free concert. what but see? >> reporter: well, it's a couple of teenagers, 20-somethings causing problems out here. it was like the raiders-49ers game of last weekend, only a few people causing problems, but now

the others might have to pay it. ♪ ♪ i know how crazy that may seem ♪ >> reporter: dave nellis plays solo on the stage as city crews pick up the final peieces of th music in the park concert perhaps for good. >> we're going to look at all of our options and make a decision in the fall. >> reporter: a decision that could force the san jose downtown association to cancel the summer concert series. and this is why -- this is video i shot on my iphone thursday of police arresting a man after a fight. then there's this youtube video of more fight downtown. some business owners say they've had enough -- >> lot of fights, lot of gangs. >> reporter: including this woman who didn't want to be identified. >> what it does, it takes away the family feeling here, and you is to take your kids out because you don't want them to see all that mess.

♪ >> reporter: even though nellis is playing to a much smaller crowd today, he still feels the concerts must go on. >> the people that work hard all week and want to come out thursday and have a great time, you know, can't punish them. >> reporter: the association is hearing it from both sides. business owners who want music in the park to stay, others want to pull the plug. maybe there's a middle ground. >> should it be free, should it be gated, are the genres of music too broad, should they be narrowed? all those options are on the table. >> reporter: so is ending it even though many might not like that tune? ♪ >> reporter: there were children and grandparents out here last night enjoying the music of the band, but unfortunately they also witnessed a couple of fights, and they smelled the aroma of marijuana. that was also in the air out here at the park.

police did make five arrests and issued five citations total at the park and downtown area. nbc bay area news. >> unfortunate a few always ruin it for the rest of everyone else. still to come here at 5:00, searching for signs of the leader, the hunt for moammar gadhafi. getting closer to a look at the way he lived inside his compound. plus, a real-life test of how hard it is to texas and drive. the life lesson local teenagers are getting.>> > also, obesity rates set to take off even more. the stunning projections for the u.s. and we're watching more low clouds crossing over the coast into san francisco. it's not just the low clouds wee watching. take a look at this coming up out of southern california. thunderstorms just east of san meis obispo this hour. so of that is going to try to

spill closer to the bay area

this weekend.

$2 million dead or alive. that's the bounty being offered by libyan rebel leaders for colonel moammar gadhafi's arrest, there's still sporadic fighting as small bands of loyalists fight the rebel troops. today, reporters got the opportunity to tour gadhafi's compound in the center of tripoli. it's completely ransacked but you can see how he survived. the compound, an extensive network of tunnels and bunkers, that may have helped gadhafi escape. tripoli has remained tense as rebels hunt for gadhafi and his allies. the libyan capital is in short supply of food, water, and medicine. richmond police are investigating a home invasion/robbery and shooting that killed a mother and critically injured her son. it happened around 4:00 this morning on moran avenue. police say someone walked into a

home and opened fire. the son was shot several times. he is listed in critical condition. the mother was in another room, and she was shot and killed. richmond police detained a man in the area. and at this point they are only calling him a suspicious person. tomorrow marks three long months since the disappearance of nursing student michelle lei, and her family and friends will mark the anniversary with a balloon release. the 26-year-old disappeared may 27 at kaiser permanente in hayward while taking a break from nursing rounds. her car was later found with blood inside. her family has been holding out hope that she'll be found alive despite hayward police classifying the disappearance as a homicide. tomorrow's anniversary from 3:00 to 6:00. relatives and friends will release balloons in hayward. you can see them on the road all the time. distracted drivers, many of them texting behind the wheel. if you don't believe how dangerous it is to text and drive, you are about to see something that could change your

mind. nbc bay area's tracy grants is live in san francisco with more. >> reporter: state sticks from 2009 show that 5,000 people were killed in this country and 500,000 were injured from distracted driving crashes. many were linked to texting and driving. whether on the city streets or on the freeway, it's a problem that puts us all at risk. >> it's hard. >> it's supposed to be hard. >> reporter: melissa lee is navigating through a fairly simple driving course. a major obstacle has been thrown into the mix for the 17-year-old inexperienced driver. her phone. >> it's like, dude, you hit two cones. >> reporter: lee and other teen drivers are taking the all-state insurance safe driving challenge in oakland today, designed to show them that things they have probably already done behind the wheel can be dangerously distracting, like talking on a cell phone and texting. [ sirens ] >> reporter: oakland traffic

officers pull the drivers over when they made driving mistakes and when they spotted them driving with one hand and holding the phone in the other, which would normally result in a pricey ticket. >> you're not supposed to be doing that. >> i know. i'm sorry. >> i'm not going to lie and say that i've never texted and driven before, but i don't do it very often because i know i'm terrible at it. i think i knocked down a cone. >> my friends do that. >> reporter: what are you going to tell them after today? >> nothing. i'm going let them do what they're going to do, so they're not going to listen. it doesn't really matter. >> i thought it was challenging. it was a good experience. >> reporter: why? >> because you get to see why you shouldn't do things in a controlled environment so you can't actually hurt anybody. i think it's good. >> reporter: lee picked up an extra passenger on the course, one of the many cones she ran over. it made her mother cringe.

>> like she could have hit someone. >> reporter: all-state insurance offers this course all over california and across the country. it can be a little challenging in other states because not all of them have laws against texting and driving. live in san francisco, traci grant, nbc bay area news. >> all right. thank you. topping our healthwatch tonight, there's an alarming study that shows half of the u.s. could be obese in the next 20 years. if rates continue to climb in the united states like they have the past number of years, the number of obese people is expected to increase from 99 million in 2008 to 164 million by 2030. that study released today in the new issue of "the lancet." here's the breakdown -- the u.s. obesity rate would rise from 32% to actually 50% for men. and from 35% to between 45% and 52% for women. the cost of treating obesity-related diseases like diabetes, heart disease, and stroke would increase $66

billion per year by 2030. some describe it as the ticking of the biological clock. other call it baby fever. [ laughing ] >> watch this. a laughing baby on youtube is amusing to most, but to women of a certain age and mindsets, this is a sight that sets off a physical longing. a new study out of kansas state university says baby fever is real. researchers say men are also susceptible to baby fever, but they typically get milder cases. doctors also found that when babies don't look so adorable like when they scream or have smelly diapers, people can be turned off to the idea. >> she is adorable. >> i could watch that over and over. >> you have baby fever. >> probably. >> hard not to have it when you see her. she's adorable. we'll pass on the baby fever to rob. let's talk about the weather. >> okay. it was kind of hot.

you know, the old-fashioned summer weather fever perhaps in spots around the tri-valley. we had temperatures getting close to the mid 90s in spots. san jose in the 80s outside. they got the northwest wind going at ten miles per hour. so pretty toasty around parts of the santa clara valley. notice cooling toward oakland and san francisco. the strong sea breeze is going. you see the low clouds off to the west of the bay. 69 with the northwest wind cranking up to 17 miles per hour. breezy in san francisco, so from oakland over to san francisco, if you got evening plans, you'll want a sweatshirt or light jacket. 64, northwest winds at 23. it was a cool day in san francisco. not the case inland. east bay values and areas toward morgan hill and dpil roy soaring into -- gilroy soaring into the 80s and 90s. 92 in livermore. 74 in hay award. cooling now in santa cruz after temperatures climbed into the 70s a bit earlier. 81 in sonta rosa. a healthy sea breeze will pump in clouds for the morning.

speaking of low clouds, we may see misty skies again for your saturday morning. the idea to watch, the bottom line here on the weather headlines, is the chance of maybe not just some thunder for the sierra, but for the coastal range, as well. south of monterey, we'll have to watch this tonight into tomorrow. here's all the low clouds you see on the map from san francisco, golden gate bridge. the foggy drive down the coast, toward santa cruz. we did get late day sunshine and now the fog already pushing in toward watsonville and gilroy. look to the south, you see all the moisture. a tough drive going over interstate 5 through the grapevine. you've got thunderstorms around gorman, pushing up through kern county, santa barbara county heading to san luis obispo county, too. it's going to be a close call to see if this moisture moves more north instead of northeast. it does look like areas south of santa cruz on the coastal range could see cloud buildups tomorrow. most of the moisture focused on lake tahoe toward yosemite. if you have weekend plans around yosemite and lake tahoe, look out for strong thunderstorms. most of the chances of seeing showers, though, probably going

to sy away from the bay area. areas south of santa cruz maybe could see a few isolated thundershowers later for tomorrow afternoon. tonight, low clouds and misty skies. that's a stable weather pattern with low clouds spilling in. unstable around the hilltops of the coastal range for your saturday especially for areas, again, as i've been talking about, around san luis obispo county southward. high temperatures tomorrow pretty much what we had today. pleasanton and livermore, two of the more toasty locations for tomorrow, highs again in the mid 90s. 68 in san francisco, pretty pleasant for oakland. 75 degrees. 90 in san ramon. low 90s in pittsburgh for the north bay. not all that bay, mid 80s around santa rosa and sonoma. so you can see here as we head toward sunday, maybe some upper 90s for our inland valleys. turning a little hot. chance of some mountain thunder especially for the sierra. then cooling as the sea breeze kicks up monday on into tuesday. >> four soccer games saturday in pleasanton. it is going to be hot. >> stay hydrated. >> lots of water. >> yes. >> thank you very much. still to come at 5:00 vers

environm versus thene environment. it's a cultural tradition and a.

verge of extinction.

the man dubbed the underwear bomber told officials he worked for al qaeda. he admitted to working for the terror group. his confession came shortly after he was arrested for attempting to bomb a detroit-bound passenger jet on christmas day, 2009, with explosives hidden in his underwear. he is trying to have statements thrown out before his october trial saying he was not told of his miranda rights against self-incripple nation. a popular soup may soon be endangered. state lawmakers cleared a key hurdle in the effort to ban the sale, trade, or possession of shark fins in california. the bill passed the senate appropriations committee vote and now moves to the full senate where a vote is expected within the next few weeks. the shark fin is the main ingredient in a traditional chinese soup. chinese american restauranteurs

and traders have lobbiedit aai attack ong aansitu asian cultu

cuisine. c

meteorologist rob mayeda with a final look at how hurricane irene is faring. >> actually starting to fill up on the radar right now. the outer bands hitting the outer banks of north carolina now. technically a category 2 hurricane. we have winds of 100 miles per hour moving north at 14. it will be north carolina that sees the biggest hit in terms of wind speeds. but moving off to the north, new york city and long island, that's where the sto surge could be somewhere between five to ten feet possibly late saturday night on into sunday morning. >> as you've mentioned, it is the storm surge that proves to be the most dangerous. >> absolutely. >> all right. thank you. we'll continue to stay and watch

that for us. that's going to do it for this evening. >> we have a special edition of "nightly news" and then local news at 6:00 and another editios of "nightly news" at 6:30.

stay with us.