t over the phone. call anthem blue cross today at 1-877-230-6352. that's 1-877-230-6352. live on the bay bridge with good news about an earlier than expected reopen date but temporary headaches headed your way. a fire ripped through a martinez home, well-known for its annual christmas display. coming up, hear from the owner and what may have saved everyone inside. plus, abandoning ship. the captain of a crippled cruise liner caught on tape begging to keep his spot in a lifeboat. the news at 11:00 a.m. starts now.

good morning, everyone. thank you for joining us. i'm onkelly. >> i'm marla tellez. hope turns to heartbreak off the coast of italy, as five more bodies are pulled from a sinking cruise liner. the news, especially jarring in light of damaging evidence against the ka takcaptain of th who allegedly begged to let the lifeguard stay in a lifeboat instead of stay to help. michelle kosinski has the latest. >> reporter: the navy divies have been relentless. able to loft a hole into the small hull. we just got word, they found the bodies of five more victims and pulled them off of that ship. while this is going on, the

ship's captain arraigned on criminal chargings, abandoning ship, he went off course too close to the island to show the ship off to villages, many who ended up helping save his passengers. in the italian press they're claiming to have a leaked transcript from the investigation supposedly of a phone conversation between the ship's can taken and the port authority about three hours after the accident happened. in it, supposedly the port authority says this is an order, get back to your ship! there are already casualties. and we know one of the items prosecutors are presenting in their case against the captain video that shows the ship that night sitting for a very long time at a safe angle. so that would raise a question, why weren't the lifeboats lowered faster? many passengers did tell us, they could feel the ship

tilting, swiftly. back to you. >> thank you. just moments ago, our cameras caught the captain of the ship heading back to jail after court. the cape tan captain is behind bars after spending the morning in court grilled by prosecuted. he could face up to 12 years in prison on abandoning ship charge alone. he faces charges of manslaughter and causing a shipwreck. here in the bay area, thinking about heading into san francisco from east bay for the presidents' day weekend you may want to reschedule. cal trans will be shutting down the upper deck next month. stephanie chuang live at the bay area this morning where the cal trans is laying out its plan to avoid traffic nightmares. >> reporter: good morning, jon. one perk of having no rain lately is the progress update with the bay bridge seismic work being done here. the bridge is slated to reopen six months ahead of time.

with na good news comes some temporary headaches for all of you folks who use the bay bridge, including a shutdown of westbound deck, which is right behind me. it's thoor see with the traffic, but you see part of the new and old bridge. crews have not been able to get in to do construction work because of current traffic. in one month, for four days and four nights, westbound deck will be shut down and that will allow crews to build a detour right here along the stretch. let's take a look at the simulation video of the work. what that means, of course, leave extra time for your commute. you'll have to use other bridges to get into the city. golden gate, san mateo, dumbarton. this, though, will allow the entire bridge to be back fully open at one time. >> our previous schedule had us opening only westbound in 2013 and eastbound in 2014. by doing this operation and the work after it, you get the whole bridge at one time, six months

ahead of the previous schedule. >> reporter: the low deck into the east bay will stay open the entire time. b.a.r.t. will run overnight service at some stations during the closure. there will be additional ferry service. take note, ac transit will not be running the trans-based service. as is always the case for construct, this is whether permitting. we are expecting quite a bit of rain on thursday going into the one. that could cause some delay. for now, this westbound deck closure is slated for friday, february 17th, start of presidents' day weekend. live on the bay bridge, stephanie chuang, bay area news. like it or not, people who pay for commemorative bricks at golden gate bridge will see them start crumbling this morning. people gathering for one last look before construction crews demolish the bricks to make room for improvements as part of the span's 75th anniversary celebration. they're moving bricks to comply

with disability rules. bricks make up a walkway at southeast side of the bridge in the visitor's area. each brick inscribed with a personal message or a person's name. bricks were sold back in the '80s to pay for the bridge's 50th anniversary celebration. this morning, an east bay home, known for its elaborate holiday display, is gutted after a fast-moving fire ripped through its walls overnight. take a look. massive flames and plumes of smoke as firefighters battled flames early on walnut street in martinez. that's where christie smith joins us live. of course it must have been just devastating for that neighborhood which looked at the home as a local landmark. >> reporter: yeah, you know, this is easily the most popular home in the entire neighborhood because of that annual christmas display. as you said, after a fire ripped through here overnight there isn't a lot left. the owner tells me he's thankful they just changed out the batteries in the smoke detectors

or else he thinks they might not have made it out alive. the family of five was inside sleeking at 4:00 in the morning when the alarms went off and it was already on fire. firefighters think it started in a wood stove that family was using to keep warm and it was their only source of heat. it was so cold the water kept freezing on the ground. the owner says that he could hear big glass ornaments exploding as he ran for his life. >> the whole inside of the house blew up instantly, like somebody poured gasoline in it. we barely made it out. we had to run through the fire to get out of the house. it was, you know, just an int n inferno. >> we had to stay on the exterior and fight the fire. the inside is completely destroyed at this point. it's a total loss, unfortunately, for the homeowners. >> reporter: we have video this morning from the martinez patch of that display that joe has

been putting up for 30 years. he says that he attracts thousands of visitors every holiday. firefighters say they are lucky to be alive. one person, a father, taken to the hospital with smoke inna halation. before we went on, that homeowner says he wasn't feeling well and getting some attention from paramedics. the red cross is helping out. neighbors keep coming by, offering their condolences, too. right now the family's out here trying to save whatever they can. reporting live in martinez, christie smith, nbc bay area news. san francisco's new sheriff is going back to work, under a dark cloud of suspicion. sheriff ross mirkarimi set to appear in court thursday facing charges of domestic violence and witness intimidation. mirkarimi accused of bruising his wife's arm on new year's day, and at least until that court date he is not allowed to have any kind of contact with his wife. mayor ed lee says the charges

are extremely serious and trouble, but he's taking his time to decide if he'll suspend mirkarimi from his job. oakland city workers are bracing for another round of lay-offs sending out 1500 pink slips tomorrow. fewer than 200 employees are expected to lose their jobs, but the city wants to be prepared for the worst. the lay-offs are being prompted by the loss of 39 million in redevelopment money. notices will go to employees in every city department except the police and fire. new change this morning. delta airlines will be operating out of its new home in terminal a. delta's new ticket counters will be in the north ticket lobby of terminal a and for the most part passengers will use gates 6 and 7. a spokeswoman says the airport's applauding the move. >> well it helps us kind of balance our passenger activity and leaves room for a lot of growth, both for delta and the other airlines that are in "b "s

so we're pleased with that move. >> if you're plying out of delta out of san jose, you're within d d wondering about park, the closist is terminal a garage. the city of berkeley is voting for new rules that would ban people from harassing bicyclists. if the city council approves the new rules tone people could be held liable for threaten, injury or intentionally distracting buy si bicyclists. if the council approves the code today it will go into effect next month. christina loren here to tell us about what's happening outside. sounds like cold, frosty and rain in your forecast. >> not a good day for a bike ride. you'll have that windchill factor right in your face. it's still cold in many cities across the bay. i want to point out how cold it was. we shattered records. smashing an old record of 25

degrees set back in 2007. this is going to go down as one of the coldest mornings we've had on january 17th since we've been keeping records and na goes back 120 years. so, definitely cool out there. it's still cold as a result. 43 gr degrees in livermore, 45 san francisco. the frigid conditions would be our name topic of discussion in the weather department. that's certainly not the case. a lot of rain foengspotentially setting records. friday, a dry break, make way to heavy periods of rain. and the whopper storm comes in on saturday. we'll tell you what that means for the sierra nevada, how much we're expecting in your city, and you will be impressed by our forecast accumulations. very substantial. >> i've been impressed all week long. see what happens with the niners game, too, looks like it's going to be wet. >> yes, it will. border crossing crackdown. why the border patrol is keeping

illegal immigrants locked up in the states before sending them home. shares higher after a big press welll te we'll tell you what they said, coming up. y

this morning, the board patrol is revealing a new plan to crack down on people entering the country illegally. under the plan illegal border crossers may spend the night at an immigration facility hundreds of mile ways from the crossing point before being sent back to mexico. the patrol says that way they will be cut off from smugglers who helped them cross. also a new color-coded system will categorize detainees based on criminal histories and number of times they have tried to cross. congress kicks off its 2012 session today with its worst approval rating in nearly four decades. democrats and republicans, of course, fought all last year, battling over ways to control

the nation's debt and annual budget deficit. a new media poll finds 13% of americans approve of the job congress is doing. 84% disapproving. americans hold more positive views of representatives from the two major parties, 21% approve of congressional republicans while 33% approve of how democrats in congress are doing the job. the poll has a margin of error plus or minus 3.5 points. the democratic party revealing its plans for its biggest night of the 2012 campaign. during the last election, the president accepted his nomination in the open air at the broncos' home stadium in denver. this time around, the same thing, same idea, only different here. president obama will accept his party's nomination september 6th at the home of the nfl's carolina panthers. over on the republican side, comedian stephen colbert taking

attack ads to new level. trying to kill the republican front-runner with come gi mitt romney says he's for corporations. >> corporations are people, my friend. >> but mitt romney has a secret. as head of bayne capital he bought companies, carved them up, and got rid of what he couldn't use. if mitt romney really believes -- >> corporations are people, my friend. >> -- then mitt romney is a serial killer. he's mit "the ripper." funny and frightening at the same time. the clip part of a 60-second commercial that will actually be aired by cbs affiliates in south carolina. the narrator, if you recognized the voice, that's john lithgow. he played a serial killer on the tv series "dexter" and did it very well. colbert is launching an exploratory committee to decide if he's going to run for president.

well, shares in electric carmaker tesla jumped after its founder shrugged off news two engineers left his company. scott mcgrew is following the stock for us. >> well, good morning to you. tesla held a press conference by telephone early this morning, to address the news that two of the engineers working on its new model sedan has left the company. here you see the ceo and founder when opening the nasdaq some years ago. he said engineers were not critical to the effort and the sedan was still on schedule. in fact, tesla will unveil a new crossover next month. shares gained 17% on the nasdaq this morning on that news. recovering much, but not all of the ground lost after the original announcement at the engineers were leaving. wick pedia, the latest and biggest website will shut down for one day to protest the proposed anti-piracy laws. s.o.p.a. and p.i.p.a. all english language entries,

more than 3 million, will vanish tomorrow. the 18th for 24 thundershowers. wikipedia joins read it and boing boing in the shut down. big named websites like dole and facebook oppose the bills but they're not going off-line. this led internet users to a debate if a blackout is the right way to protest. the columnist points out if a neutral organization like wikipedia takes one position on a political i it takes position on all political issues if you're willing to black out internet service to protest a law, but don't black it out to protest, say, violence in libbia, you are taking a bogsei position on both issues. >> that's a story we'll be following for you tomorrow. >> no doubt about it. meteorologist christina loren's here to tell us about a veritable smorgasbord, frost, rain, brutally cold. >> we've been asking for it. times watch what you wish for.

a lot of rain coming. i'm forecasting anywhere across the bay area even in the south bay, half an inch to two inches by friday. another storm on the way. so that's a little tease. we'll get to that in a moment. enjoy the clear sky. by t. will remain dry tomorrow but we've got rain showers arriving late tomorrow night and especially getting active on thursday morning. 55 degrees in san francisco. 57 is the forecast high in redwood city. 54 in los gados. probably need a light sweater or jacket all day long. and as we head through tomorrow, late tomorrow, changes really start to shape up the reason, the dip in the jet stream. the jet stream's like a river of air, carries the storm system like a conveyer belt from west to east across the united states. what we're expecting out of the first storm a lot of moisture. thursday, a.m. showers. friday a dry break. saturday, the whopper storm

arrives. this one is potent and it's cold. we're going to see snow levels come down to 3500 feet in the bay area. times out like this, stop the clock at 5:00 a.m. thursday, continue futurecast in motion, stop it again for you at 4:00 p.m. take a look at all of this moisture. accumulations, wrapping up like this. upwards 2 to 5 inches possible up in sonoma county through san jose. friday morning talking 2 to 3 inches of rain in the south bay. and this is even before we get that whopper storm on saturday. so, yes, skiers, snowboarders, get ready. take a look. not only are we going to pick up two feet from the first two storms the third one could bring your total accumulation above 7,000 feet in the sierra nevada upwards of six feet of fresh pack powder. we'll continue to track the storm and bring you updates. dust off that umbrella. you'll be using it regularly as

we head through thursday and the rest of the weekend. >> and the ski boots. less than three weeks into the new year, if your resolution is weighing on you, today's your lucky day. today is dubbed ditch new year's resolution day. this means you can drop that new exercise routine or have that chocolate truffle you've been craving without the guilt. >> beautiful. >> january 17th is meant to be a day of celebration. as one blogger writes, we don't make the resolutions to keep them we create them to make ourselves feel better even for a short period of time. besides, there's always next year. >> let's hope it becomes official when hallmark makes a new car. the new twist on fast food to go. plus, whoops, top secret security plans for the olympics left on a train. whose hands they wound up in. hoarse voice, fist pumping,

cheering, a case of 49 fever. how to score tickets to the big game before they go on sale tomorrow.

it is inevitable, one time or another we lose things, key, cell phones, even our minds. when you're in charge of something important like, say, security plans for the london olympics, you may want to pay special attention to where you leave them. a british tabloid says it's been handed documents about security arrangements for the 2012 olympic games. they were left on a train by a police officer. london police are trying to downplay the incident saying the mishap is not going to compromise safety. the tabloid, being good guys, have returned papers to police. a fateful fan of the 49eres? prove it you can win tickets to the big game. the team owner is challenging fans to impress him, niner

faithful, let me know why i should give you four tickets and pregame field passes to the nfc championship. you have until 5:00 tone to convince him you should win. you to do it in 140 characters or less. very cool. why burger king is joints pizza joints a run for their money. back in two minutes.

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no one should have to experience that nightmare. no one. no one. we're going to erase breast cancer once and for all. (woman) walking 60 miles. (woman) in three days. join us. (man) register today for the... and receive $25 off your registration fee. because everyone deserves a lifetime. who needs the drive-through when food can be driven to you? >> another way not to exercise and not have a reason to burn off calories. burger king let you have it your way at home. chain testing out home delivery of the fast food fare at four restaurants near washington, d.c. burger king says it's experimenting with a thermal package technology to make sure theburgers and fries don't show up looking soggy or cold. hate went that happens. there's a $2 delivery fee and depending on the store, possibly a minimum order that can vary between $8 to $10.

i can dig on that, as long as that guy with the big fat king head doesn't show up. that dude is freaky. >> i could take a delivery of my chicken sandwich, please. thanks for being with us. join us at 5:00, 6:00, 11:00.

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