than once thought that's because of course of the volatility of the race. republicans have their work cut out for them. registration numbers are at aun all time low and the party needs funding. while most republicans say they agree with gingrich's plan to drill they aren't all sold on this candidate in particular. two of gingrich's republican rivals were in michigan today. the primary will is on tuesday and seen as a critical test for mitt romney and rick santorum. michigan is of course romney's home state and it would be considered a significant loss for his campaign. the two today did what they have been doing throughout this campaign, trying to claim the role as the conservative candidate. >> i am the conservative candidate whachlt we need in the white house is principled conservative leader ship and i will bring it. >> it is laughable to have a liberal governor of massachusetts suggest i am not the conservative in this race. >> most independent experts sa i that santorum has the stronger conservative record and a group save santorum an 80% lifetime voting rating or the top one fourth of senate republicans. in afghanistan a gunman killed two u.s. military officers today inside a secure command center, and there is late word the gunman may have been a member of the afghan security force and that afghan president is calling for calm tonight. atia reports from kabul. >> reporter: two americans were killed in afghanistan today, they were u.s. military officers working as advisers at the interior ministry. the reports are they were sitting in their office when gun fire was heard and afghan military official ran into the room and found the dead bodies and the gunman had gotten away. >> as an immediate measure we have pulled personnel from the various ministries and offices all over kabul. there is personnel from all different branchs of isef are in the asian function and support function and assisting, technical assistants across kabul. >> it is still unconfirmed this is related to the quran protest going on for the fifth consecutive day, afghans still out rajed that u.s. soldiers unsbeng ally burned quran at a base on tuesday. as we mentioned earlier, prices at the pump are on the rise. the national average for a gallon is now about $3.70. the gas prices here in the bay area are quickly approaching the 5 mark. drivers said they have no choice but to spend money. >> i wasn't happy about it. it was the highest i had seen. i thought it was a mistake and just here. when i passed a couple of gas stations and i saw it was the same, i figured, well, that's just how it is now. >> here is a look at the numbers. the average price for a gallon of regular unloaded in oakland is $4.23. last year it was 3.67 at this time. in san jose it is $4.29 compared to 3.67 and in san francisco the average is 4.29 versus $3.71 a year ago. we're not really closing in on $5 yet. a little close, 4.23, 4.27. the lock out of employees in a country club have joined forces with members of the occupy movement. hundreds of people marched from downtown pleasant ton to cassel wood country club today, the second anniversary that left cooks and cleaners out of work and health insurance is they center of the dispute. the managers say due to rising healthcare costs employees need to pay more to insure their families. >> the club has never passed on those costs to the employees. now, like any other business in america, you have to start to share those costs. that's what all businesses in america have done. >> we're willing to pay a reasonable co-pay. it was just a little too high. it was like $700 a month for people with families. that just about -- a lot of people were part-time. that et cetera auto up all of their income. >> members of occupy oakland and occupy san francisco walked alongside the club employees this morning to show their support for the effort and they walked about one and a half miles. several bay area cities are considering can consolidating fire stations to save money. san carlos and parts of unkbrtd san mateo are thinking about closing one fire station each and replacing them with one station they can all share. san carlos mayor says the three stations are all within a mile of each other and only respond to one to two calls a day. he says consolidation just makes sense. >> right now we pay $7.5 million combined for all three stations. we would look to spend 2.8 to $4 million for a joint station and split it three ways. >> the savings comes almost entirely from salaries. san carlos fire fighters earn about $200,000 a year. the plan to consolidate is up for more debate monday at san carlos city hall. in the east bay fire fighters at a funeral for one of their own suddenly found themselves called into action today. the fire started about a block away from where dozens of fire fighters were honoring a fire fighter who recently died. fire fighters say they slipped on gear over the suits and ran into the building and went to work. they quickly tore through a vacant lawnry mat but they were able to save a retirement home next door. >> multiple effort to get this out and just happened to be on a day that we were honoring one of our fallen comrades. >> the building's were was doing repair work on the roofer and the propane torch he was using likely sparked that fire. no one was hurt. coming up next at 6:00 "america's got talent" takes a scouting trip to the bay area. a live report straight ahead and plus. >> it is important we tell the story. that's what's being done. >> we'll share the civil rights era on story of a group of teenager arrested for eating lunch and refused to be bailed out of jail and while hundreds beared the waters in the bay today and many in costume. we'll show you. closed captioning sponsored by frontier ford. ♪ [ male announcer ] for our families... our neighbors... and our communities... america's beverage companies have created a wide range of new choices. developing smaller portion sizes and more low- & no-calorie beverages... adding clear calorie labels so you know exactly what you're choosing... and in schools, replacing full-calorie soft drinks with lower-calorie options. with more choices and fewer calories, america's beverage companies are delivering. san francisco, do you have talent in that's a question at the bill graham auditorium in the city where hundreds are waiting to get into the doors and audition for "america's got talent." stephanie trong is there and grabbed a back stage pass to interview the judges. hello, stephanie. >> reporter: hi, diane. that was fun. we'll get to that in a bit. it is a lot more quiet than the last time you caught us. the hundreds in the line snaking around here are inside the auditorium behind me. to be part of the audition taping, now, this is the first time the auditions are being held here in san francisco, so that's exciting. the contestants, all ages, all talents vying for a $1 million prize this seventh season. auditions started yesterday. they wrap up tonight. we got to meet the judges and including the newest one who is replacing piers morgan. that would be mr. howard stern. all three of them say fraen has been rocking it at the auditions. >> i like san francisco. there is a great energy in this town. i am walking down the street. i see all kinds of acts that should be on the stage and things are great. things are a lot of fun. i am the new judge and, god, i am wonderful at it. >> chemistry is obviously really good. >> not really. it is all an act. no chemistry here. you know, these two just said thank god that guy pierce left, we never liked him, howard, thank you for joining. they can't thank me enough. thatter so happy. >> he has voices in his own head. >> you have five voices in your head. >> there we go. >> so you can see they're great chemistry and the dynamic should be different with howard on the show now. exciting news. they tell us this he think they have already found here in san francisco at least one act that should break into the top 10. howard added he did make his first kid cry today so not good. he does assure us he will be, quote, the sensitive judge for this season. after san francisco they will be hitting up places like charlotte, st. louis, and tlen the contestants past the red x will make it to vegas and it premieres on may 31st. live in san francisco. thank you, stephanie. coming up next, san francisco non-profit that served up millions of meals, closes is dining hall and this goodbye is more sweet than bitter. in honor of black history month we catch up with a group of civil rights activists who found themselves in jail as teenagers just for ordering lunch. >> you might have noticed we have a cooldown under way around the bay area, sunny skies today and temperatures outside right now dipping into the low to mid-50s and even cooler changes on the way and one that could bring maybe some mountain top snow to parts of the bay area. we'll look at the changes in the forecast coming up. [ male announcer ] what happened when ford owners compared their trucks to a chevy silverado? i can see myself driving in this for hours and hours. i like it. man: i would definitely consider a silverado trade-up from the pick-up truck that i've got right now. [ male announcer ] we dare you to compare your truck to a chevy silverado, the most dependable, longest lasting full-size pick-ups on the road. celebrate president's day. get 0% financing for 60 months on all 2012 silverados. if you trade in an eligible vehicle, get an additional $1,000 trade-in allowance. offer ends february 29th. after serving three meals to the hungry for decades, a dining room in san francisco is closing an important chapter of its history. st. anthony's opened its doors one last time to bid farewell to the original dining room which is a converted auto repair shop. the facility has been the home of st. anthony's dining room for 61 years and now a new $22 million facility is being built on nearby golden gate avenue. >> it has really been a blessing not just to me but to thousands of others and it doesn't matter if you are from san francisco or anywhere else. the doors are open to help the community and it is a blessing. >> st. anthony's serves about 2,000 meals a day and until the new dining room opens which is supposed to be in 2014 they will be dished out from a temporary facility also on golden gate avenue. imagine being thrown in jail for eating lunch. it happened to a group of men more than a half kentry ago in south carolina. they're known as members of the friendship nine that attended friendship junior college nearby. richard du vain caught up with three of tlem who met with students this week to share their piece of history. >> a moment this trio could not have imagined back in 1961. >> no, no, never thought this would happen. >> having a meal at the counter of what was the old mcquarry variety show. >> my mother and father were coming to shop but they couldn't eat. that was a problem. >> you have the machine in the middle of the store and you want to come over and get a coke or sandwich, and you couldn't do it. >> made possible because of what they did. >> did something that he felt was right sbl they were justines back in '61 when they sat down for story, willey mcleod, clarence graham and david williamson along with seven others become the first protesters that would not allow themselves to get bailed out of jail. >> to be 17 and never been in jail or never been in trouble, that was a frightening thing. >> in the past protesters would be arrest and had bailed out. for the first time they would serve their time, in this case 30 days >> we were concerned that over night one of us might not be there, you know. that was scary. >> what they did became a blueprint for the civil rights movement. >> did you know this was going to be as important a moment in the civil rights movement? >> no, i didn't. we had no idea. >> now they share their story with teens every where. >> it is important that we go out and tell the story. that's what we have been doing. they need to know. >> they're also promoting a book they say about their experience and it is said to hit store shelves later this year. right no now we to want check in with rob who says there is snow and rain headed our way which is unusual this time of year, isn't it, rob? >> even for february standards. if we can get snow levels close to 2,000 feet which we may see by monday, that is unusually cool for the bay area today. we started to see the cooldown in terms of temperatures, no 70s on the map, the island was down around santa cruz, 67 to warm things up near the shore and upper 50s and low 60s elsewhere and temperatures mainly in the 50s come tomorrow like we have outside now. 51 in san francisco, 54 san jose. breezy at times and winds should back off tonight and transporting in dryer air, cooler air, too, and by tomorrow morning we will see 30s and 40s to get the day started and look for increasing high clouds during the day sunday. i don't think we will see them during the daylight hours on sunday and by this time tomorrow evening we will see showers possibly into the north bay and monday that cold air arrives and the snow levels will start to drop. right now the radar is dry, a few showers to the north and we're really watching the system that is still getting its act together off the pacific northwest. it is going to pull down colder air. you might call it canadian air conditioning. it is headed our way sunday night and monday. when the systems drop out of the north, they have cold air but not too much moisture. this is the night of the colder area systems out of british columbia and we'll call for a chance of showers late sunday night into monday and some of the hill top areas near 2,000 feet in the north bay and 2,500 and sky line boulevard towards mount diablo and hamilton near 4,000 and we'll see the best bet for seeing a few snow showers and you will see here as we show you the future cast by tomorrow evening you can see a few showers there and notice not a lot there. this is very cold air, so any accumulations of rain or snow not expected to be too heavy. you see the rain totals across the mountains where some of that could be in the form of snow and maybe as low as 2,500 feet. as we go int tonight will you see the temperatures chilly. by 11:00, a few spogh in the north bay could see numbers in the 30s. cool start tomorrow and high temperatures tomorrow, plan on more upper 50s to near 60 in dublin and you can see them cooling off near the coast and those temperatures will feel warm compared to monday. if we're talking snow levels near 2,000 feet, the high temperatures have to be cool. we'll see that monday, 40s and 50s for highs, good news rain and sierra snow tuesday into wednesday and wednesday probably the toughest commute day because we do expect quite a bit of rain for the morning and things clear out thursday into friday and next weekend the roller coaster is back to the 60s and 70s. >> thank you. coming up, sure it has been warm but warm enough to take a dip in the bay? not for me. we'll show you what got hundreds to take the polar plunge today. 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[ male announcer ] the new wireless receiver from at&t. get u-verse tv for $25 a month with free hd for six months. at&t. chilly water temperatures did not stop hundreds from taking the plunge this morning at san francisco's aquatic park all for a good cause. at least it was sunny out. athletes, fans and supporters of special olympics braved the chilly water for the polar plunge. everyone who took a dip in the bay today raised at least $125 for the special olympics northern california. >> it was really cold. >> it was cold. >> it was really fun, too. >> it is for a good cause. it was really fun. >> okay. i am not sure how that is fun. it is funny, i guess. organizers say fundraisers like this make it possible for special olympicsthleste to compete all around the world. now for a look at what's coming up in sports we'll check in with henry will ford. what's going on? >> diane, so much to talk about next in sports. a potential first round playoff showdown going on in nashville as the predators take on the sharks. we'll have a score alert ahead and andrew luck will likely not number one overall pick in the draft and what about the teammates that protected him down on the farm? first, we'll take you live to scottsdale where the san francisco giants held a team meeting today and we had had cameras inside the clubhouse. find how the what is ins scottsdale next from the sports desk. welcome back to nbc bay area. you know, we're exactly a week away from spring training baseball games. sure, the games don't count, but this is where the run to the world series begins, the giants confident they can earn another world series ring so they're taking things very seriously in scottsdale, arizona, and that's where you will find our giants reporter jamie sooir who joins us now. jamie, couple of days ago guys looked very serious out there. does that trend continue? how are they looking so far? >> very serious, henry, and in fact 30 minutes before practice even began the giants position players gathered in the batting cages to talk hitting with the manager and hitting coach and a couple guys that know a thing or two about succeeding in the big league, jeff kent and jt snow in attendance and addressed the hitters and among some of the messages, focus, preparation, and seeking advice from older vets. >> we talked about quite a few things, you know, after i talked to them a little bit. i kind of prefaced the talk for bam-bam and kent and kind of what we want to do while we're here and take batting practice and things that we want to accomplish and, really, things we need to get better at. >> bam-bam might be missing a few days of camp this week. his wife is expected to give birth at any moment. reporting live from scottsdale, jamie sire for nbc bay area. >> thank you very much, jamie. over to football, andrew luck might not consensus overall pick in the upcoming 2012 draft and a pair of teammating may also be drafted early and david decastro and jonathan martin were on display and insider math maoko is in indy with the scoop. >> stanford quarterback andrew luck, who will be the number one pick in the draft is not going to work out sunday. he decided to throw at his pro day at stanford. on saturday three stanford guys were showcased, three other guys who could go in the first round. the headliner was david decastro. he did very well in the drills and seemed to solidify his spot in the middle of the first round. also jonathan martin, left tackle, looks to be one of the first tackles select and had another guy is looking to get into that first round and he wasn't able to work out at the nfl scouting combine because of an ankle injury in the fiesta bowl. when all said and done there could be four players go in the first round of the nfl draft. >> thank you, matt. over to the ice where the predators had a lead on the sharks 1-0 in the first period. martin finds shay weber and make it 2-0 nashville and then in the first martin joseph to kevin kline and finds the net and sharks are in trouble but a lot of time to go. it is 4-2 nashville in the second period. that will do it for tonight. we'll see you later, however, diane, as we talk more sharks. we'll have a final score as well at 11:00. >> and a win at 11:00. >> they'll turn this around. >> absolutely. >> thank you, henry. thanks for choosing the bay area at 6. we have "tech now!" next and then we'll see you back tonight at 11 with more on the forecast and when that storm might hit us. >> that will get people's attention. >> yes, it will. it will be pretty as well. until then v a good night.