right now at 5:00, tracking incoming rain. the wet weather returning, and we're issuing a microclimate weather alert. here is a look at our radar, powered by storm ranger. meteorologist kari hall is

timing out the rain and when it will arrive in your neighborhood. plus, a surprise inspection at an east bay refinery. after a year of health scares and flaring, the steps officials are taking to try to fix the problem. a problem at the southern border, as migrants and children are in a caravan making its way to the u.s. the response from lawmakers this morning. this is "today in the bay." here we go, wednesday morning. thank you so much for starting your day with us. i'm laura garcia. we're going to start with a look at that forecast. we'll check the roads with mike in just a little bit. we're going to see when they need those umbrellas. >> it will be later this morning for parts of the bay area. we'll start to see it moving from north to south. we've already fired up our microclimate weather alert as we prepare for the rain and the wind that will also churn up some big waves along the coastline and make things dangerous there. so that's the incoming storm. as we go through the timeline, we're seeing it move into the

north bay by about 9:00 to 10:00 this morning, and then we'll see it continuing to move to the coastline and san francisco as we head toward late morning. much of the rest of the bay area won't see that until about the afternoon, and then going into the evening the rain will continue, with some spotty showers, and we'll see some off and on light rain through the overnight and even into the day tomorrow. but we do have another storm that's going to be coming in right behind that, as we approach the weekend. as far as the wind, it will start to pick up around noontime today. wind gusts at about 15 miles per hour for san jose, but could be closer to 30 miles per hour for san francisco. and you can see those areas in red where we will have the higher wind gusts that will continue into the afternoon, and then gradually start to calm down later this evening. so we're tracking the wind and the rain, and also the impacts we'll see heading into the weekend. i'll have more on that in the full microclimate forecast. mike, you've got a hazard on the richmond-san rafael bridge.

>> i had two. i had a disabled vehicle on the span that just cleared. the only hazard listed on the bridge is the fact that the three right toll lanes are blocked, and you know about that. for months it's been the case. that was the only thing, that is the only thing going on on the chp blotter, one incident. it's a longstanding issue. the rest of the bay, very light traffic. we are looking at the weather that is changing and coming into the area. the highlighting here, discovery bay and areas east does see fog, but not really impacting the drive out of the altamont pass. the drive on 580 moves smoothly, so does vasco road. the minimums may last for a little while, likely this week on the early commute. back to you. >> thank you very much. as the rain arrives, be sure to download our free nbc bay area app. you can use the interactive radar to track when the wet weather will arrive in your neighborhood. later this morning, health inspectors will return to a

contra costa county refinery after an inspection they said could last for a full week. thom jensen joining us outside the facility. county officials want to know what caused dozens of incidents we've seen since late last year. >> reporter: good morning, laura. as you know, most of those incidents involved flarings here at the martinez refining company. the most recent one just a short time ago went on for several hours, and then remember, before that, it was the chemical release that left a blanket of white dust on homes and vehicles and gardens in neighborhoods around the refinery here on thanksgiving day. health inspectors want to take a look at the refinery with a sneak inspection and they hope it leads to more accountability and prevents future incidents from happening. they also want to look at the refinery's operations, how it's working and the public safety files. >> we're going there today to

take a deep dive and look at their processes, their policies and procedures, to make sure that our community is not impacted the way it has been in the past year. >> reporter: the refinery faces a class action lawsuit brought by martinez residents impacted by the chemical releases. the lawyer says the sneak npgds only reinforces the need for constant oversight. county health officials say the inspection could take anywhere from a few days to weeks. we reached out to martinez refining company, both last night and early this morning, but have not yet heard back from them. live in martinez, thom jensen, "today in the bay." >> we'll see if they have a comment later. thank you very much. happening now, thousands of migrants are joining a caravan in central america making its way to the u.s. the group includes men, women and children. it is now 8,000 strong, after an estimated 2,000 more joined in a single day. the caravan was last seen near

guatemala. mexico's president will meet with u.s. secretary of state blinken today in mexico city to discuss potential joint solutions. long-time resident and immigrant advocate mike garcia says this comes after thousands entered the u.s. through the texas border last week. he adds this humanitarian crisis is everyone's problem. >> it's just overwhelming, and people need to understand that. this is not a problem that's just our problem, because the folks aren't staying here. there's not enough resources for them. they're going other places. it's everybody's problem. >> texas governor greg abbott is installing more barbed wire to discourage crossings and bus more migrants to primarily democratic-led cities. making it in the bay is expected to get a little easier, at least according to zillow. the housing giant is predicting bay area home prices will drop in the new year. it also says that san jose may even have the steepest decline in the entire country. take a look at these numbers.

zillow believes san jose home prices will drop 6.1% in 2024. san francisco is expected to see a 4.8% decrease. so what's behind the big drop? zillow says mortgage rates are still high, leading to that market cooldown. >> theoretically it makes sense, obviously our consumers have been concerned with interest rates going up, obviously prices are very high in our area. but the reality is the demand is still very, very strong and what we've been seeing is buyers are still buying, they're just having to get realistic about their purchase price, and that has been knocked down a peg or two. >> it is important to note this is just a forecast by zillow, which revises its forecast regularly. so bottom line, the prediction could change. we're just days away from the new year, no matter what your plans are to celebrate, it's important to stay safe. one bay area transit service is trying to help by opening its doors. muni is offering free rides in san francisco on new year's eve

in an effort to stop people from drinking and driving. the free rides will be open from 8:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. sunday night into monday morning. gates will be left wide open during that time, so walk on through. taking a live look outside this morning. the waves churning there from pacifica. we are tracking this incoming forecast of rain. kari has her eye on the skies for us. >> we are under a microclimate weather alert as a result of this storm that's approaching. we'll continue to watch those waves today as the high wind coming along with the storm also creates some very turbulent conditions. we do have some dangerous surf. the purple indicates where we could see wave heights of up to 25 feet as we go into tomorrow. and we already have the astronomical flooding we're expecting to peak by late morning, and that's basically going to cause some of those low-lying areas along the coast and the bayshore to possibly

flood by late morning. and then tomorrow we'll have a high surf warning as a result of those big breakers. as we mentioned, 20 to possibly 30 feet breakers, and i know that in between the holidays when people have time off, they want to head to the beach. it's going to be very dangerous there. never turn your back to the water and keep an eye on everyone around you, including kids and pets. we're watching those waves that will be building over the next few days and that coming as the rain will also be coming down. i'll talk more about the timeline of the rain in a few minutes. mike has a look at what to expect if you're heading to the gas pump. >> we're looking at contra costa county, still leads our lows, $3.75 at the top here. diamond gas and mart on oak road in concord. san jose, their best is at $3.83, quick stop just off the property for happy hollow park and zoo. san francisco, $4.29 is the

best, speedway or speedway express, probably faster than speedway, both on 19th avenue. both $4.29. thanks for sharing on gasbuddy.com. on the roadways, a smooth, easy drive. the early drive out of the altamont, no slowing all the way across, the same latitude toward hayward and across the san mateo bridge. a live look shows you the light traffic. taillights heading westbound, headlights toward us. back to the hayward side and across the bay bridge, westbound, easy, light drive at the toll plaza. moves smoothly on the span. >> thank you very much. 5:09 right now. prime video subscribers, this is for you. there are some changes coming. next on "today in the bay," the action you'll need to take if you want to skip out on the ads. plus, 2023 coming to a close, and this morning we're breaking down this year's top movies. be sure to stick around to see if your favorite made the top five. you're watching "today in the you're watching "today in the y."ba

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good wednesday morning. we are under a microclimate weather alert as we get ready for incoming rain. for mountain view, we are dry throughout much of the morning. spotty showers starting around noon, but then more steady rain expected around 4:00 as temperatures stay in the upper 50s to low 60s. we'll see that rain moving from north to south, so a look at all of our timelines in a few minutes. if you're driving across the golden gate bridge in the next few minutes, you beat the rain,

you beat the traffic and a lot of people in the bay area who aren't up yet. easy drive right now. we'll keep checking the build and show you if there is or isn't one out of the altamont coming up. first, let's check in with silvana. >> good morning. i'm silvana hanao from cnbc. wall street is set to open slightly higher following a winning session yesterday that saw the dow, nasdaq, and s&p 500 gain about half a percent. now, that puts the s&p within half a percent of its all-time closing high, which was set in january of last year. with just three sessions left in 2023, the dow is poised to end higher by 13%, while the s&p is up 24% and the nasdaq has jumped 44%. stocks are in the midst of what's known as the santa claus rally, the period made up of the last five trading days of one year and the first two of the next. historically the s&p 500 has risen about 1.3% on average going back to 1950.

amazon has started notifying prime video subscribers they'll have to pay extra if they don't want their shows and movies interrupted by commercials. amazon will start showing limited ads on january 29th. customers who want to remain ad freewill have to pay an extra fee of $3 a month, and that's on top of their prime subscription or their standalone membership. amazon says introducing ads will help it invest in compelling content. there won't be any ads in content you rent or buy. and americans are expected to spend nearby $30 billion on gift card this holiday season, while most will be redeemed, many will go unused, and bank rate found nearly half of adults had at least one unused gift card worth than average of $187. that's a total of $23 billion in unspent money. experts say it's wise to use your gift card sooner than later, as inflation and inactivity fees can reduce their

value. laura, i know i do not let my gift cards go to waste. >> you're so much better than i, because i do. i tuck them away, save them for a special thing, and sometimes you've got to watch. some of those businesses shut down or you don't have them. i'm going to learn by you, silvana. lead by example. >> use it. >> happy new year to you as well. trending this morning, 2023's top movies. we're bringing you the top five films of the year. here is a look at the film taking the top spot on that list. >> there's a word in korean that means providence or fate. >> do you believe in that? >> that's just something koreans say. >> so that was "past lives" which holds the number one spot on the ranking. it's followed by "oppenheimer" and "poor things".

coming in at number four is "barbie." rounding out the top five is "holdovers" and i feel out of it, because i've only seen "barbie." >> i haven't seen any. >> i started watching "barbie" and then i stopped. >> it looks like we have some catching up to do. >> that's an assortment of movies. >> exactly. something for everyone, i suppose. you know what's really nice, though? when it's raining out, you get a cup of hot chocolate or tea and watch a show. or fall asleep on the couch. >> i'll be working, you know. >> that's true. kari has some work to do. >> when it's raining, that means i have some work to do. we are going to start out with some fog this morning. as we get a live look in dublin, the fog is not too bad. it's been very patchy and we're seeing in walnut creek, as you get started this morning, clear visibility there as well. eventually we'll start to see that rain coming in, more clouds already spreading across the bay

area. so we can see the wide view of the center of the storm here, and then all of the rain that's stretching out ahead of that coming along with some breezy winds as well. and it does continue to move closer to us. we'll eventually be able to track it with storm ranger, our mobile doppler radar. you can get this same scan on your smartphone. go to nbcbayarea.com or download the nbc bay area app so that you can zoom into where you live. hour-by-hour, our forecast starts to show that rain coming in around 10:00 to 11:00 for the north bay, and then continuing to work its way from north to south as we go throughout the day, with scattered showers still lingering into tonight, and a couple of spotty showers off and on for tomorrow, especially during the morning. and then our rainfall totals for this first round of rain may reach about close to an inch of rain for santa rosa, definitely some much needed rain. and then for san francisco, areas to the south, about a quarter inch of rain or less.

so it's not a big soaker, but we do have more ahead. and between now and the next storm coming in on friday into saturday, in total we could see about 2 inches of rainfall for ukiah, and then for san francisco and oakland, about an inch of rainfall. many of us getting about an inch over the next couple of days. and then, also, the winds will be picking up as we go into today. 25, 30-mile-per-hour gusts, especially near the coastline, parts of the north bay. some of our hills will have higher wind gusts for today. and then a calming wind for tonight as the rain becomes more scattered. that second round of rain comes in late on friday evening and it continues into saturday morning. and then the next round of rain looks like it stays to our south and then we'll get ready for additional rainfall, colder temperatures, and, finally, some good sierra snow coming in for the middle of next week. and the snow has really been lacking there, between now and

early next week maybe a few inches of snow, but we could see at least a foot for next week. so that, once again, has really been desperately needed. and then looking at our rain that's going to be coming in, our seven-day forecast shows off and on rain and we'll also, at times, see some breaks in between. today we're watching big waves along the coastline and the gusty wind as that rain moves in for the afternoon. and then for sunday, that's our day to get outside. the last day of the year. we welcome in 2024 with a mix of sun and clouds and some mild temperatures. and looking at the rain for the next few days, high surf warning, some of the bigger waves will be tomorrow, and then gusty wind as well on friday. i'll be watching all of those impacts. mike, you were looking at the longer commute. >> we're looking at the longer drive, i guess i should say. the longer commute is shorter today and shorter than most times of the year. there, just now in the last 30 seconds, we saw a little bit of

slowing where 205 meets with 580. there's fog, perhaps, in tracy, lodi, stockton. we're looking at a smooth drive for that section. vasco road off of marsh creek, there's no slowing around dalton. we see that other weeks of the year, but not this week likely. there's no slowing, barely brake tap at the altamont pass. highway 4 doesn't show any brakes or any slowing there. and same thing for 37. things are very light right now. there's a little bit of slowdown that shows up on eastbound highway 4 coming off of i-80, but i think that's a slower moving vehicle. bay bridge toll plaza, richmond bridge heading toward san rafael, no backup. across the span, look how much spacing there is across the taillights. you can see it stuttering as well. that's a digital artifact. it's moving smoothly into and out of san francisco. beautiful view, but kari showed

you the weather is changing. that's the concern coming from the north bay and then down the peninsula. it's not a problem right now. an easy drive along this area. in the south bay we had stragglers on southbound 87 that took about 15 minutes for the slowing to clear. it's just about gone. there is a crew registered around the santa teresa area. that should be cleared in the next few. we extend into south county, northbound we see no slowing sensors, san martin, morgan hill. that means a light build toward silicon valley at least for now. >> thanks so much, mike. 5:21 right now. one of san francisco's most iconic spots getting a mini makeover. ahead, the changes being made at four points in san francisco. also, the reason not everyone is expected to know about the update. we'll be right back.

welcome back. it's 5:24. this morning, many are remembering the legacy of lee sun-kyun. lee was best known for his role in "parasite," where he played the head of a very wealthy family. he won a screen actors guild award in 2021. the actor was found unresponsive earlier this morning in a car parked at a central seoul park in south korea. police began to look for him when his family reported he left home after leaving a message

that resembled a suicide note. officials later confirmed he had died and was found with a charcoal brick in the passenger seat. lee was 48 years old. if you or someone you know is in crisis, there's a toll free hotline for help in english and spanish. the easiest number to remember is 988. the golden gate bridge, the massive nautical looking chains are being removed and replaced. crews began pulling them out last week and started replacing them with rust-resistant silver rails. the big rusting chains are getting loaded into giant bins to be hauled away and recycled. replacing the chains is getting mixed reactions from park visitors. >> it looks like there's history here, you know, there's been eons of fishing and other boat traffic and everything. it kind of says a lot. >> the old chains were kind of

cool and gave it a look. but, honestly, these are further back, there's a little more space for pedestrians, it feels safer. >> the rest of the concrete stanchions will be replaced near the end of january. the national park service says the chains were originally installed in the 1990s, so they're not considered historically significant, although to some people that would seem like a long time ago. if you're thinking of buying a new car, wait until the new year. economists forecast 2024 will be the best year for consumers to buy a new car since 2019. experts say it all starts with lower average transaction prices. overall, supply has improved, so the average cost of a new car is about $48,000. that's actually down $1.5% compared to last year. buyers can expect deals in the spring. tax return season is when we can expect interest rates to fall and car prices to decline.

consumers may also gain purchasing power in 2024 as automakers put bigger incentives on new cars. coming up next, the top stories we're following for you today, including back-to-back robberies at a local u.p.s. store. the images police want you to see to help them make an arrest. a fire destroys over 20,000 square feet of commercial space here in los altos. this morning there are still concerns of the building collapsing. we've got an update on the scene, including the beloved businesses that e impacteard.

right now at 5:30, rain is on the way. here is a look at our radar, powered by stormranger. our team is tracking the weather timeline as you prepare to start your day. also, under investigation, new details we're learning about the christmas day fire which ripped through a south bay business mall. also, looking for answers. a mother in antioch speaking out following a deadly hit-and-run crash, which killed her 13-year-old son and his stepbrother. the reason she says the police department is not being transparent. this is "today in the bay." this is also wednesday morning. thanks so much for starting your day with us. i'm laura garcia. let's start out with a look at that forecast. we haven't seen rain for a little bit. but it's on its way. meteorologist kari hall is tracking what we can expect. >> this is going to come in with

several waves of rain over the next few days. we are starting out dry as you head out the door for now. but we'll start to see the rain coming in from north to south, also big waves as that storm moves in and gusty winds expected for the afternoon. as we look at tomorrow's forecast, we'll reach the peak of that high surf warning, and the times of rain will continue as well. and then on friday, a new storm will be moving in. so we're is a look at what to expect as we get all of the rain that's now to the north, starting to make its way into the north bay by about 9:00 to 10:00, and really picking up in intensity as it continues to move through. at noon, we're seeing it moving into san francisco, as well as the coastline, down the peninsula, and eventually into the east bay by about 2:00 to 3:00, we'll see it moving into danville and livermore. for the south bay, it may take longer before it gets here in time for the evening commute, but then we see at times some heavy rain where we see the oranges and reds, and it

indicates some pretty heavy rain that may be in a few spots, and then going into tomorrow with spotty rain. so definitely wetter and at least we do start with the lighter commute for many people heading out. it continues, this week especially. the lightest week probably of the year. we're looking toward the bay bridge. with the changes in the weather that kari is talking about, things may change, especially for tomorrow. we're looking at an easy, light drive, no backup or metering lights at the bay bridge. there's a new incident just above where it says berkeley, maybe near carlson. we'll get more detail as we look at that portion of the east bay. the rest of the bay shows a smooth drive as well. laura has breaking news and i'm going to check on the impact to traffic. >> we want to remind folks you can always get our nbc bay area app to track the incoming rain and get access to our interactive radar and zoom in to find out exactly when the rain will reach your neighborhood.

download the app and scan the qr code. this was the breaking news mike was referring to, into our newsroom just right now, a deadly one-alarm fire in oakland is under investigation. it started this morning after 2:30 a.m. on partridge avenue. firefighters don't know exactly what caused the fire, but though say it seems to have started in the basement. of course, we'll continue to gather more information and bring it to you as soon as it comes into our newsroom. now to a live look in oakland this morning, where the lanes of northbound 880 are back open after a woman was hit and killed last night. it happened just after 10:00 p.m. near high street. police say the woman was walking on the freeway, and you can see from the backup last night. it's not clear why the woman was on the road or if the driver who hit the woman stopped. a south bay community is looking to rebuild after a christmas morning fire left a two-story commercial building, over 20,000 square feet

destroyed. "today in the bay"'s ginger conejero saab joins us live in los altos this morning. you were there the morning it happened. there were some concerns, i know, of a possible building collapse then. do we know the status now? >> reporter: well, laura, you can still see the building is still standing, whatever is left of it, there are still some concerns, we're told, of that building possibly, or parts of it possibly collapsing still, but the challenge now is for fire crews. they can't do much, with that threat they can't necessarily investigate what the cause was of the fire or do anything to help demolish it if there is still the threat that continues. now, it is still dark out, but you can see much more of the destruction from this footage from sky ranger yesterday. there was active flames inside the structure, and that was after the fire first broke out. it was an intense three-alarm fire that fire crews worked to

control for hours christmas morning. the first calls about the fire happened right before 5:00 a.m. crews arrived on scene and called a two-alarm fire because of the collapse to the roof and hvac systems. the fire grew to three alarms and needed support from nearby fire departments. fortunately, there have been no injuries or fatalities to what was a very aggressive fire. its impact has been devastating for several small businesses, including a martial arts judo club that just opened, opened more than a year ago, as well as a dance studio that has been a fixture in this community. >> the building is gone, but we are still very much alive, and we will find spaces and we'll continue educating and nurturing our children. >> reporter: community members have started a gofundme page for that dance studio business owner. others have rallied around or rallied behind the small business owners for the other

building spaces here. i know this was kind of an important part to the community. now, the cause of the fire is still under investigation. we won't know that for the next couple of weeks. and the stretch of el camino road right by san antonio will remain closed for the next couple of weeks. >> busy road there, too, as well. thanks for the latest, ginger. a mother in antioch is speaking out about a deadly hit-and-run crash that killed her 13-year-old son and his stepbrother. amaje eminike was a three-sport athlete who had just been crowned mvp of his basketball team. he was looking forward to graduating from middle school and was applying to private high schools. he has two brothers and was just getting to know his new stepbrother, 12-year-old arsenio raab, who was also killed in the crash. its been almost a week, and now his mother wants answers. >> i just want to know what happened and, like, was the

person drunk? have some sympathy. it's a 13-year-old kid that has a family that was in sports, that had a whole life ahead of him. this is just not fair. it's not fair at all. >> the boys were in the back seat with their father driving when a black suv apparently ran a stop sign and hit them. two people in the suv left the car and ran from the scene. police have not identified the suspects. police are searching for a package thief in the east bay after back-to-back burglaries at a u.p.s. store. the first break-in happened just before 4:00 on christmas morning in oakland. police say the thief pulled up to the store in his lifted white ford super duty truck with no license plate. the thieves broke through the front door taking several packages from behind the counter. a burglar hit the same store yesterday morning, this time taking packages and a small safe. police aren't sure if the same person or truck were involved. 5:38 on your wednesday morning, midweek, taking a live

look outside, overlooking san francisco. quiet now, but we can tracking incoming rain. kari has been monitoring when it's going to hit. it's going to start in the north bay. >> yes, starting from north and making its way across the rest of the bay area as we go into today. we are under a microclimate weather alert as we get ready for that rain and the wind, but at least we do have a dry start now. as we take a look at some of our cameras and what to expect as you make your way out the door for work, it's in the mid-40s in walnut creek, we're in the low 40s in san jose, as well as san francisco. fog is not too bad this morning. we've seen some patches of it in the north bay, coming through parts of the delta as we get some of that really dense central valley fog starting to drift in. but as far as temperatures for today, we're having to keep the jackets on, as we reach into the upper 50s and low 60s, and essentially, once again, rain will be arriving. make sure you have the umbrellas for late morning in parts of the north bay, and san francisco starts to see that rain around 11:00 to noon, moving into parts

of the east bay as well for the lunch hour, and into the south bay later on this afternoon. so we'll be tracking this, we'll talk about another storm behind that. mike, so far it seems like a light commute. >> as predicted, the week between christmas and new year's, almost no traffic at this time in the morning. it's almost 5:40 and we almost see some incidents appearing. we do have one here on the eastshore freeway, eastbound, 580, westbound 80, your commute direction here, coming down the eastshore freeway right andersen around central. it doesn't sound like any lanes are blocked. we want to show you highway 4, no slowing in the westbound direction. eastbound shows a blip here and there. these are just below the speed limit. highway 37, no build either. we talked about the tides and the rain as well. they continue to keep the lower manzanita park and ride closed due to the tides, and the rain

may implicate things today or tomorrow. it's closed just off 101 and highway 1. and then we may have overnight closures for tiburon boulevard. they're doing road work overnight and a lot of the crews have cleared for this week as well. back over to you. a case about free speech heads to the supreme court. ahead on "today in the bay," the reversal one state leader wants the court to make and the way it potentially can change the way federal agencies interact with social media giants. plus, gearing up for the new year. the final preparations now under way in the big apple ahead of the ball drop. we break down next year's top resolutions and see if yours is on the list. keep it here. you're watching "today in e bay."th

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good wednesday morning. we are under a microclimate weather alert, as we get ready for rain. taking a look at napa, we should see the showers moving in around 10:00, and then at noon it gets heavier and continues with some, at times, steady to moderate rain for the afternoon. so i'll be tracking this hour-by-hour for all of our microclimates coming up in a few minutes. and we're looking over here, san jose northbound 101, with these headlights, this is about the time we should see a backup on a normal week. lighter traffic. but there is a build here and a couple of other cameras, so we'll check the sensors once again. >> thanks so much, kari and mike. 5:44 right now. to a live look at gaza, where the israeli military is

expanding operations. it is moving its ground offensive into refugee camps and asking people living in these large urban camps to move elsewhere. this comes a day after the israeli military chief says the war will last for many more months. he says there's no magic solution to taking down hamas. attacks on gaza intensified around christmas day, with over 100 palestinians killed. since the war began, over 21,000 people have been killed in gaza, with 2.2 million people displaced in gaza alone. the u.n. warns over half a million are facing starvation. a top adviser to the israeli prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, met face to face with white house officials on tuesday. "today in the bay"'s brie jackson is in washington with more on their meeting. >> reporter: israeli forces expanding their military operations into refugee camps in central gaza. another sign that their fight

against hamas is far from over. >> this is a tragic, complicated situation, and it's going to get worse. >> reporter: the biden administration officials met with one of israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu's most senior advisers tuesday. on the agenda, efforts to bring remaining hostages home, minimize harm to civilians, and transition to a different phase of this war. the white house has urged israel to scale back, warning of the cost associated with a prolonged war. >> there is a host of long-term costs that's going to be associated unless the israelis start to dial it back. >> reporter: the u.s. continues to work with israel to improve the humanitarian situation. this 13-year-old's mother was killed, his dad is missing, forcing him and his siblings to fend for themselves. >> i don't know how to deal with this, he says, but i know how to make my sister's milk. i change her. she hardly drinks the milk.

>> reporter: calls for a cease-fire continue. >> the only way we can provide the scale of humanitarian assistance that's needed is if the fighting stops, if the attacks stop, if we can have safe access to deliver scaled aid. >> reporter: israel shows no signs of backing down and has vowed to keep fighting until hamas is destroyed. in washington, brie jackson, nbc news. 5:46. new this morning, a report is alleging meta is censoring pro-palestinian voices, that's according to the human rights watch. it says meta has removed or silenced posts on both facebook and instagram. it reviewed over 1,000 cases. in a statement to the human rights watch, meta says it ignores the realities of enforcing policies in a conflict like this, which is fast and evolving. meta has said using 1,000 examples out of the content is misleading. nbc news has not been able to verify this report. bay area social media companies are at the center of the supreme court case over free

speech. california attorney general rob bonta and 22 other attorney generals called on the courts yesterday to reverse an order that restricts how federal agencies speak with social media giants. the order came from a lawsuit filed by attorney generals in louisiana and missouri that accused the white house of pressuring facebook, youtube and x to censor conservative viewpoints on the pandemic, election and other issues. an appeals court narrowed the ban but didn't overturn the ruling completely. a statement from bon ta's office argues the decision saying, quote, it dangerously restricts the government from addressing threats to public safety. the supreme court will make a decision by the end of june. happening now, preparations are under way for the new year's eve celebration in times square. one of the main concerns this year is safety. tensions are high across the country, especially because of the war in gaza. local law enforcement will be on the lookout for what the fbi and homeland security are calling

lone wolf threats. law enforcement is also telling those attending the large celebration to keep an eye out for any suspicious activity, but note there are no credible threats. new year brings on new resolutions for many. "forbes" spoke to 1,000 people about their plans for the new year, and found almost half of respondents said a new year brings a chance to improve their fitness, while 38% say they want to improve their finances, another 36% want to focus on mental health, and 32% want to make some eating habit changes. other things include spending more time with family, quitting smoking and improving your work/life balance. it all sounds like some self-improvement in the works. >> aspirational, yeah. >> why not start now? do you have any resolutions? >> i didn't see mine on there. >> which is? >> being closer with god. >> there you go. >> religion. >> maybe that's assumed.

>> i don't know. well, i guess we all want to be fit, but it's going to be a little chilly out there. that makes it hard to get out of bed. then we know there's some rain coming that will be with us as we go into the afternoon. here is a look at the storm, we can see a wider view and we can see the rain that's starting to make its way into california. it's been hitting parts of the pacific northwest, and will also come along with gusty winds. so we could see some dangerous surf, as well as some big breakers, those areas in purple indicate where we could see 20 to 25-foot waves, possibly even closer to 30-foot waves. this coming at the same time that we also have a coastal flood advisory for the inner bay, parts of the shoreline, and the coast that will see higher astronomical tides, which we get during the winter months, where the sun is closer to the earth and we are also getting that greater gravitational pull from the moon.

and so that brings water farther inland and that happens this morning at about 10:46 for san francisco. so we've got the coastal flood advisory and then tomorrow a high surf warning, bigger waves coming in, and the water temperature is only in the upper 50s. so you do want to be careful near the coastline for today and the next several days. as far as temperatures, we're only in the upper 50s and low 60s. a high of 62 in hayward and mountain view. 62 in morgan hill. there's not much of a change tomorrow, but it may be slightly warmer for some of our inland valleys once that rain starts to taper off. so we see the rain moving from north to south by about 8:00 to 9:00 this morning, for parts of the north bay it's going to be a soggy late morning, parts of the east bay, as well as the peninsula, we'll see the rain arriving around lunchtime or shortly thereafter. and the south bay, around san jose, gilroy, morgan hill, not seeing it until about the evening commute. it doesn't look like a lot of

rain until later tonight, where we may see the intensity pick up. for tomorrow, it gradually starts to taper off and we'll have that first round of rain ending. there's another one behind that. we could see about a quarter inch of rain for parts of the bay area today, and look at livermore, dublin, not a whole lot of rain expected with the first round. but then parts of the north bay could see closer to an inch of rainfall for santa rosa. when the next storm system comes in, it looks significantly higher, and that will be late friday into saturday. in total, we could see about an inch of rainfall for many of our microclimates. but today the wind will start to pick up, and then these areas in red and purple, it shows wind gusts up to 30 to possibly a little bit higher near the immediate coastline, and some of the hills also get the higher wind gusts that will start to calm down later this evening. then the next storm coming in on friday afternoon into the evening, tapering off on saturday. yes, there's more rain ahead as

we welcome in the new year, and possibly some colder storms that could help us out with sierra snow. the snow for the next few days looks very light. we could see heavier amounts of snow for next week once that new storm comes in. looking at our seven-day forecast, it looks like a lot of rain. but it's going to be off and on. there will be some breaks and we'll see most likely a big break for tomorrow afternoon into early friday. saturday is looking pretty soggy, the rain moves out on sunday. and a dry start to our new year. mike, you thought there was some slowing in san jose? >> i did, but no. like your icons show, don't be deceived by the headlights because things kind of calmed down. a little build, but the sensors really haven't shown slowing. that's where i expected to see a little slowing, but not even there. not a problem out of san martin, morgan hill. we are at speed across all the bridges, bay bridge, san mateo

bridge, dumbarton is an easy drive, and even the longer drive, vasco road at 17 minutes. a great drive coming out of contra costa county. back to you. pizza hut making layoffs in california. the franchises are planning to lay off delivery drivers. it says about 1,200 people across the state will lose their jobs just before the state law requires higher pay for food workers. in april, minimum wages will increase to $20 an hour. a fault that triggered a deadly earthquake in the bay area could be more dangerous than we originally thought. still ahead, the revelations from new research. also ahead at 6:00, making it in the bay could be a tad bit easier in the new year. the major change expected to hit the housing market. and nbc bay area news streams 24/7. you can watch us whenever you want on roku or other streaming platforms. a lot more news ahead on this wednesday morning. it's 54. you're w:5at

5:57 on your wednesday morning. a fault in the north bay may be more dangerous than we first

thought, according to experts from the usgs. a 6.0 earthquake hit the west napa fault line back in 2014, that injured over 200 people and left one person dead. new research suggests that fault may be miles longer than we originally thought. we spoke to the scientist behind the research last night. >> the length of a fault is what tells us how big an earthquake it could possibly produce. so prior to this new mapping, the previously recognized section of fault could have possibly produced a 6.8 earthquake. with the additional mapping, that's now extended to 7.0, which doesn't seem like a large change, but it's actually about twice as much energy released. >> the west napa fault is much less active than the hayward or an andreas fault line. experts say a large earthquake

could happen over thousand years. you can check out our full interview with the geologist behind the research. head to our website, nbcbayarea.com, our download our free nbc bay area app. have you ever wanted a sweet treat but had to wait to get it? makes you think of kids, and probably something adults can relate to as well. it was the same for this elephant. his keepers at the oakland zoo gave him a pumpkin filled with frozen coconut water, but he couldn't open it. he finally figured out the fence was the answer. elephants are exceptionally smart. they have the largest brain of any land mammal, three times as many neurons as humans. he got it open. >> persistence. trending this morning, 2023's top films. the top movies of the year, a list of the films taking the top spots on the list. >> there's a word in korean that

means providence or fate. >> do you believe in that? >> that's just something koreans say to seduce someone. >> that was "past lives" which holds the number one spot in the ranking. it's followed by "oppenheimer" and "poor things". coming in at number four is barbie and number five, "the holdovers". we all have some catching up to do. next at 6:00, we are tracking incoming rain. that's right, it's set to hit the north bay first. here is a look at our radar powered by stormranger. meteorologist kari hall is timing out the rain and how long it will stick around. a surprise inspection at an east bay refinery after a year of health scares and flaring. we're live with the steps officials are trying to take to fix the problem. plus a humanitarian crisis growing at the southern bor