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it's time to silence the doubters. time to reward the faithful. it's time to dig deeper, to rise higher. >> let's do it. right now at 6:00, a spot in the super bowl on the line. >> a live look at levi's where the 49ers will face the lions on sunday. we've got complete and faithful coverage this morning. this is "today in the bay." and it is a red type of friday morning for you out here. >> let's do it. >> we want to say good morning to you all. i'm marcus washington. >> i'm laura garcia. bay area, get ready. niners in full effect as the niners show up and show out

ahead of this week's championship game. >> bob redell is joining us where the party has kicked off for the big game this weekend. how are things looking? >> reporter: well, we've got a ton of 49ers fans who showed up, some of them at 3:00 a.m. this morning at the lot at city center bishop ranch in san ramon for the "today" show pep rally. keep in mine, the "today" show is east coast time, so it's very early for us. we already did our live interview with this man right here, antonio, which you can watch on the "today" show starting at 7:00 a.m. we picked you because you're considered a super fan. what is it about being 49ers faithful when you compare it to other fan bases? >> i think we have a big fan base that's a bunch of diehards and it's a way of life at this time. five-time super bowl champions. it's been a long run to get the sixth one. so this is the quest for six and i think all of the fans are excited about this. >> what gives you confidence,

what gives you concern about sunday's game? >> i think we have to play a clean game. no mistakes. i think the defense needs to step up. i think we should run the ball and just win this game. i think the fans need to be loud and we all have to do our part. >> any concerns about deebo samuel? i know he practiced yesterday but that doesn't necessarily mean he's going to be playing sunday. >> he's got to play in this game. this is it right here, everything is on the line. deebo, get out there and play. >> thanks, antonio. >> reporter: i've got to tell you, the "today" show had pep rallies from the other cities, and compared to detroit, we had them down. you'll see that at 7:00 a.m. on the "today" show. and, again, we're here at the lot at city center bishop ranch in san ramon. they will have a viewing party here, and if there's an overflow crowd, they'll take to into the theatres next door. so you can imagine this is what you get on a friday morning early, you can imagine what it's going to be like on sunday.

don't forget to tune into the "today" show at 7:00 to see how 49ers represented and definitely did -- let me just tell you, i feel bad for the people in detroit. [ laughter ] >> we're fighting the lions roar, quieting them down. >> we take them down, that's how we do it. >> thanks so much, bob. as always, our teammates over at nbc sports bay area have got you covered. pregame coverage begins at 2:30 in the afternoon on sunday, and be sure to tune in after the game. they've got postgame coverage for you live there from the locker rooms. no matter where you're watching, fans can expect to score a nice weekend. a warm-up, finally. nothing like the soggy weekend we had last weekend. >> we're going to take the lions down and take the temperatures up this weekend. we're going to keep the energy going because the weekend forecast looks great. look as we get to sunday, temperatures in santa clara, low 70s. bring your sunglasses, drink a

lot of water. even as we make our way out of levi's, it's going to be a nice afternoon to hang out in santa clara and san jose. but before we get there, let's backtrack a little bit. it's friday. we're going to keep the spotty chances of some light rain, mainly in the north bay with overcast skies. our temperatures, as i was saying, are going to gradually warm up as we go through the weekend, upper 60s, mid-70s. it will be leading up to this, an atmospheric river on the way for next week. i'll tell you the timing, the possible impacts coming up. mike, where are those metering lights right now? >> they're active at the bay bridge but not doing a whole lot. you see a tiny bit of slowing as folks approach the toll plaza. the map shows you a little slowing at the metering lights and growing across the span. the volume is starting to grow. maybe a lot of folks are at bishop ranch with bob. my goodness, you can hear it probably throughout the entire contra costa county and alameda county areas. it's a smooth flow of traffic.

in san jose, a mild build, we're seeing a lot more traffic head there. and across the san mateo bridge, no problems. back to you. >> thanks, mike. new for you overnight, a man is dead after a shooting in north bay shopping center. it happened around 6:30 last night in rohnert park's mountain shadows plaza. the victim was found in the parking lot. his identity has not been revealed. so far, there are no arrests but rohnert park police want you to call if you have any information. 6:05. and happening today, a carjacking suspect caught on video dropping a toddler from his stolen car is expected to make his first court appearance. surveillance video from tuesday shows the suspect briefly parking the car in san leandro, leaving the toddler in the street before taking off. after less than a minute, a passing bus driver stops to offer help. police eventually reunited the toddler with his mother. our ginger conejero saab is learning more about how authorities made that arrest.

she'll join us with a live report in about 30 minutes. a man accused of shooting and critically injuring a san jose police officer is due in court for a plea hearing. it happened back in august at a home near race street when investigators say gabriel carreras attacked his pregnant wife and ambushed responding officers. one officer was shot in the torso and her partner had to drag her to safety. she spent weeks in the hospital undergoing numerous surgeries. officers eventually arrested carreras after an hours-long standoff. the plea hearing is set for 1:30 today. san francisco schools are rethinking curriculum to allow middle students to take algebra. the district is considering three options. the first would offer eighth graders a choice between eighth grade math or a combination between eighth grade mab and

algebra 1. the second would offer algebra 1 as an elective, and the third would offer it as a summer course. it would cost about $200,000 to hire teachers. the board should make a final decision by next month. oh, yes, oh, yes, the faithful ready to go. here is a live look at our niners fan pep rally at the lot at city center bishop ranch in san ramon. fans gearing up for sunday's nfc championship game against the lions. our bob redell mentioning earlier today the fans also appearing on the "today" show later this morning. our coverage on the game and pep rally continues all morning long. they're hyped. >> i love that. they even brought the signs. the dogs. >> second dog. >> perfect weather, too, for a pep rally. pep rally all weekend. >> wearing the beanies, bigger

jackets. you get excited, and come game time those are going to be out the window because we're going to gradually warm up this weekend. let's see what's going on in san jose. we've got a few clouds sticking around this morning, and it will become more of an overcast sky as we go into lunchtime. temperatures in the mid-60s there. but as we go on and talk about the weekend, it is a big game day weekend, but of course we're going to talk about those temperatures in the upper 60s to mid-70s. i'll show you those on the map. we're going to lead up to rain and wind starting next wednesday. so we do have a bigger storm that's on the way. i'll guide you through that timing. mike, you're going to guide us through the bay bridge. >> we're going to look more closely because we did see sensors slowing. look at the spacing over here, it does look like things really jam up. but that's just the optical illusion as things make the curve. it's a smooth flow, although they do get a little closer as you get closer to the city. mild slowing here. a little build for highway 37.

no delays from richmond through the north bay. here at contra costa county, great speeds, concord, walnut creek, orinda, lafayette. good stuff. it's a mild build for the nimitz. throughout the south bay, mild slowing for 101. and coming in, even out of san martin, morgan hill, we just have a light build. that does show we'll have some -- likely have a smoother flow of traffic for the next half hour at least. back to you. counting down until the blastoff. four tourists this morning, they are on the verge of a trip to outer space. but who exactly are they? coming up on "today in the bay," the unusual mystery surrounding the planned launch. back here on earth, we are learning the truth about that accident and what was happening inside cruise at the time. let's take you out to the futures this morning. looks like a little money coming off the table amid good economic news. >> we like the 49ers red. just not there. as the game plan for the

championship game, one niners wife known for custom designs game planning a whole new project for this sunday. find

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with clouds drifting through. you'll say mostly cloudy throughout the day. temperatures will top off at 60 degrees this afternoon. but it will be a mild and dry weekend for now. there is a storm coming in the seven-day forecast. we talked about the smoother drive throughout richmond and out of richmond. we're looking at the bridge toward the north bay. cinthia is talking about great weather. great drives as well. the volume builds a tad bit. we'll show you the friday commute. good morning, very happy friday to you. new inflation numbers showing inflation continues to cool. yesterday we got that blockbuster news on gdp, showing fears of a recession were absolutely wrong. tesla shares fell hard yesterday. now, we gave you a heads up on this before the opening bell yesterday on "today in the bay." salesforce laying off 700 employees. that's about 1% of its workforce. a day after levi's announced it

paid 170 million to keep the name revie's on the 49ers stadium, the company says it's going to lay off as much as 15% of employees. they predicted weaker sales ahead despite evidence the consumer is shopping and buying, just not levi's. big news out of that san francisco self-driving car company cruise. it released the rather startling details of an internal investigation into that accident last october that dragged a pedestrian down a san francisco street. the investigation conducted by a third party found employees at cruise knew its car had seriously hurt the woman, but that most of its efforts were focused on reminding the media and investigators that it was another car that hit her first. it also found many cruise executives were kept in the dark about the true nature of the accident. at one point, cruise employees showed regulators video of the

accident, but a poor internet connection prevented regulators from seeing the full truth and the cruise employees didn't point it out. the report says cruise's strategy was to let the regulators figure out what the cruise car did from the video. quote, cruise assumed that by playing the video for regulators, they would ask questions and cruise would provide further information about the pedestrian dragging. >> well, there's certainly new concern this morning about artificial intelligence, as a flood of me fake but sexually explicit photographs hit the internet and taylor swift is the subject of many of those computer generated photographs. obviously we're not going to show you those photographs. these are regular pictures of the real taylor swift. many of them distributed on the service formerly known as twitter. this is going to be a bigger and bigger problem when people will be able to just generate any

kind of picture they want of anyone they want, including people they know, possibly put them on the internet. a reverse problem is going to be an interesting one, too, and that is genuine pictures of, say, a politician doing something he shouldn't be doing. >> right. >> he will immediately be able to say, you know what a big problem all these fake pictures are, and a genuine picture will slide by as a fake. >> and we're seeing videos produced as well and audio. >> that will get better. >> it's very concerning. >> it is. >> thanks, scott. happening today in a matter of hours, four private space flyers may be on their way into space, that's if everything goes according to plan. at 9:00 a.m. our time, the window opens for virgin galactic to conduct its sixth mission into space. the craft will head into suborbital space. so far the identity of the passengers has not been revealed, although they are said to be from california, texas, austria, ukraine and nevada.

the cost to fly just under a half a million dollars. 6:17 right now. trending this morning, kristin juszczyk at it again, they made the viral jacket for taylor swift and others. they're really nice. >> now she's teasing a new design for sunday's game that has the bay area written all over it. check it out. this is a teaser she posted of her last piece. you see the logo, golden state warriors. it makes you wonder. will a warriors player wear it or will this outfit just be worn by a fan of both? she's got us all guessing. she did finish it around 3:50 or so this morning. >> wow. >> and what's so impressive, she's the one at the sewing machine. >> the story said that she learned because she wanted to learn, she went to youtube and

taught herself how to sew. >> youtube teaches you everything. >> i love it. >> it's got to be something big. i can see a line. >> i kind of wish they would come out. she would be killing it right now. >> i hope she makes one with stormranger on the back. then we can rock it. >> i'm sorry, cinthia, but only you would say that. >> we can put a big sun on there. that's what it's going to look like for the 49ers. let's talk about the weekend weather as we get you ready out the door. you might need that niners beanie this morning. temperatures starting off in the mid to upper 40s in the east bay. dublin at 48. 50 in sonoma, and 51 degrees in san francisco. overall not too bad. and those temperatures are going to feel a little mild, mainly san francisco and south for today. we'll have 64 in dublin, 66 in san martin and a little cooler to the north bay as a storm is passing to the north.

mostly cloudy skies as we go through the afternoon. taking it to tomorrow's forecast, more mild in the north bay. 66 in santa rosa, fairfield, 68 in hayward. we're starting to warm up and it will be sunny in santa clara come sunday. winds will be calm, temperatures nice and mild, 70 degrees, even as we make our way out of levi's stadium. it's going to be a mild night in the south bay. let's talk about what's happening with our next chance of rain. so for this weekend, as i mentioned, the storm just to our north. if it moves any more south, that could change our forecast just a little by bringing in a chance of rain. skies look mostly clear as we go into our saturday as far as the rain staying away, and as for sunday we'll build that high pressure, see the sunshine. here are where the changes start to come about. as we go into wednesday and thursday, that's our next chance of seeing the atmospheric river. notice how the model paints a lot of that green, so rain and those hues of purples and pinks, that's a chance of sierra snow. so this will be for the middle

of the week. early estimates are anywhere from about half an inch to close to 2 inches, especially in the north bay, our typical bull's-eye. and the wind will be gusty, around 20 to 40 miles per hour. we've been through this kind of storm before. i want you to take a chance if you can with the sunshine to prepare for what's ahead next week. this could possibly continue on into next weekend. that will wrap up the month of january and go into february, and our seven-day forecast goes like this. overcast skies today. enjoy the dry weather this weekend and the mild temperatures. a sprinkle of a spotty rain chance, but not too bad in san francisco for saturday. then as we go into tuesday, wednesday, thursday, that's when the rain chances start to return. mike, how does the friday commute look right now? >> it looks like friday. it's green sensors all over. that's much different than the green with all the rain we had earlier in the week. so a smooth drive with great conditions. i will show you these travel times. contra costa county, vasco road is a good meter for how heavy

the volume of traffic is, and it's very light. it went down from 19 to 18 live on the air. this is your drive out of brentwood, discovery bay and heading toward 580, which typically at this time of day would be close to half an hour. right now it's closer to 20 minutes. a smooth drive on 580 continues, throughout the east bay. 880, the southbound side shows a little slowing south of oakland toward san leandro, hayward, and clear by the time you get through union city. on the other side of the bay, a light, easy drive. palo alto, northbound looks like it's clustering around marsh. it's just folks getting off and back onto the freeway. moving slowly, 101 and 280 along the peninsula. who is ready to go to paris? grab that beret. today marks six months until the start of the summer olympic games. >> we're hoping to get you in the mood with upcoming games with a sport making its olympic debut in 2028 in los anges.

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and fans ready to have everything get under way. where they are right now, the lot at city center, fans gathering up for the championship game against the lions. bob redell has been out there all morning making an appearance. they're going to be on the "today" show later this morning. stick around for that. our coverage of the game and all the excitement at the pep rally continues all morning long here on "today in the bay." well, you know what today is, also? it marks six months until the start of the 2024 summer olympic games in paris. while racket sports have been slow to catch on in the olympics, one popular u.s. sport is making its debut in the summer games following paris. >> that's right. squash officially becomes an olympic sport at the l.a. games in 2028. squash, similar to racquetball, each is played on a court with four sides, but squash uses a smaller ball and slightly longer racket. we spoke with a bay area squash coach named charlie johnson and

one of his students, zane patel, who attends st. francis high in mountain view. zane plans to play at the university of pennsylvania. when 2028 rolls around, he's hoping to compete. >> this sport is pretty much my whole life. i live and breathe it. it's everything i do. i leave school, i get made fun of here because the moment the bell rings at 2:30, i've stormed off of campus into the car to go to squash. i don't hang around here or anything and i get some slack for that. but, yeah, this is what i do and it's what i love to do. >> good for him. he's dedicated. as for the paris games, four new sports will debut, sport climbing, skateboarding, now skateboarders can medal this year. you'll also see surfing and breaking, better known as break dancing. should be a lot of fun. we've got a lot more ahead at 6:30 this morning, including

your overnight headlines here on "today in the bay." plus, you saw all of that fan enthusiasm with bob redell in san ramon. it's a little more quiet here at levi's stadium. we know there's a lot of work in the background making sure that the stadium and the team are ready for quite the show on sunday. i have all the details of what i have all the details of what you ca

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[ cheering ] right now at 6:30, the 49er faithful loud and ready this morning. everyone is pumped up with a spot at the super bowl on the line. we're moving you forward with everything you need to know ahead of sunday's championship game. this is "today in the bay." so fun to see that spirit. >> oh, yeah, it's there this morning. >> 6:30 right now. thanks for starting your day with us. i'm laura garcia. >> i'm marcus washington. how about the big countdown to sunday's game? it is on right now. >> they're having snacks. >> in chill mode. they have been hyped all morning long, and of course it's going to continue throughout the morning. this is a live look at the lot at city center bishop ranch in san ramon where the faithful got up really early, before 3:00

this morning, getting in line to attend the pep rally ahead of sunday's nfc championship game between the niners and lions. the fans have been going strong all morning long and they're going to be on the "today" show later. >> you'll be able to see a lot of bay area faces. let's turn to "today in the bay"'s kris sanchez, live at levi's stadium where it will certainly light up this weekend. a lot for fans for what to expect this sunday. >> reporter: we know intimately how early this feels when you get up at 3:00, 4:00 in the morning. so we're expecting a lot of enthusiasm here at levi's stadium, the weather is expected to be pretty good for brock purdy. that is my unofficial take on the game, but if you want to know some expert opinions, we know the niners are expected to be favored going into the game. and we know that the lions have

had a third team game losing streak in the postgame against the niners and haven't won a playoff game since 1957. unfortunately, that was against the niners, so we're just going to move on from that. the niners are favored by a full touchdown, and deebo samuel was back at practice after that shoulder injury. if he's on the field on sunday, the word i keep hearing describing that is magic. >> if the 49ers with block up that defensive line, they're going to have a field day throwing the football through the air. i think christian mccaffrey will get over 25 carries. and this defense hasn't really seen a player with the capabilities of christian mccaffrey. so the 49ers offense takes care of the football, all things being equal on offense, i don't think this game is going to be close. >> reporter: now, that is what super bowl hungry fans are hoping for, the niners/lions, hottest championship ticket this season. now, the niners are happy to

have the fans fill the stadium on sunday, but they're also hosting watch parties here in the bay area, but also in mexico city and in the uk, and there's also a rally on saturday at the plex in san jose, and everyone is invited. tapping all of the energy they can in what has been a very special year. >> the relationship between the players and the fans and the entire organization in this region really is something truly special. we're trying to take advantage of the opportunity as best as we can, not only with the players and the coaches on the field, but really in the entire community and everything that we can to help inspire and push this team to the next level, and hopefully that means an appearance at super bowl lviii. >> so here is the performers lineup, nick smith for the pregame, and journey will play the halftime show. now, our teammates over at nbc sports bay area have you covered

with pregame and postgame coverage starting at 2:30 sunday afternoon, then they'll pick up with the postgame live show from the locker room. now, as we saw last week, brock purdy maybe isn't a huge fan of mother nature and the rain. he had a bit of a tough time, the ball was very slippery and he had gloves on, gloves off. so at least that won't be a factor going into the game on sunday against the lions. a lot of enthusiasm everywhere we go, we keep seeing a sea of red, people on their bikes, waiting at bus stops. so definitely a lot of excitement. >> definitely a lot of excitement going into the game. just stay focused, do what you do, i think we're going to have a win. the weather is certainly cooperating. let's head over to forecaster cinthia pimentel. looking good for this game day forecast. >> it looks pretty good for a sunday kickoff, even before the game people heading out to hang around in the parking lot. beautiful barbecue weather, whether you're there or staying

at home. temperatures will be in the low 70s at kickoff, 3:30, and we will be into a mild night in san jose once we do head out of levi's stadium. but before we make it there, we've got to get through today. overcast skies as a system passes us to the north. we're starting off in the 40s and 50s. we'll warm up to 62 in san francisco and oakland. 63 in palo alto. just a little more mild in the mid-60s down into the south bay. mike, what about the game day traffic? >> let's help out our friends from detroit. on your side on the peninsula, where it says san mateo, just above that, if you're from detroit, ask for directions to candlestick park. let's take this map to the rest of the local forecast. locals know we'll be down in santa clara for the game. those local road closures may start as early as noon. keep that in mind. we'll have a larger crowd and hopefully a few fewer lions fans. at the bay bridge, traffic is

showing fewer cars because it's friday. the metering lights are on at the toll plaza, there's no backup and a smooth drive. the toll plaza with just the beginning of the backup forming. back to you. happening today, a suspected carjacker allegedly seen on video abandoning a toddler is on the -- on the side of the road, that is, makes his first court appearance. ginger conejero saab is live for us this morning. this is a story that not only rattled parents, but just anyone who hears it. luckily, it has a good ending. >> reporter: that's true, marcus. very fortunate to have a good ending to this story. but it started out, oakland police say, with a carjacking in oakland. it started with a stolen car. but the thing is with that stolen car was the 2-year-old boy was still in it when it was actually carjacked. now, what happened after is really what has some people even more shocked than that, and you can see it for yourself. here is some surveillance video

from tuesday that shows the suspect pulling over in the stolen car in san leandro and dropping the toddler off on the street by himself before taking off. now, for more than 30 seconds that toddler wanders aimlessly alone before a bus driver stops to get some help. the police eventually reunite the toddler with his mother, but what happened has left a mark on those people close by. >> didn't surprise me about the carjacking, but it just surprised me that someone would actually drop a 2-year-old off here and just take off and leave him. >> reporter: according to authorities, the mother left her iphone and her air pods in the stolen car, which then helped police track it into marin county. the car was found empty in a mcdonald's parking lot located in strawberry, and marin county sheriff's deputies located the suspect. that person is 34-year-old viral

morari. he is now in custody. morari will be arraigned later this morning and face multiple charges, including carjacking, child abuse and kidnapping. again, very important, and very fortunate that this has a happy ending to it, and mother and son are reunited. >> absolutely. so happy that bus driver stopped and took care of that kid. thanks so much, ginger. 6:38 right now. new this morning, part of tiburon boulevard in marin, also known as highway 131, the closed as crews work to repair a sinkhole. the closure is impacting traffic at stewart drive. the sinkhole formed during the most recent storm. so far, there's no timeline on when those repairs will be finished. [ cheers ] and so it begins. the party has started as we head

into the weekend of the nfc championship. so things are getting started. this is a live look at the niners fan pep rally at the lot at city center bishop ranch in san ramon. fans gearing up for the championship game on sunday against the lions. bob redell is out there as well. he's letting us know, not only are the fans here for us, but they're going to be on the "today" show later this morning. we have much more ahead on the game. stick around for that. before we get to that, we've got to get a look at the forecast, which is shaping up to be a good one this weekend. >> it really is. good morning. we're going to start off by cheering some of our other bay area sports teams. how about coming down to the shark tank tomorrow afternoon in san jose? the skies will be pretty much overcast as we watch the storm system to our north. but temperatures not too bad, even reaching 68 degrees as the afternoon goes on. and we also have other kinds of events going on. maybe you're not into sports. that's okay. we have the chinatown lunar new

year bizarre taking place in oakland tomorrow. and i believe on sunday as well from 10:00 to 5:00. notice, also, we're going to keep those overcast skies and temperatures in the low 60s. south lake tahoe, i've been getting the itch to go to the slopes. if i weren't working, i would go there. overall the weekend looks nice, 40s and 50s, with a chance of seeing some snow showers tomorrow morning. otherwise, good day to get up there into the mountain. let's go over to mike. you're talking about a backup in richmond? >> this is predictable. we predicted this. over here we're looking at the backup. the larger truck, it takes a little more time to go in the stop and go. a bit through richmond. nice, big, normal commute for friday. lighter volume. it's just barely starting to form at the bay bridge. the rest of the bay shows a smooth, easy drive. if you're heading over the hill, maybe having a nice lunch on the santa cruz side, coming back on 17 may be an issue.

there will be work going on through the area coming into los gatos and you'll be down to one lane. there are only two in both directions. scott, you no he that. you're a local. coming up, the white house celebrating yet more good economic news. good morning, garvin. >> hey, scott. you know, six months out from you know, six months out from the paris games, we're going t look mom, i found one. oh, yeah, you did.

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good morning. it's 6:44. we've made it to the final friday in january and we're going to check in hercules. we're going to keep the overcast skies today, but it is a beautiful sunrise. i'm getting a glimpse of it from our live cams. temperatures will top out in the low 60s, but it will gradually get warmer, and there are more rain chances ahead. we'll talk about that in the microclimate forecast. in oakland, the high street high-rise doing the heavy lifting as the volume starts to build on the nimitz. no drama in the east bay. we'll talk about the build at the bay bridge toll plaza, because we're getting close to 7:00. the white house celebrating economic data showing fears of a recession were wrong. >> the american economy grew more than expected in the fourth quarter, really surprising even biden's own economists. >> we're going to talk to one in just a second. good morning. there are two major issues

republicans plan to hit biden with in the upcoming general campaign. the economy and the border. president biden was in wisconsin wednesday under a decaying bridge that will be rebuilt with funds from the bipartisan inflation reduction act. he announced $5 billion in fund to repair infrastructure and celebrated recent reports on bigger than expected jobs numbers and, of course, yesterday's surprising numbers on gdp. president biden pointed to bidenomics, a term that had started as an insult from republicans, but it's turned into one of his favorite words on stump speeches. i spoke with one of the president's top economic advisers who, let's be honest, was all too happy to spike the ball on such good news. >> we have inflation levels low, we have strong gdp growth. unemployment levels are low. we've had the longest stretch of unemployment below 4% in about

50 years. labor market participation is above where it was before the pandemic. overall there's a lot of people who have jobs, making more money than before, and this is all the news that looks very, very good. a record stock market as well, as mentioned, this takes away one of the arrows from the republicans' quiver. the other is the situation at the border. numbers have gotten better lately but this is legitimately a concern for many americans. congress says it's close to a deal that would restrict the number of people allowed to stay in america while they await court decisions on asylum, things democrats tend to oppose. but they're agreeing to it because they want congress to spend more money on ukraine. it's the best deal republicans have had in years. they may be in the minority in the senate. they've got democrats making a deal. nbc news, though, has talked to lawmakers behind closed doors who say they're getting huge pressure not to make the deal and it's coming from donald trump. don't improve border security

now if this could be a campaign issue in the fall. republican leader mitch mcconnell very frank with fellow lawmakers behind closed doors, according to people close to the conversation, saying there was great pressure from trump to kill the deal. fellow republican mitt romney very public, telling reporters the border is a very important issue for donald trump. the fact that he would communicate that he doesn't want us to solve the border problem because he wants to blame it on biden is really appalling. the border and immigration is a problem that congress rarely addresses. there hasn't been reform since 1987. what we're talking about isn't as big as what happened in '86. but it was a move forward on better securing that border, laura. >> thank you very much, scott. 6:48 right now. the 2024 paris olympics are now just six months away, and that means it's crunch time for olympic hopeful athletes.

>> "today in the bay"'s garvin thomas has been catching up with some of our local olympic hopefuls, including one athlete making the fourth olympic team. >> happy six months to the olympics day. i left your gifts under your desk. >> a beret? >> we're talking about lilly jong and show knows what it's like to be a young female in the sport, table tennis. at 12 years old, she was the youngest woman ever named to team usa. that was 15 years ago, and three olympics ago. she is now, of course, on the other end of the age and experience calculation. at age 27, she is attempt to go make her fourth olympic team. she grew up on the peninsula and trains these days in fremont. she says there have been times over the years when she's thought about stepping away from the sport, but she says she reminds herself of all the great experiences the sport has given her, the olympics being the top of that list. >> i think my favorite part is meeting the different athletes of different sports. usually when i go to international tournaments, it's so awesome meeting players from

different countries. but then in olympics it's like every single sport together, and you really get to learn so much about different disciplines and see what other athletes get to put in. it's just, like, an insane conglomerate of inspiration, i guess. everyone is so inspiring in their own discipline. >> i want my own insane conglomerate of inspiration. lily was a great sport and admitted off the bat that the media part of being an olympian really isn't her favorite, but she knows what it would have meant for her as a little girl to have someone like herself to look up to, so she puts up with it. >> representation matters. >> as for making the team, right now the highest ranked american gets a spot right away. lily is number two. but even if she doesn't do that, then they have olympic trials coming up in march and then there are two more spots that open up. and obviously this is somebody who knows what she's doing.

>> her odds are good. >> i have to say, isn't it fun watching the high level table tennis? >> it makes you think you can do it. >> it makes you think you can do it. we'll go over to the diner and find out later. >> i'll show you one with my baguette and brie. >> we are your insane conglomeration. >> inspiration, right back at you. >> getting up early, too. six months away for the olympics. >> so excited. >> and just a couple days away to the 49ers game. great weather. >> great weather. let's get you a check right now. we'll prepare and get you out the door. look at this beautiful sunrise. mike, you pointed this out to me and i just wanted to show it to everybody. beautiful skies over san jose. there are just a few clouds rolling around. they're not producing any rain. but there is a storm just to our north that is dropping a few sprinkles in the north bay.

overall it's going to keep us under overcast skies. stormranger, you see some activity up toward parts of marin and sonoma county. some of it might not be hitting the ground. now, as far as the rest of the day goes and into tomorrow, we're going to keep it mostly cloudy. there is a chance of seeing drizzle. i think the models are going to break this apart. overall it will be fairly light. just breaking apart as we get into game day sunday. beautiful, sunny skies, and overall temperatures climbing day by day. here is what's going to happen. today the skies will keep it in the cool 60s, mild 60s as you make your way into the tri-valley and san jose. as far as tomorrow and sunday, we're going to build temperatures up just a little by little. tomorrow we could be reaching 70s down in parts of the santa clara valley. as we go into sunday, it's going to feel like barbecue weather, early spring temperatures. we'll do 71 in oakland, 75 in

santa rosa, and we'll see those 70s continuing down into the south bay. but as we go into next week, we're going to put the sunglasses and short sleeves aside and get our umbrellas out. we do have a chance of seeing an atmospheric river as we go into tuesday and thursday. that's going to bring some gusty winds. the flooding is a little minor concern right now. still, want to prepare you for what's ahead. it could stay with us into possibly friday and saturday of next week. so overall enjoy the dry weather while we have it in our inland valleys. temperatures will be mild on sunday and then we prepare for more rain next week. mike, you're going to start with a check on the bay bridge toll plaza. >> yes, look at this. that car is going a little slower approaching the toll plaza. that's friday light. the metering lights have been activated for almost an hour, about 45 minutes now. a smooth flow of traffic on the approach through the maze. more slowing just barely, brake taps through berkeley and out of

richmond and for highway 4 through concord. a smooth flow with mild build for the south bay. back to you. it is 6:53 right now. happening now, alaska airlines and united airlines are getting ready to bring the boeing max 9 737 planes back into service. the planes were grounded earlier this month after a door panel blew off an alaska flight mid-flight. on wednesday, the faa gave the go-ahead to unground the planes. alaska says it's doing final inspections, and once those are completed and everything is resolved, the planes will fly again. it could happen as early as today. united airlines says its planes could be back by next week. bringing you the excitement this morning, faithful this morning, once again, proving everyone just how faithful they are. [ cheers ] >> you see it, you hear it. the fans are live this morning in san ramon, where fans got up extra early for a pep rally. and they are resting up, because this sunday it's coming.

ahead for you here on "today in the bay," we're going to head back out there one las

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6:57 this morning. welcome back. we are moving you forward to the kickoff for sunday's nfc championship game. >> let's just say the faithful are already roaring over the lions. >> let's go! >> let's go niners! >> this is a live look at the lot at city center bishop ranch in san ramon where fans got up extra early this morning. they've been having a pep rally since about 3:30 this morning. we've been watching them all morning long right here on

"today in the bay." you're going to see a lot more of this coming up on the "today" show as well as the national cameras are there. >> you know what time of year it is? that's right, baby, time to get a lombardi. we're going to spoke the lions and on to vegas. we need you loud. let's go get them! >> these 49ers are prepared, focused, and ready to bring it on. the quest is finally here. get out your seat, get energy, give love. >> i love it. >> he makes me want to get up and jump around. check out these photos as well from our pep rally this morning. it's been great. keep tagging us on twitter, showing off your game day gear. don't forget, bob redell and all the fans appearing on the "today" show, which is just moments away. >> don't forget this weekend, as

always, our teammates over at nbc sports bay area have you covered. pregame coverage is going to begin at 2:30 in the afternoon on sunday, and then be sure to tune in after the game for the postgame show from the locker room. >> it's shaping up to be good weather for the game. >> good forecast. overcast skies today and tomorrow, but then mild temperatures for sunday game day. >> all right, san mateo bridge builds volume, but there is a crash 880 at 92 that will slow you as you head south out of hayward. >> mike keeps telling the detroit fans to look for candlestick. >> thanks so much for joining us. good friday morning. we are following a developing story overnight. >> an unprecedented and controversial execution here in the u.s.. it is january 26th