reviews. kay says word-for-word copycats are exploding. checking to see if it's a dup duplicate is easy. copy the text, and paste it. google it. >> hunt for intel. >> our best advice is to take the time to look at multiple sources. >> check three, check the company's history. snap this qr code that will take you to a list of 4,900 businesses that yelp has flagged for suspected phonies. tip four from steve at the bbb, look for brand mentions. he says paid reviewers are known to drop brand names in the middle of the review. take your questions offline. >> you can call a company and ask them to verify these reviews. >> thanks, chris. well, right now at 6:00, bracing for the storm. new atmospheric river taking aim right at the bay area. meteorologist kari hall is tracking that timeline.

and breaking news in russia, where the leading opposition figure has suddenly died in prison. the unusual circumstances surrounding the death of alexei navalny. we're live in washington with a potential impact of the verdict. this is "today in the bay." good morning to you on this friday. i'm marcus washington. >> i'm laura garcia. let's start with a look at that forecast. kari is tracking another storm. >> yeah, we have not only one, but two storms coming in. the first looks weak, but will still give us additional rainfall as we go into the weekend, another storm on its heels. we're looking at a mild start to our day, temperatures in the upper 40s, low 50s. we're going to see a lot of clouds coming in. we do have today to prepare for that weekend rain, and we're going to also see a lot of clouds overhead. we're not looking at the rain to

move in until about tomorrow, but we are going to see active weather as we head into the weekend. so looking at what to expect, we are going to have temperatures going in san ramon from upper 40s to low 60s, and our hour-by-hour outlook shows that rain arriving first in the north bay late tonight, but then spreading across the bay area as we go into the day tomorrow. mike, you were looking at changes at the bay bridge. >> yeah, we're looking at more traffic coming in. the metering lights are not on, but may get turned on because i saw an accident reported on the span westbound near treasure island. look at that, the sensors started to slow down. there may be something going on near the treasure island on-ramp. we have highway 37 with a little slowing, highway 4 had slowing early, but it cleared into concord and there are no delays at all coming through much of the east bay. there's a new incident, a hazard southbound 17 around camden.

i'll check that out. >> thank you very much. don't forget you can keep track of what's going on with the weather from our website and our free nbc bay area app. that qr code on your screen will take you straight to our radar from your smartphone. the app is free to down load. breaking news out of russia this morning where prison authorities say leading opposition figure alexei navalny is dead. this is new video from yesterday where he was seen talking and joking via video link during the final court appearance. so far, there are no specific details on his cause of death, but authorities say that he recently became ill after a walk. navalny was always a vocal critic of vladimir putin, and in 2020, prior to his arrest, he nearly died after being poisoned. late last year he was transferred to a remote and what many consider unforgiving prison north of the arctic circle.

secretary blinken is says his death in the prison and the fixation and fear of one man only underscores the weakness and rot at the heart of the system that putin has built. russia is responsible for this, end quote. happening today, former president donald trump may be hit with millions of dollars in penalties stemming from a new york civil case where the judge ruled he inflated his fortune. >> this comes following a dramatic day in an atlanta courtroom involving the georgia district attorney prosecuting trump in the election interference case. "today in the bay"'s brie jackson is live in washington. trump's legal team insists that fani willis has an ethical conflict here. >> reporter: that's right. good morning, marcus, laura. in a contentious back and forth yesterday, fulton county d.a. fani willis acknowledged a personal relationship with the special prosecutor appointed to former president trump's election interference case in georgia and there are questions about whether that relationship began before or after her office

hired him for trump's case. today could be judgment day in new york for former president trump, a verdict is expected in his civil fraud trial. this after he was in court thursday in a separate case regarding hush money allegations. >> instead of being in south carolina and other states campaigning, i'm stuck here. it's an election interference case. nobody has ever seen anything like it in this country. it's a disgrace. >> reporter: meanwhile, the tables were turned in georgia where the fulton county district attorney, fani willis, took the witness stand. she acknowledged having a relationship with nathan wade, who she hired as a special prosecutor in georgia's election interference case against former president trump. there are allegations that she benefitted financially in the form of romantic getaways. >> i object to you getting records. you've been intrusive into people's personal lives. you're confused. you think i'm on trial. these people are on trial for

trying to steal an election in 2020. i'm not on trial, no matter how hard you try to put me on trial. >> reporter: defense attorneys described the relationship as a potential conflict of interest. legal experts also weighed in. >> this speaks at the heart of mrs. willis' integrity and credibility and her judgment making as a prosecutor. >> reporter: trump's defense team wants willis removed from the election interference case or the charges against him dismissed. >> this is getting ugly, it's getting messy, and my guess is it's not going to get better. >> reporter: a consequential week in the courtroom for the former president. and today we are expecting a decision in trump's civil fraud case. the former president faces a $370 million fine, and a lifetime ban from the real estate industry in new york. marcus and laura. >> always something new in all of these trials. we'll continue to follow. thank you so much. 6:06 right now. also happening today, a south bay man accused of shooting and critically injuring a san jose police officer is due in court

for a plea hearing. the shooting happened last summer. investigators say gabriele carreres attacked his wife and ambushed officers. she was shot and dragged to safety. she spent more than two months in the hospital. he was arrested after a long standoff. a follow-up to the mass shooting this week during the kansas city chiefs super bowl parade. two juveniles now in custody, and police say the shooting started as a fight as the rally wrapped up. now, the gunfire erupted at union station in kansas city on wednesday. sadly, one woman died, 23 people were also injured. the woman who was killed is lisa lopez-galvan, a deejay for a kansas city radio station and a mother of two. taylor swift donated $100,000 to the victims' gofundme. the next round of wet weather is not far away.

you may be thinking this is the perfect time to hit the slopes. >> the window is closing if you're hoping to get to tahoe in time to enjoy the extended holiday weekend. now, "today in the bay"'s cinthia pimentel is here for us this morning. so let's talk about those conditions out there. it's getting more and more challenging to get up there right now, right? >> yeah, it will be as the weekend goes on, laura and marcus. heavy snow is expected to fall in the sierra and many skiers and snowboarders want to capitalize on the three-day holiday weekend, plus what's known to many california families as ski week. so let's go ahead and take a live look at what's happening along interstate 80 at donner summit. no chain controls in effect for now. but that will likely change as this weekend, we have a couple of storms moving into the area. so with that heavy snowfall, i did want to go ahead and show you what is expected as far as snowfall. lake level, about 10 inches there, about 2 feet on higher elevations as we move through the timeline through about wednesday, and a winter weather

advisory goes into effect tomorrow morning. that's the blue you see on your screen. behind that, we'll have a winter storm watch on sunday afternoon through wednesday morning, which could get upgraded to a winter storm warning. so check back here with us throughout the weekend for the latest before you decide to leave. leave as early as you can today. it's a good window of opportunity. but tomorrow at noon could be too late, and then you get another small window as we go into sunday. but be prepared to be there for a couple of days. we spoke with resort consultant kevin cooper who says don't wait if your plans include heading to tahoe this weekend. >> we're going to have two storms coming in, that's going to impact the highways, 80, 50, 88, 104, 168 and highway 4. so have that road kit available and ready to go. give yourself plenty of time. leave the bay as early as possible to come on up. >> reporter: cooper adds that if you plan to head to tahoe this weekend, level set your expectations. it's going to be windy, so there

might be delays getting on and off the slopes. make sure you pack extra layers and pack the emergency tools and food just in case. now, caltrans officials are recommending checking road conditions before you go. yesterday we told you a story of drivers caught off guard by the treacherous conditions on wednesday night. we don't want that to happen to you and have to pay extra for chains or installment. practice putting chains on your tires if you've never done it before. the bay area is bracing for another round of wet weather and this may be a soaker. >> another atmospheric river is headed our way. kari joins us to explain what that means. >> think of an atmospheric river as a river in the sky. it can certainly bring as much moisture as the mississippi river, sometimes 15 times more. so as we see this common satellite imagery we have when we talk about storms coming our way, we have an area of low

pressure and it's drawing in all of the tropical moisture from the equator near hawaii, across the pacific and into the west coast. let's visualize this. so we see that plume of moisture coming across the ocean, and it's a narrow band, only at about 250 to 375 miles wide. but as we take a look at the height of it, it flows low across the ocean. only at about 10,000 feet high. and for reference, airplanes fly at 30,000 feet. as that low-moving band of moisture moves across the ocean and into our coastline, it meets up with the mountains, that wrings a lot of the moisture out of it. it's forced to rise. we see the heaviest rainfall happening along the coast line. as it moves toward the valleys, a lot of that rainfall is not as heavy. this is really important to california's water supply. it brings about half of our yearly rainfall. but in the process, it can cause flooding, as well as mudslides,

and that's why we talk a lot about them. we're always hearing you talk about it, but thank you for explaining what that means. over here we always talk about the bay bridge. it's the morning commute. look, the foreground and then also the background, those two areas show similar pacing for vehicles. the disabled vehicle is still reported inside the treasure island tunnel. it looks like it's bunching up, but that's an optical illusion. there is a little slowing on the sensors, the build happens anyway, and we're looking at the build for highway 37. nothing major here. but over the weekend we do not have this closure for south 680, as scott knows, they've had to plan for a couple of three-day weekends and they've got to push it ahead. >> it's a big road to kick the can down. coming up, some video you just absolutely need to see. let's go out to the futures this morning. we've got hotter than expected inflation numbers. you can see what that's doing to

the dow. got a spare million? you might know someone who does. a new list is out of the highest paid athletes in the world and one bay area superstar makes the t. can youcu

democrats agree. conservative republican steve garvey is the wrong choice for the senate. ...our republican opponent here on this stage has voted for donald trump twice. mr. garvey, you voted for him twice... as your own man, what is your decision? garvey is wrong for california. but garvey's surging in the polls. fox news says garvey would be a boost to republican control of the senate. stop garvey. adam schiff for senate. i'm adam schiff, and i approve this message.

good morning. very happy friday to you. we got the new data on inflation, producer price index,

and like the cpi earlier this week, it's hotter than we would like. the s&p 500 will open at a new record, but it will be setting another one at the close, that's for sure. the electric car company lucid lowering prices as tesla considers to drop its. most important thing you're going to see all day, a guy sitting in the clouds. you've seen computer generated video before, but this is not just some cg effect. the whole thing is fake. the man is fake. the man doesn't exist. it was created by ai. and it gets better. what you just saw is from a text prompt, show me a man sitting in the clouds reading a book. or show me a woman walking in tokyo. you just type it in and this is created. nothing you see in this picture is real. it's from a new ai program from openai called sora. this is a real person, a fellow who got scammed out of $8,000 by someone pretending on the phone

to be his credit union. corey tells me it was a perfect storm. he was rushing through the airport, his atm had been declined recently. one of the situations where he was caught off guard. >> the flight that i was going to catch, i was very late because the airport was in chaos. instead of having an hour or two, i had just minutes. it was just a bunch of things lining up exactly precisely in the right way for these fraudsters. >> the reason i'm telling you this story is because corey is an expert in hacking and cyber crime. he's giving a lecture here about fraud and hacking at the hacking conference, which means if somebody can fool corey into giving up his bank information, they can fool you, they can fool anybody. >> look, i've worked in digital human rights for more than 20 years with the electronic frontier foundation and a lot of that has to do with information security and security questions. i write best-selling science fiction novels about this and i'm in the middle of a trilogy,

the second book is coming out in ten days, about a forensic accountant in silicon valley who busts high-tech scams. >> the moral of the story is, tell people if you got scammed. tell your spouse, your parent, your adult children, whatever, and get a stop to it. don't be embarrassed. it happens to everyone. >> frightening. >> thanks so much. so everyone already knows steph curry is a baller, he's balling, and i'm not just talking about his job. how much money are we talking about? they recently ranked the top 100 highest athletes in the world, steph ranking seventh, earning $100 million last year. cristiano renaldo made $275 million, jon rahm cleared $203 million and the next are close, lionel messi, lebron james.

female, u.s. tennis star, coco governor did not track the top 100. she made $22 million. >> she's just scraping by. >> barely making it. well, here we go. weather-wise you can't pay for the weather we're having right now. it could be worse. >> i was just thinking back to a few years ago when we talked about the drought and when we had rain, it was just like, yay! it was millions of dollars, right? >> slow down. >> slow down a little bit. we're good. we have some more rain coming our way. and the ground is already saturated. so we're going to have the potential of much more rain, and when we get a lot of it coming over the course of several days, that may cause some issues. we're looking at at least one more day of dry weather. it's going to be cloudy and mild temperatures, in the mid to upper 60s. a stormy weekend ahead that

starts late tonight for the north bay and continues off and on through tuesday. all of this rain could cause some gusty winds, dangerous surf and the potential of flooding. here is a look at the system approaching with rain, right now to our north, and that's where it will stay for a little while. once the system comes in, it's going to draw in that tropical moisture we talked about as it taps into that tropical rainfall that gives it a lot more of a boost. we see higher rainfall totals when we have that type of setup. we're going to start to see rain coming in for the north bay as early as tomorrow morning, but then continuing off and on throughout the day. notice that it's not just widespread rain. it's going to be off and on. but the north bay will see a lot more likely throughout the day, happening throughout much of the afternoon into the evening, and then tapering off for a little bit on sunday morning. so we're looking at about an inch of rainfall, possibly closer to two inches of rainfall farther north, while most of us will get about a half to

three-quarters of an inch of rainfall. there's more ahead. a second storm system comes in late sunday night into monday. that may cause some more problems, as we get it lingering into monday, tuesday and early wednesday, that's when we may see the flooding concerns really start to stack up as rivers and creeks start to see water levels rising. and we could also have more downed trees. so take some time today to prepare for the potential that you could be without power for a while. we saw that with the last storm system and it will definitely be possible into early next week. mike, how is that friday commute going? >> it's going well. we do have a smooth drive, no backup at the bay bridge toll plaza, despite the fact that we had a disabled vehicle reported at treasure island. it has not been cleared from the chp report but it's not presenting any major issues. light build for 37 and maybe brake tapping as you head toward the richmond bridge toll plaza. the rest of contra costa county looks great, but there will be track work on b.a.r.t. systems, so the red line won't be

running. there's a bus bridge between the richmond and el cerrito, del norte stations. keep that in mind all holiday, including monday. 6:21 right now. growing outrage in one popular san francisco neighborhood over new transitional housing. coming up on "today in the bay," why neighbors believe someone dropped the ball in getting the word out and

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to care for all that is you. some merchants in the area

surrounding san francisco's north beach and chinatown are expressing outrage over a new plan to open a first of its kind supportive housing facility. mayor london breed previewed the site of what's being called a future sober living community that will sit at the site of north beach hotel. the new clinic will offer about 150 rooms for people in recovery from alcohol and drug addiction. the nearby merchants are feeling blindsided, saying they were never told about the plan. >> we can't have something like this in our neighborhood right now, because this can be that nail to our coffin. >> the idea we're bringing in a population that's going to be criminals is completely wrong. >> mayor breed now admits her people dropped the ball in letting neighbors know but supporters say the facility is critical as the city grapples with numbers of people who have

drug overdoses. the commission may finalize the plan as soon as april. cash strapped shoppers opening a new front in the war against inflation, buying more and more off-label products. these are the generic chain produced items that usually cost less than brand names and in some cases the frenzy is playing out on social media. one expert says younger generations feel less stigma in buying versions made by costco, safeway or target. this week target expands its line to more than 6,000 manufactured items. back to top stories, including boosting covid protections. the cdc may be ready to recommend another dose of vaccines. new details on how soon it may be available and the groups it's most likely to benefit. governor gavin newsom will be in the bay area later this morning with some big announcements that can help people make it in the bay. people make it in the bay. ai'll have more det

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to become pregnant, or are breastfeeding. for more information about side effects talk to your doctor. thanks, mom. be in your moment. ask your doctor about ibrance. a pfizer product. right now at 6:30, a new boost may be in the works for people trying to make it in the bay. the new proposal from governor gavin newsom due later this morning for more affordable housing. and we are bracing for the next big storm. meteorologist kari hall is tracking the timeline and impact on your holiday weekend plans. this is "today in the bay."

good morning and thanks for joining us. i'm laura garcia. >> and i'm marcus washington. first we want to take a live look for you this morning inside the santa clara county convention center. this is where everyone is going to be excited once they walk through those doors. whenever you see a lot of cars like these parked indoors, usually it means an auto show. and this one is no different. this one is a bay area favorite out there. silicon valley auto show returning starting today. so in about 15 minutes our own kris sanchez is going to break down the new cars and trucks turning heads. you might want to head indoors. let's check the forecast with meteorologist kari hall. she's tracking this incoming storm. >> the storm coming in will come in two waves. the first we'll see will be late tomorrow morning for the north bay and then continuing off and on into the afternoon. we're already seeing the clouds spreading across the bay area

and a wider view shows you what the storm system looks like as it draws in tropical moisture. that's when you have heavy rainfall. we're also going to see it churning up dangerous waves and breakers may reach anywhere from 18 to 22 feet this weekend. you'll want to stay well away from the coastline as we see the dangerous conditions. we are dry today but start out early tomorrow morning with the north bay getting some showers. and it continues to spread across the rest of the bay area and may get heavier as we go into the afternoon. we'll be tracking that and the next storm system. mike, you were telling me the metering lights are already on at the bay bridge. >> they're activated, but it's a friday. we'll see slowing build toward the left side of the screen over the next few minutes. no problem on the span. a little build for richmond toward the san rafael area, highway 37 and highway 4, mild friday slowing. this is in recovery, south 880, all lanes are finally clear. we had a crash in the center

divide and on the shoulder. it looks like there's clearing and recovery as you head south on the nimitz into hayward. >> thanks, mike. making it in the bay may be about to get a huge boost. there's a big announcement in the works from governor newsom. >> "today in the bay"'s ginger conejero saab is live in san francisco this morning. the governor will highlight new efforts for one project already seeing success in the bay area, right? >> reporter: marcus, laura, he will look to replicate the success as he makes some big announcements. he'll announce the latest round of home key awards this morning. if you're not familiar with project home key, project room key may sound more familiar. you'll remember that pass part of california's response to the pandemic and it focused on creating shelter options for people experiencing homelessness. that evolved during the pandemic. project home key builds on that

progress, and there have been two rounds of home key. today governor newsom will announce how we can expect it to transform office spaces, hotels and other buildings across the state into housing options. last year more than $730 million in grant funding were made available to cities, counties and other local public entities. we'll wait to see what the numbers look like for 2024. and as the governor highlights project home key, he is changing his tune a bit about a promise on tiny homes specifically made in san jose. instead of delivering 200 prebuilt tiny homes to the city, he is sending money instead, a $12 million check for the city to do it themselves. now, san jose city leaders say that is not enough and they will have to fill the $5 to $10 million gap in order to build the homes themselves. the units are slated for land next to the vta's work yard and it's part of the city's plan to

build more than $1,400 temporary beds for transitional housing. we'll see if the governor will touch on that later this morning. he will be in oakland at 11:00 and we'll bring you the latest updates on air and online. >> sounds good. we'll check back with you. 6:33 right now. police are crediting observant neighbors with helping bust an alleged brothel operating out of one east bay home. that home located in san leandro. so surveillance video from a nearby home showing officers there this week conducting a raid after obtaining a search warrant. 60-year-old jianhua chen was arrested. police say they launched surveillance after neighbors reported unusual suspicious activity. we spoke with one of those neighbors who called it a constant string of cars over the past year. >> it was scary, because some people would wander around looking for the address. i talked to a couple of them, hey, who are you looking for? they could never -- oh, i'm looking for a friend.

>> that suspect chen is now in custody facing multiple charges. his first court hearing is scheduled for later this month. 6:34 right now. and new this morning, new hints the cdc may be ready to recommend another covid booster shot as soon as this spring. the new booster would be another dose of the same vaccine already approved last fall, which only about two in ten americans received. but it's believed to be effective against the subvariant linked to most current infections. people over 65 or with weakened immune systems would likely be recommended to get it. a final decision by the cdc is expected in two weeks with the idea of making it available sooner rather than later. let's take a live look outside in san francisco this morning. this is where lunar new year events are in full swing celebrating the year of the dragon. so the city's chinese new year parade is going to take place next weekend, starting a little before 2:00 p.m. today the students at strafford school in the richmond district will celebrate.

that event is going to include student performances and a fashion show. meteorologist kari hall is always in fashion, and up to date on what's going on with the weather. what do they need to wear as they're going to the fashion show? >> it's not a bad day. we're just going to have clouds overhead and usual temperatures. we'll start out in the low 50s for the start of the day, into the low 60s for the afternoon. but in millbrae, the lunar new year festival happening tomorrow may be a bit soggy, as our temperatures will hold steady in the mid to upper 50s. we are going to see some waves of rain coming in. it's going to be off and on. you might want to check out an indoor activity like the sharks game on saturday. it's going to start out with upper 50s as well. but some times of rain as you head in and out of the s.a.p. center. we also have the earthquakes 50th anniversary block party on sunday evening in san pedro square market. we're going to see heavy rain

coming in late sunday evening so a heads-up that you want to stay under the shelter. if you're taking a ride along the coastline, not bad today with 60s and cloudy skies. we are going to see off and on rain throughout the weekend and stay well away from the water throughout the weekend as we see some big waves coming in up. we'll talk more about the rain in our forecast. mike has been tracking where you can fill up for a little less. >> maybe they're heading out of town, if you're waiting to gas up and heading to socal, do it before you leave the bay area. gilroy, it's higher there, $4.37, the arco on the cutover between 152. no whoin whining in sonoma coun. it's $4.19 at the valero on sonoma highway. if you stay around the bay,

check concord. they continue to dominate the list of the best. $3.65, this time valero on willow pass road. this is through gasbuddy.com. the roadways, a smooth friday commute. we do have recovery over on 880 off the nimitz and 680, no need for recovery. there will be no closure this weekend. it's called off due to that rain kari has been talking about. the forecast means no road work. back to you. >> the second time they've had to postpone it. i like all your puns, mike. 6:37 this morning. the tale of two cities when it comes to the a's. coming up on "today in the bay," the new details emerging about their future home in vegas amidst talks to extend their stay at the coliseum. blockbuster changes in the accusations against hunter biden. out to the big board, we got an overly hot inflation report again and the dow is suffering because of it.

i'm kris sanchez at the silicon valley auto show, and i've been really inspired by kari hall's climate in crisis coverage, so i'm thinking of going electric. how about an electric porsche for just $200,000? i'm getting one for kari hall's little son, who is a motor head. he's getting a less expensive one, $100,000. we'll show you the features and some of the incentives that might make you want to buy, even if you're going the practical round. we're moving you forward with our school shout-out series. today's comes from a cal high class. >> this is ninth grade health at cal high. >> good morning, bay area! >> good morning to you as well. we would love to see students you know take part. email us your

the economy is simply not working for millions of hard working families. they're working harder than ever and they still can't make enough to get by to afford food and medicine to even keep a roof over their heads. we need to build more housing that's truly affordable. we need to address this terrible epidemic of homelessness. we need to invest in good paying jobs, union jobs and investments in our future. this, this is why i'm running for the us senate. i'm adam schiff and i approve this message.

happy friday morning. take a look at this sunrise over san jose, as we wake up and head out. right now it's 6:42. we are seeing some clouds overhead and a lot of clouds throughout the day. temperatures go from low 50s to upper 60s, temperatures will be mild as rain holds off until tomorrow. we'll get a look at the timeline of the rain and how to plan around it coming up in a few minutes. this is pretty to me, no backup at the bay bridge toll

plaza. a light, easy start. this is going on all weekend, no b.a.r.t. service starting saturday through monday, richmond to el cerrito, del norte. they're doing maintenance on track work between the two stations. 6:42 right now. a follow-up on the a's move to las vegas and word of new stadium renderings. the las vegas review reports the sketches involve the same property where the future stadium is now expected to open, on the grounds of the tropicana hotel now slated to close in april. but the renderings have not been released and the financing plan is still taking shape. it comes as team leaders yesterday held new talks with east bay leaders about extending the coliseum lease past the end of the season. both sides call the talks productive. a blockbuster in washington. the fbi arrested its own informant for lying about the bidens. >> scott mcgrew joins us now.

this was the witness who told the fbi hunter biden will conspired to commit some crimes. >> and it turns out to be a lie. a claim that was quickly scooped up by the republican committee trying to impeach biden, but the fbi says it was all lies. the man, alexander smirnov, made wild claims claiming the ukrainian energy company burisma paid joe biden millions of dollars. none of it is true according to the indictment released late thursday. the fbi has always been suspicious of smirnov. a lot of people come forward to the fbi claiming a lot of things. so his claims never really gained any traction with law enforcement, partially because, according to the indictment, much of it was disprovable. but the republican-led house oversight committee got its hands on some of those claims made to the fbi and ran with them. senator chuck grassley at one point reading the claims into the record without naming the witness. those claims now disproven, the

man who made the claims arrested. the same special counsel prosecuting hunter biden is the one who brought charges against smirnov. other news, the prosecutor going after donald trump in georgia testified about herself thursday. fani willis accused of an inappropriate relationship with one of her fellow prosecutors on her payroll. so whether they had a relationship and when that relationship started is the question the judge is trying to figure out. so she can decide if willis should be replaced as a prosecutor in the trump election interference case. here is a bit of testimony with a good helping of southern euphemism. >> my question was, you had the place you laid your head. >> when? >> has he ever visited you at the place you laid your head? >> let's be clear because you've lied, let me tell you which one you lied in. i think you lied right here. no, no, no, this is the truth. it is a lie.

>> it's a big day for donald trump. one of the biggest, because today he'll learn if he'll ever be allowed to do business in new york state ever again, and whether he'll have to pay as much as $370 million for defrauding banks. this trial was never about a verdict. that was done. the judge in the case had already decided trump, his sons and companies lied to banks to secure loans. today's decision is what to do about the sentence. a lot of questions, whether or not trump can afford not just the $370 million fine, if that's what it ends up being, his legal costs are mounting. he spent $50 million in donor money last year on lawyers, and the four criminal cases haven't gotten under way yet. the congressional committee that decides such things says nikki haley should get secret service protection early as threats pour in. and we're now 14 days until the government runs out of money. congress has two weeks to do something. well, they would if they were

there. they went home, marcus, for the next 11 days. >> they do have an extra day because it's a leap year. one extra day. thanks, scott. all right, so happening this weekend, car enthusiasts, listen, because it is your time. buyers are now on the market for new cars as well, they are flocking to the south bay. >> an old favorite is returning, the silicon valley auto show. "today in the bay"'s kris sanchez is live there this morning. a lot of buzz, i would imagine, at least later today. oh, you're in front of some nice porsches there. >> reporter: you know, i'm a practical kind of gal, but i'm not going to lie, i might change my mind. you see these porsches behind me, these are electric. so kind of practical. $200,000, $100,000, this one is regular gas. so a place to be inspired. you'll also see some vehicles that maybe you haven't seen before. this lexus is brand new. this is pretty new as well. we have brian moody here from

autotrader. what are some of the new features we're looking at? >> there's a lot of interesting features on new cars, safety equipment, for one thing. things that look around your car. also lane departure not only warning, but will correct you and put you back in the lane. this lexus gx, part of a new trend of boxy. boxy is cool. my kids say no one wants a round car. boxy is cool. it's a luxury car, but there is practicality involved and it has a three-row and it also has excellent offroad ability and they ditched the large engine. now it makes due with a turbocharge that gets better fuel efficiency. >> fuel efficiency definitely top of mind. that's what you need if you're going to have a bigger engine. >> what they're doing is some of the technology that you asked about is the things like the engines and transmissions, it's not that sexy to talk about all

the time. but this has a ten-speed transmission, which means it can make better use of the power it has, better fuel economy, but without any loss of performance. >> let's take a walk over this way. i know that fuel efficiency is one thing, electric, a lot of folks wanting to go electric and looking for more options. this is a new electric vehicle here, this copper colored one. so you have electric in all ranges. we saw the porsche. >> we can talk about $100,000 electric cars all day long. this is a nissan aria, nowhere near $100,000. this would start in the $50,000 range. family friendly, nice interior bull fully electric. this is called a battery electric vehicle. when you see bev, that means it's fully electric, no gas whatsoever. >> reporter: a good place to come and get educated. you cannot buy a car here, but you can come and ask all of those questions without the high pressure sales tactics and

whatnot. you can also learn more about a lot of the incentives. so maybe you're thinking i want to be practical and buy a used car, but for some of these vehicles there's so many in dentives being offered that it might make sense to buy a new vehicle over a used vehicle, because you are getting cash from the manufacturers toward your ultimate deal. this is running all weekend long. and, by the way, you know i like a deal. kids are free, under 12, with the purchase of one adult. so come on out. >> we're going to have a new segment called kicking the tires with kris. >> they're, like, get that lady out of here. watch the paint. >> kris talked about matte finishes being the thing. my car often has a matte finish. [ laughter ] don't wash your car just yet. mother nature will help you out a lot this weekend. we're going to see quite a bit of rain coming our way.

we are dry today. so just ride around with a dirty vehicle one more day. we're going to see a partly to mostly cloudy sky, temperatures in the upper 40s to low 50s. let's talk about all the clouds that are rolling in. we are seeing the rain to our north and this one, as we can tell, that moisture coming from the hawaiian islands across the pacific, that classifies it as an atmospheric river. but it is a weak one. we're not expecting any major problems, at least out of this first round of rain. and it first starts in the north bay at about 1:30 this morning -- or tomorrow morning, and then we go into the day with it spreading across the bay area. notice that there will be some breaks and it may take a while before it takes it to the tri-valley or santa clara valley. we're going to see off and on rain throughout the evening into saturday, but then a brief break on sunday morning. we're looking at most of our rainfall totals from the golden gate bridge on southward, about half of an inch of rain, to

three-quarters of an inch of rain, and over an inch for much of the north bay. going into late sunday night into monday, another storm system coming in. this one looks a little stronger, with some gusty winds and off and on heavy rain that continues off and on into monday as well as tuesday. once we get several days of rainfall, that's when we start to see those problems coming up with issues of flooding, rivers and creeks rising, downed trees, all of that possible going into the beginning of next week. and then hopefully after that we'll have a chance to dry out as the next storm system heads farther south. looking at a busy weekend with some waves of rain, and also some gusty winds most likely late sunday into presidents' day, lingering into tuesday, and not much of a change in our temperatures into next week. mike, you were looking at a bigger backup in the east bay. >> the richmond bridge, not unusual to have a backup. a smooth drive throughout contra costa county, typical spots,

typical friday light. recovery for 880, typical slowing through hayward and a reminder that 680 will not be closed this weekend. they have called off that weekend closure. that means it will be somewhere ahead. they'll let us know. back to you. it is 6:52. happening now, a former ucsf administrator will spend the next year and a half behind bars for stealing student tuition payments. sandra le is a former program officer for ucsf's nursing school. four months ago she pleaded guilty to stealing nearly $2 million in student tuition payments. authorities say she used the money for gambling, home improvements and other expenses. a judge sentenced her to 20 months in prison. she's also required to pay back all of that money. a last look at our top stories, including new help for those hoping to make it in the bay. governor gavin newsom will be in the bay area later this morning. his new promise for more affordable housing. plus, a new storm taking aim at the bay area.

we're tracking the timeline for you. keep it right here meteorol.og

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welcome back. we are moving you forward with a look at our top stories on "today in the bay," including the promise of new affordable housing. >> governor newsom will be in oakland later this morning to talk about the expansion of project home key, which addresses housing and homelessness in california. the project has already led to more than $700 million in funding statewide and at least 12,000 additional permanent and interim homes. future funding is likely focused on converting vacant buildings into housing. also happening today, a south bay man accused of shooting and critically injuring a san jose police officer is due in court for a plea hearing.

the shooting happened last summer. investigators say he attacked his pregnant wife and then ambushed responding officers. that's when one officer was shot and her partner dragged her to safety. then she spent more than two months in the hospital. carreras was arrested after a long standoff. observant neighbors helped bust an alleged brothel. 60-year-old jianhua chen was arrested. neighbors reported unusual, suspicious activity. the suspect is now in custody, facing multiple charges. his first court hearing is scheduled for later this month. a live look along interstate 808 at donner summit and the snow now bearing down on the bay area will bring heavy snowfall in the sierra. if you're headed up there, the

window is officially open. the winter weather advisory goes into effect tomorrow morning. a closer look at home where we can expect higher surf this weekend. here is a live look in pacifica where waves right now are not too bad. this weekend they may top 6 feet. meteorologist kari hall has been tracking the timeline for us of when the storm is going to come in. >> 18 to 22 foot breakers. it's going to be a lot bigger than 6 feet. i think 6 feet is, like, normal. it's going to be a lot this weekend. we are going to also see some waves of rain, gusty winds that continue through presidents' day. so keep checking back in for updates. talk about presidents' day, this three-day weekend, lighter traffic. it's especially light. san mateo bridge looks great right now. no major problems across the span. no major problems across the bay. richmond-san rafael bridge has more traffic backup here than at the bay bridge.

it will continue to build, and of course the getaway traffic will kick in about midday and then the storm comes in and the conditions will be a factor. >> i keep forgetting it's a three-day weekend. we'll be here for you. and the "today" show is just ahead but we continue "today in the bay" on roku and other streaming platforms. watch our 7:00 a.m. newscast next on nbcbayarea.com or our smartphone app. >> great stuff, so make sure you join us. that does it for us on nbc bay area. we take a live look at pacifica. have a great friday. good friday morning. we're following developing news out of russia. >> yeah. one of vladimir putin's biggest rivals now dead. it is february 16th. this is "today." alexei navalny, the long-time