new this morning, it is the busiest travel day of the year. just ahead, the body scan protest that could snarl lines and tips to ease congestion at the airport. >> reporter: prepare for a shock to your system as you step out to grab that morning paper. it's cold out. freezing cold. i'm bob redell. i'll tell you what you can expect. it's november 24th, indeed a chilly day before thanksgiving, today in the east bay. from nbc bay area, reporting what matters to you, this is "today in the east bay." good morning, everyone. i'm scott mcgrew. it's 4:30.

let's start with rob doing double duty. he has your hour-by-hour forecast and your time-saving traffic. >> good morning. speaking of the east bay some of the coldest temperatures around the bay area right toward the tri-valley. you can see livermore 32 degrees. a couple more hours of cooling on the way could hit upper 20s around the east bay. 33 in concord and currently in oakland we're looking at 37 degrees. view of 880 this morning, not a lot of wind but it is certainly chilly. maybe even cold enough for some deicing operations at our local airports. freeze warning up for the north and east bay valleys. frost advisory for the inner east bay including oakland and richmond. you can see the pattern here, big drop in the jetstream pushing in this canadian air so not only are we seeing a cool start, afternoon temperatures will have a tough time warming up. close to 50 for a high around livermore, 52 for dublin, oakland and richmond seeing highs in the low 50s and about the same story as you head out to contra costa county into the

delta, you'll see highs only in the low 50s. we'll show you just how long this chilly weather and frosty conditions will be sticking around in your seven-day forecast in a minute. east shore freeway, the drive times normal as you expect. 61 miles per hour. the rest of the east bay, 880 looking pretty good but you'll want to reduce your speeds this morning. i know you're seeing 70s as you head towards hayward. reduce your speeds for the possibility of patchy ice on the roadways. towards the altamont pass, travel times right on schedule, 64 miles an hour. highway 4, one of the spots we see slowing typically in the morning, right now traffic moving freely in both directions. we'll watch your weather and traffic both being affected by that patchy frost and ice this morning. back to you. new this morning, a fire chief is warning eight fire stations in contra costa county could close if voters don't approve a new parcel tax next year. the board of supervisors -- the

contra costa fire protection district is staring at a $11.5 million deficit in the next budget. the district service 14 communities, including pleasant hill, walnut creek and concord. speaking of concord the city will spend half a million dollars to rewrite zoning laws. those rules have not been changed since 1953. at the time the city had a population of 36,000. it now has more than 150,000. the city hopes to have the project finished by the end of next year. today is expected to be the busiest day of the year travelwise as people head out for thanksgiving along with the usual hassles and headaches. this year there's a controversy. the new tsa screening rules. a protest today to choke the system. kristen dahlgren reports from chicago's o'hare, one of the nation's busiest. >> reporter: for many on the way

to grandma's this year is a detour, straight to the debate. body showing canners or new patdowns that leave nothing to the imagination. most are okay with the additional screening. >> it's just the world we live in. i'd rather be safe that sorry. >> reporter: but a loosely organized movement encouraging passengers to opt out of the scanners today, forcing the tsa to do more hands-on patdowns could jam up the system on one of the busiest days of the year. >> i want it to get attention and educate folks. >> reporter: but for the government that has agreed to do fewer random patdowns, the point remains from the shoe bomber to the alleged underwear bomber and recent attempts to hide bombs in air cargo, planes are still a target. >> my concern is that these people who opt out will cause other people who just want to get home to miss their flight. >> reporter: for 42.2 million americans, home for the holidays means hitting the road this

year. that's up 11.4%. while drivers may avoid getting up close and personal with the tsa -- >> i have a lot of personal space issues, so i think that i would really dread having to get patted down. >> reporter: new holiday trips will be without lines, from traffic jams to baggage checks and now the fine one which security and privacy. kristen dahlgren, nbc news, chicago. >> the tsa is hoping an iphone app will help ease holiday congestion. a free program called "my tsa" lets users fill in the blank to see if they can use various objects or take them through check points. it also lists wait times at security lines at airports throughout the united states. it's available through the store on itunes. get ready for a rush on bart as well. the transit system anticipating

64,000 people will take advantage of its direct train to plane connecticut today through monday. this will be the highest number of people riding the airport line since sfo started the station in 2003. bart will run longer trains today as well as on sunday. from planes and trains to automobiles, the cold weather could cause some slick spots along east bay roadways. bob redell is live in pleasanton. bob, you were leaving as i was coming in. i was in shirt sleeves, you were in a parka. to you it's very cold. to those of us born in nebraska, not so much. >> reporter: my brain was on and maybe yours was in stand by mode. here we go. it is a little early in the season to be seeing our breath like this and wearing gloves. we do have freezing temperatures out here in the tri-valley. i'm off 580 where it's definitely 32 degrees, possibly even slightly lower, listening to rob mayeda. as you zoom in, you can see the

brake lights heading eastbound on 580 and those cars will be crossing the altamont pass. a lot of cars today as they try to get out of town for the thanksgiving holiday. the altamont being upper elevation, there is a chance of black ice up there. we crossed the sunol grade back and forth this morning, no plaque iblack ice there. another place to keep an eye on is highway 17. if you're heading to santa cruz from bear creek road all the way south to the summit, there's this icy roads advisory and that's in part because as you're well aware the santa cruz mountains do get a lot of rain. there could be a lot of runoff coming down 17 which would of course have the black ice, the ice you really can't see but it's there and it does affect you. if you're wondering about this frost advisory rob was mentioning earlier, it is in effect until 9:00 this morning, which means you can expect temperatures like this well

through the commute. as you're getting into work, you're going to want to -- if you are fortunate or unfortunate to be working this morning you'll want to bundle up. do you think it's going to end? no, the forecasters are calling for it to restart tonight and into tomorrow morning, thanksgiving morning. reporting live here in pleasanton, bob redell. >> all right, bob, stay warm. new this morning, families fled a south korean island overnight after north and south korea exchanged fire along the disputed border. these pictures taken on the island shortly after the attack. buildings severely damaged. two south korean marines were killed. overnight evacuees, civilians, were ferried to the mainland. in seoul the government says it will suspend red cross aid to the north. it had been helping flood victims devastated by the year's severe weather. korean americans here in the bay area checking on loved ones back home concerned that the

attack may trigger more than one battle. euna lee said she believed they would execute her for crossing the border but the u.s. secured her release. she's hoping her suffering will lead to political progress. she's now afraid north korea's military tack is shattering that opportunity. >> our ordeal, i was hoping that there would be more conversation between the u.s. and south korea and north korea, and this kind of action will close the door for future conversations so i was very sad. >> her family is in korea. she plans to return to the region to finish her story about human trafficking. a tracy man will soon learn his punishment for torturing a central valley teen. a jury found anthony waders

guilty of torture, kidnapping and false imprisonment. the emaciated teen escaped in december of 2008 wearing only boxer shorts and a shackle across his ankle. his two neighbors who own the home where the imprisonment took place will be sentenced to prison next month. oakland police want your help finding two men who sexually assaulted three roommates. it started saturday night as one woman walked home from the west oakland bart station. the victim says two men approached her at gun point near 11th and market, sexually assaulted her and forced her to take them to her apartment. once inside, the men reportedly sexually assaulted and robbed the woman's two roommates. police are hoping the public will become aware of the attack and investigators will get the

tips they need to catch the two men responsible. an east bay community keeping an eye out for a mountain lion. pleasanton police say a dead deer discovered on bush road at the eastern edge of the city, they determined a mountain lion killed the deer. previous sightings have been reported in the general area between moore and the open space behind the city. the time now is 4:41. let's check with rob who has both traffic, weather and sports this morning. >> yeah. we'll be watching that sports later on. i do have the clickers for traffic and weather this morning. we've got 30s all around, good enough for patchy ice in a few spots. maybe not oakland where it's 37 degrees, but take a look at concord. we're down to 33 degrees. livermore not too far away from where bob redell is reporting live this morning. 32 degrees. we've got a little ways before sunrise. dew points in the mid and upper 20s out in the tri-valley. that is the temperature the air will try to cool towards as we approach sunrise so there's a

good bet we'll see upper 20s out by livermore this morning. speaking of freezing, a freeze warning is up for the north and east bay valleys through 9:00 this morning. frost advisory around the inner east bay through 9:00 as well. you can see we've got cold air diving down the coast. no rain today or tomorrow but we have chilly afternoons ahead. you can see highs today near 50 in livermore after temperatures should bottom out in the upper 20s. low 50s if you're thinking about heading to the coast. 53 richmond, 52 half moon bay and inland temperatures near fairfield only near 50 degrees. so we'll see another round of these freezing temperatures likely again tomorrow morning. friday and saturday increasing clouds. the next chance of rain probably holding off until midday on saturday. so let's see how your morning commute is looking. we'll take you up toward solano county, interstate 80 as you head to fairfield. one of the gateways if you're heading to the sierra. travel times looking pretty good.

east shore freeway still okay, 60 miles per hour. we'll see how that holds up the rest of the morning. 880 right now patchy slowing in a few spots around oakland, 580 as well as you get away from oakland. the altamont pass, things looking good in both directions. look out for patchy ice as you head up to those higher elevations around the altamont pass this morning. back to you. well, coming up, going to the grocery store today, bring some extra cash. why the holiday will cost you more this year. and the upside to the tsa patdown. you get a free apple gift giveaway. reporting what matters to you, you're watching "today in the east bay" with scott mcgrew, and traffic with mike inouye. 3q

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you're looking at a live picture of the bay bridge. do be careful today, you see the temperatures there. those are the highs. they're talking about ice in certain places, so we'll talk about that more in just a second. meanwhile, get ready for a rumble in oakland. world boxing association's super middle weight champ, andre ward, and contender, will hold their final news conference before their fight on saturday. ward will be defending his title at the oracle arena. the news conference will be at the arena at 11:30 this morning

and is open to the public. when children are bored at a coffee shop or laundromat, teachers hope they'll read a book. a new program kicked off in richmond that keeps several local businesses stocked with books. they can read them on site, take them home, keep them, trade them. the organizers don't carere. the idea is to promote reading. walnut creek swimmers frustrated the clark swim center is closed for emergency work. competitive swimmers say although lock although a pool was opened as a result, it makes it difficult. rob is joining us, he's doing both weather and traffic. there is the potential for ice out there. >> you'll want to reduce your speeds this morning. no rain to talk about.

32 in livermore. some of that rain we had yesterday, if it just stayed on the sides of the road overnight, it will have iced up in many spots around the bay area this morning. 37 in san jose, 33 in gilroy. here's the pattern we've got. it's a classic case of canadian air conditioning. we've got cold air dropping down out of the north. frost and freeze warnings likely this morning and again thanksgiving morning. then the weather may turn a little interesting as we head into saturday. we'll see a weather system bring some rain starting saturday morning. if enough of this cold air stays trapped, we may briefly see a little snow up towards the north bay but this is not until saturday. so between now and friday, the only travel concerns will be that patchy ice we could see in a few spots the next couple of mornings. the high today running quite cool. 53 in san jose. in the north bay highs in the 40s and 50s. your seven-day forecast looks dry. easy in terms of no rain or snow to talk about for your getaway

travel bus patchy ice could be a little bit of an issue. speaking of travel, let's take a look at the maps this morning. there's the sierra snow. look at that, interstate 80 right now, still chain controls up there so we'll have a closer look at that report coming up. as we show you some of the traffic, back to the east bay, east shore freeway still looking pretty good. travel times 61 miles an hour. up around oakland, 51 miles per hour as you get over towards highway 24. as we take you to the altamont pass, 64 miles per hour. here take a look at highway 4. travel times there looking pretty good as we're seeing speeds pick up. not a lot of volume this early in the morning, but you may find a little patchy ice, something we'll be watching as we go throughout the morning. take a look at this, snow piling up in the sierra. i-80 at truckee. i believe we have video of that. if not -- there it is. okay, a lot of snow. motorists making their way up the mountain.

it's going to be tough for travelers hoping to hit the slopes this holiday weekend. so there you be. >> talking about those storms up in the sierra. we've had two big storms which have dropped between four to seven feet of snow on the mountain. that snow may have stopped for now but it's left behind snow drifts, slick roads and a lot of ice on the roadways. mike has more on the rocky and slow road to tahoe. >> reporter: hello at the 5,000 foot level here in the sierra. you can see travel not so good for some trucks. they are still waiting for conditions to improve. one of the issues we're having is even though we got light, fluffy snow tonight, it's underneath that snow is ice, hard-packed ice, and that is what it is like on the interstate. even though interstate 80 is open for anyone trying to travel tonight into tomorrow morning, temperatures will be very cold. underneath all this fluffy snow, all this stuff that skiers and

snowboarders love, underneath there is hard-packed ice so we have seen throughout the afternoon and into this evening multiple people spinning out. if you're coming up, take it very slow. the highway patrol said it's going to be slick throughout the night into tomorrow. anyone planning holiday travel take it slow. >> all right, mike. if you hit the malls instead for holiday shopping, you'll likely hear the greeting "merry christmas" more than "happy holidays." the national retail federation doesn't formally advisory tailers on whether they should use the word "christmas" but 91% of them plan to celebrate christmas and say christmas compared with 5% of shoppers who are searching for hannukah gifts, 2% plan to celebrate kwanzaa. many major retailers say they don't have formal policies, but this year hannukah and christmas are widely separated. hannukah at the start of december, christmas at the end

of december. not as many retailers will be offering mail-in rebates on black friday this morning. the number of black friday promotions has dropped about a third from a few years ago. instant rebates at the cash register seem to be the most popular with consumers followed by those redeemed online. toys r us, j.c. penney among those using mail-in rebates. mountain view-based mobile app maker looped will give away ten ipod touches to travelers who get touched by the ts affiliaa on the busiest travel day of the year. you have to check in at the airport using looped with a smartphone or ipod touch and push that message to twitter, touched by the tsa. the number of food manufacturers, including butterball, have agreed to use

less salt in their products, part of the national campaign against high blood pressure. so far 22 companies have signed on to cut salt in packaged food by a quarter. they include snyder's of hanover, twinkies and wonder bread. cutting salt could prevent tens of thousands of deaths each year. are you joining millions of americans for a last-minute trip to the grocery store? bring some extra cash. tracie potts says the average price for a turkey dinner is up a bit over last year. >> reporter: hitting the grocery store late? don't be surprised if tom turkey costs more than you thought. >> feed corn prices are up over 50% over the past year causing kind of a pullback in turkey production. >> reporter: the food institute reports turkey prices are up 30% over last year, but the american farm bureau says they're actually cheaper. >> since you're only buying a turkey once a year or twice a year, you don't really pay attention to that, per se. >> reporter: the farm bureau's

average price for your thanksgiving spread, $4.35 per person, up 1.3% over last year. expect to pay more for cranberries, sweet potatoes and the fixings for pumpkin pie. sticker shock may cause some shoppers to rethink their menus. >> canned vegetables appear to be a pretty good buy so that might be a way to save money. >> reporter: but shoppers tell us they'll only sacrifice so much. >> i don't think our family is going to forego the turkey because they're a little more expensive this year. >> reporter: unless it's these turkeys. they'll be officially pardoned by president obama today. in washington, tracie potts, "today in the bay." and brent cannon joins us. brent, they pardon one turkey and end up eating one as well. >> they do. >> don't be turkey two. >> you're very nervous if you're the other guy. >> what have you got today? >> coming up this morning, scott, we just got word that two

people have died in their monterey county home overnight. the fire department is saying their gas heater may have played a role. it is a concern in these cold temperatures. coming up we'll talk with the alameda county fire chief about some of the simple steps you can take to avoid this disaster. plus a controversial rule change that could put child predators closer to your children. see our investigation and find out what you can do to protect your family. those stories, plus a special look ahead at a thanksgiving tradition in just a few more minutes on "today in the bay." back to you, scott. be careful when you head out on the road this morning. our cold temperatures could cause slippery roads. bob redell is live with some pointers. >> reporter: good morning, scott. we're right along 580 here in pleasanton. there is a frost advisory in effect for the entire bay area through 9:00 this morning. our own meteorologist, rob mayeda, has been reporting there is the possibility of black ice

on the roads that run through the upper elevations like on the altamont pass which is right over my shoulder as you head eastbound on 580 which will be a main gateway for people heading out of town for this thanksgiving holiday. another one, though, is highway 17 through the santa cruz mountains where there's an icy roads advisory from bear creek all the way up to the summit. there was so much concern there chp had issued a sig alert last night, but the highway patrol has since called that off. regardless of whether you're heading on the roads today, you will want to bundle up right out here. by all indications it's 32 degrees. i would actually put money that it's probably a little below that. reporting live here in pleasanton, bob redell, "today in the east bay." coming up, new threats against a uc researcher who uses animals in his study. we'll take a look at who's claiming responsibility for the unusual packages they sent him.

plus the giants team in the making. we'll have the latest on the free agents who are getting signed and for how much.t is co backside of this break.

new this morning, the number of people killed in south korea rises. the latest on tensions in asia and we hear from the journalist euna lee who was once held captive in north korea last year.