now, let's review. capital one interestplus savings... at three times more. go to capitalone.com. what's in your wallet? are you a pisces? good morning to you. i'm chris sanchez. next it is a night club on wheels. who's responsible when the fun it turns deadly. the potential new law that could mean it is last call for one popular party favorite. plus, two bay area students fighting to stay in the country they call home. how a crucial senate vote could keep them from living the dream. the biggest hits happening outside the city amid a pac 10 football games. a brawl leading to attempted murder charges. this and more on "today in the bay."

and take a live look at downtown san jose christmas in the park, all decked up with nowhere to go because it's going to be around until the holidays and the san jose holiday parade is coming up today which is why we're really watching the forecast. i'm chris sanchez with "today in the bay" meteorologist craig herrera. i'm calling it a parade doughnut because rain before and rain after, right if. >> that's a good way to do it. doughnut, breakfast time. absolutely, there's enough of a break this morning so we'll be fine for the parade this afternoon when the heavy rain comes in. a lot of our production crew is out there getting set up, aaron and all the good crew. we'll wish them luck. everyone going to watch the parade today at 9:00 should be fine. most of the rain is in the central valley. this is the satellite, the storm coming in tonight, will bring with it some gusty winds this afternoon. also possible to see some small hail and scattered storms after about 4:00, 5:00, 6:00, 7:00, 8:00. heavy rain at times later today, thunder with small hail.

heeded to the sierra, snow above 5,000 feet, foot of snow above 7,000 feet. coming up i'll have more on the seven-day forecast which includes more rain. >> thank you very much. new this morning, one of iran's top officials claims the country's nuclear program is self-sufficient. the country's atomic energy organization is telling state media the country now has everything it needs to process the material that makes nuclear energy. energy officials say they can now make yellow cake which is a substance used in processing uranium. american officials say it is not clear whether iran can turn uranium into fuel rods that would run a nuclear reactor. for the u.s., of course, the concern is iran is trying to build a nuclear bomb, but that is something that iran denies. and right now a cargo ship carrying 20 people stranded in one of the most remote parts of the united states is being towed back to harbor. the ship had engine troubles and has been drifting near the islands off the coast of alaska since friday. it is carrying half a million gallons of fuel.

no reports of injuries. and looking ahead to a busy week tomorrow, a federal panel in san francisco will hear arguments on california's same-sex marriage ban. the three-judge panel will meet for two hours of arguments which will be televised nationally on c-span. the ninth circuit court of appeals is reviewing a lower court decision which ruled prop 8 unconstitutional. experts say it is likely this case will eventually wind up at the u.s. supreme court. what the three-judge panel decides tomorrow could narrow the argument that ends up before the high court. the three judge panel is made up of three men with different perspectives. judge rhinehart of los angeles was appointed to the bench in 1980 by president carter and considered the most liberal judge on the cancel. judge hawkins of phoenix was nominated by president clinton in 1994 and generally considered a moderate. judge smith is the newest member of the panel. he was appointed by president george w. bush in 2007 a

lifelong conservative and a graduate of brigham young university. another thing we're watching for next week is the dream act. the futures of two bay area students hinge on whether the lame duck congress passes a bill for children brought to the u.s. illegally by their parents allows them to stay if they are in college. people of many religious faiths came together last night where one of its young parishioners faces deportation. 18-year-old elizabeth lee in the u.s. illegally is scheduled to be sent back to peru. >> i don't remember anything about peru. i don't know the lifestyle. basically everything i have is here in the united states. steve li, no relation, faces deportation, also to peru. the 20-year-old city college nursing student was born in peru but has neither friends or family in that country. his family entered the u.s. illegally when he was 11. the dream act would give immigrants who came to the u.s. illegally by the age of 15 a

pass to permanent residency if they are enrolled in college for two years or serve two years in the u.s. military. if the dream act does not pass elizabeth and her family are expected to be deported on january 19th. the hold on steve li's deportation runs through february. bay area lawmakers will call for tougher oversight of party busses, the clubs on wheels so many teens and 20 somethings like to do on the weebdss. assemblyman jerry hill of san mateo will introduce a law to hold bus companies accountable for keeping booze out of the hands of anyone younger than 21. the busses don't provide it but they look the other way when the kids bring it on board often. the bill comes after the death of a burrelling game teenager who drank with friends for hours on a bus and then got behind the wheel of his car and crashed. the boy's parents say they are comforted knowing their son's short life will have an impact. >> never liked being the center of attention, but i think he

would feel good about this. >> party busses usually tricked out with dance floors, stripper poles and sound systems don't fall under the alcohol laws for transportation companies. tomorrow is sentencing day for the three convicted of beating, burning and holding hostage a teenager more than a year. the sentencing comes two years after kyle ramirez stumbled into a health club nearly naked with a chain shackled to his leg asking for help. a youth football coach, his wife and the boy's then legal garden pleaded guilty to more than a dozen feloniefelonies. each faces at least 30 years behind bars. in hercules police are looking for the gunman who shot a 9-year-old girl when she answered a knock at the front door and we now know that those detectives are saying there could be gang involvement in this case. the girl's condition continues to improve and doctors expect that she will survive. the shooting happened friday night in the 100 block of

brighton street in hercules. police say the man shot the girl in the neck and back and firing into the house, fortunately, though, other people were inside no one else was hurt. three men are in jail after fans brawled before the start of the usc/ucla football game in pasadena. police say 50 to 75 people started fighting in the parking lot of the rose bowl. about three hours before the trojans and bruins kicked off. two men were stabbed, two police officers were hurt and now two men face charges of attempted murder. another is accused of assaulting a police officer. the stabbing victims are expected to survive. this morning a woman lost in the santa cruz mountains for a week is finally waking up in a bed thanks to a neighbor who didn't know her. listen to this. that neighbor went looking for 58-year-old deborah collins and if foun her in a ravine off a remote trail in falls creek state park. he and his son did not know collins but decided to look for

her on their own on some of the less traveled trails. >> i wouldn't mind going for a hike. let's go and look, go in an area she might be just, you know, might get lucky. >> her rescue took five hours because of that steep and rugged terrain. collins told rescuers she survived on rain water. she is suffering from dehydration and hypothermia but rescuers say she is in remarkably good shape, all things considered. it was very cold out there the last week. school kids in contra costa got a thrill seeing a sea lion wandering around their school play ground but the problem is, that this is the third time the same sea a lion has wandered miles from the sea. the sea lion ended up waddling on to the playground just east of antioch yesterday. volunteers used a net to catch her and guide her into a crate for the ride back to the center. rescuers say they know from her tag she has been rescued twice before. and she was treated for toxic

algae poisoning in may and then again in july. still ahead on "today in the bay" -- a man falls on the tracks of a train is coming, roaring into the station. dramatic video just ahead. and looking for a new place to hang your hat? one and a quarter acres of u.s. history on the market for a rock bottom price but what happened in the cabin there might make you think twice about buying it. the plot of land used in an infamous murder plot just ahead. ♪

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good morning. live look at the transamerica building in san francisco. we're going to talk about how long the rain is going stick around. we're getting it today, but for how long? new this morning police say at least seven cyclists are dead after a speeding car plowed into them. a police sergeant says other people are now in critical condition and have been air

lifted to nearby hospitals. police tell italian reporters the car was going above the speed limit when the crash happened this morning. officer say it is common to see groups of amateur cyclists taking to state roads on the weekend. we know a lot of folks like to cycle around here. if you're headed out be careful. a video of a close call for a man who fell on to the tracks of an oncoming train. watch these pictures captured friday from surveillance cameras at a train station in madrid. the man is on the left side of the tracks. you saw him fall from the station platform. see how people on the right side tried to get the attention of the train operatoperator. an off duty officer jumped on the tracks and dragged him to safety seconds before the train pulled into the station. thank goodness. investigators say pilot error may be to blame for a deadly plane crash in russia. at least two dozen -- at least two people are dead and dozens are recovering from injuries after a commercial jetliner

skidded off the runway during an emergency landing yesterday. sources tell interfax news agency the crew may have forgeten to switch on fuel pumps while taken off from moscow causing the engine to lose power. an investigation is under way. this morning the obama administration is warning federal employees against downloading or even linking to wikileaks on-line. "the new york times" reports that the us what doesn't force agencies it to block wikileaks or other websites on government computers, but if employees accidentally download leaked cables they are told to notify federal information security offices. meantime the office of the career services at columbia university is also warning its students not to link to or post on-line comments about the leaked cables. a new senate proposal would make sure that student loan cosigners know they are on the hook even if the student passes away. the legislation would require lenders to provide students and parents with more information on what happens to the loans in the

event of a death. federal loans can be canceled if the student dies or becomes disabled but private lenders are not required to cancel loans and parents could be left with thousands of dollars in payments. this weekend the senate also passed a law that holds the army accountable for every grave at arlington. the law makes the army fix any errors at the burial ground. the law comes after hundreds of mix-ups including unmarked graves. the real estate brochure says it all, own a piece of u.s. history, home of the unabomber. the remote one and a half acres of land where ted kaczynski made his mail bombs is up for sale. he made those bombs from the cabin on that property. and now the land is up for sale, recently reduced from $154,000 to $69,000. just the land is for sale. you might recall that the cabin

was taken apart and shipped to washington where it is an exhibit at the museum. the euunabom killed three and injured 23 others over 17 years time, now serving a life sentence at a federal prison in colorado. coming up next on "today in the bay" -- you may never want to look at alcohol again after watching this ad. how this drunken squirrel is supposed to scare people away from drinking vodka. strange.

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good morning to you. look at this pretty picture. little bit of pink lish shus sky as girls like to say and blue too. mostly we are going to see rain on the radar. >> that's a great book. my granddaughter loves that. >> purpleious we're all and today we're rainlious.

>> it will be gusty winds as well. getting ready for that. little ones going out, the rain coats are needed. the parade i think will be fine. a lot of people have been waiting for the san jose parade. >> i know. >> i think we're okay this year. let's take you outside right now. san francisco great shot, there's some cloud cover it will get really cloudy about 12:00 and continue through the evening hours. that's a great start for the city by the bay. over to oakland, just a lot of high clouds right now and a little mist and haze. final shot into parts of the south end of the bay, that is san jose downtown plaza, caesar chavez and christmas in the park. a lot of the street closures are going on this morning in downtown san jose getting ready for the parade. be ready for a little bit of a delay or get there a little early so you get a good spot to watch the parade going through. it's a great one. we have the radar right now. look at the snow happening right up in lake tahoe and reno or outside of there, bringing t in

chains if you're headed up. a couple scattered showers across the bay area but most across the valley. the struz mountains a couple light rain drops falling over the hills. as we go through the morning hours, if you're lucky you will get a couple rain drops in los gatos, over to saratoga as it comes over the hill. by the time we get closer to downtown san jose not really happening. this is the storm coming through today. one pass through yesterday gave us a little bit of rain. this is the next one coming through. it's going to take it times coming through later this afternoon. notice it's kind of spinning off through here almost like a pinwheel. as it gets closer to us this afternoon the wind will pick up. it will be very gusty and come out of the south so the south wind coming in later this afternoon, 30 to 40 miles per hour and at times some of the gusts could get closer to 50 miles per hour. thunderstorms possible this afternoon as well but small hail and lightning. headed to the sierra we saw that on the radar, about a foot above

7,000 feet. snow levels down as low as 5,000 feet. we have a winter storm warning in effect through this evening. again, about another foot of snow. the blue that you see here is going to be a wind advisory through 5:00 a.m. monday morning. some of those gusts to 45 and 50 miles per hour especially across the hills. here's your timeline. start off at 7:00 a.m. notice no rain. san jose getting ready for the downtown parade. holiday parade. we stop at 9:00 a.m. and not a lot of rain. the rain is still off the coast. we get to 2:00 p.m., the clouds have thickened up, most of the bay area under cloud cover. 4:00 p.m. the rain starting to move in closer to the coastal communities. look at this, right over the santa cruz mountains, that's heavy rain coming through and moderate downpours along the bay area and that will be with us most of the afternoon. look at 7:00, 8:00, 9:00, again this is an afternoon and evening event into tomorrow morning. so prepare for some rain even to your morning commute. highs only into the 60s today

and a couple upper 50s. sun set 4:51. seven-day forecast, this afternoon the rain comes through, through early tomorrow. tuesday, is your best bet to get outdoor things done. it will be dry. rain comes back wednesday and it will be heavy at times. on thursday and friday and into the first part of saturday morning should be dry next weekend. >> thanks. >> when you get a little too festive this season, maybe a little tipsy during any of your parties what do you do? one company in boulder, colorado, hopes you'll call them. hangover helpers is the brainchild of two university of colorado graduates. they say their recipe for the cure is to bring in breakfast burritos and gatorade and clean up the mess. they charge 15 bucks a person. i just want them to come over even if i don't have too much to drink. in russia avoiding hangovers thanks to an ad campaign designed to scare people away from vodka. [ speaking foreign language ]

>> the telegraph reports the demon squirrel is so drunk has the shakes and offers to kill his neighbor's wife. someone belligerently drunk. the video after russia's president called alcoholism in the country a national disaster. the video on the it telegraph website has more than 1 million views. we'll have to see. how it works out. still ahead on "today in the bay" -- the yankee's most popular short stop is staying on the team. we'll show you how much it will cost to keep him around. a very good morning to you. i'm lawrence scott. stanford awaits its bowl game fate. it's coming today. the question is -- in warm weather will they enjoy the vitamin c supplied by oranges or will it be a fiesta in arizona? we'll wait and see. that and more coming up in sports. as over 200 varieties

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♪ it comes along just once a year ♪ ♪ on winters wings, decembers rear, ahha humbug faces come and dear ♪ ♪ then appears at perfect christmas time. ♪ ♪ a tiny tree, christmas, tinsel, the lights ♪ ♪ the star that sings, top your tiny tree, yeah ♪

stanford football team is going bowling but where will they end up? lawrence scott has that and more in your morn sports. >> a very good morning to you. stanford finds out what bowl game they'll play in so if a back room deal isn't made, it looks like orange or possibly fiesta. in the orange bowl on january 3rd, stanford would face virginia tech who won the acc title last night. this seems the most likely scenario. if uconn who won the big east is brought to south florida the cardinals could be in a rematch of last year's sun bowl battling oklahoma again. this time in the fiesta bowl on new year's day. the sooners won the big 12 title last night in dallas taking down nebraska. the national championship game was set saturday as number one oregon ran away from rival oregon state in the civil war, 37-20. they'll play on january 10th against number two auburn who smashed south carolina in the

sec championship. tigers quarterback newton accounted for six touchdowns and very likely grabbed the heisman trophy. san jose state closed out the year with an overtime loss at idaho. the sharks at the bottom of the division, five points in the standings away from the top. it seems every other game for the sharks is trouble when niemi is in goal. get the equalizer as logan finds ben for his third goal of the season. it's 1-1. niemi isn't getting it done. mike cam ma larry helping put the sharks away. the sharks head to detroit for a game tomorrow. both cal men and women in the big 12 territory yesterday. the men facing cyclones of iowa state. the bears winless in two other road games thus far but establishing an identity. game tied with under a minute left, jorge finds him in the paint, nine points off the bench

help the bears roll. cal women and college station facing texas a&m. the bears a young squad reloading. calledwell with the steal, gets the lay-up on the other end as cal takes the lead after being down by nine at the half. the aggies too strong at home, pulling away bit the 74-58 win. in new mexico they are still celebrating the giants world series win with a special home coming for outfielder cody ross. >> a huge honor. i grew up there. i went to high school there. you know, going to be nice to get back and see how excited the town of carlsbad is. >> ross inducted in the carlsbad hall of fame honored with a parade and generally celebrated for being a good guy and world series hero. who doesn't love cody ross. you love him. you know you love him. that's sports. have yourself a great day. >> i love him. i love that smile. this smile is not too bad either. yankees shortstop derek jeter is going to stay in pin stripes

after all. "the new york times" reports that the 36-year-old franchise icon will sign a three-year contract worth about $51 million with an $8 million option for a fourth year. jeter has played for the yankees his entire professional ka require. -- career. much more ahead on "today in the bay." up next at 7:30 a south bay holiday tradition is about to start. we're going to take a look at the preparations under way for the san jose holiday parade and ask the question, is this really going to be the last year for this san jose institution? a live report just ahead. lightning fast. lightning strong.

verizon 4g lte. rule the air on the most advanced 4g network in the world. take a live look at downtown san jose all calm and nice now, before the festivities are going to kick up into high gear at 9:00. the san jose holiday parade rolling through downtown san jose. thanks so much for joining us this morning. i'm chris sanchez with nbc bay area meteorologist craig

herrera. 7:30 so if you live around the bay area, there's still time to drive to san jose in time for the parade. the weather is going to be -- is going to hold. >> little chilly but no rain. that's always the big story. most of the rain is in the central valley, heavy rain coming in later this afternoon and through the evening hours. as we zoom right into the south end of the bay, there's a couple light scattered showers in the mountains but nothing across the lower area. we have some gusty winds moving in later this afternoon as well. gusts up to 45, even 50 miles per hour. and a winter storm warning so expect about another foot of snow abo the 5,000 foot range in the sierra. here's your daily planner getting into the upper 50s and lower 60s. cloudy by noon and 2:00. by 5:00 rain and maybe some thunder and small hail with some of those storms coming through gusty at times. it's calm but this afternoon will be a different story. >> i was driving around looking at the christmas decorations in the neighborhood and i was like when the rain comes in, we're going to have to -- >> the big blowup ones.

>> thank you very much, craig. south bay tradition will match through the streets of downtown san jose, perhaps for the last time this year. the san jose holiday parade kicks off this morning and if this is the last year of the parade we're going to make sure it goes out in style. we're joined this morning by ed who is one of the organizers of the holiday parade. good morning, ed. nice to see you this year. >> hey, good morning, chris. how are you doing? it's a great day out here. >> look at you in short sleeves. i guess the weather really is holding out there. >> yeah. it is fantastic. i'm standing here under palm trees outside the pavilion here in the float area with dancers getting ready to perform today. so very cool looking floats out here on the parade route. >> you know you guys have been doing gshs. >> more gorgeous day. >> doing this for a while. folks have grown up with this parade. what's new if they go out this year? >> wow. this year we've got some very a cool stuff. we have the giant helium

balloons again, bugs bunny, elmo, scooby-doo, really classic balloons. lots of great entertainment you will love that will be out there. we've got some really big bands. we've got a lot of entertainment that's going to happen today. it's going to be fun. >> hey, ed, i have to ask you. i would be remiss if i didn't. the mayor, chuck reed, said it costs about $300,000 a year to put on this parade. three staff people working with an associated cost. the city can't afford to do that anymore. do you think that is really going to happen, that we are going to see the san jose holiday parade go away or something will happen between now and next year? >> well, you know, we hope that something will happen for next year. and, you know, that's all our wishes. i think the tremendous support from the community, i think with the partnering with the community, and our business sponsor partners i think this can happen. you have 100,000 people out here that are lining up for the parade route.

i saw people at 4:00 this morning saying they come out every year. it's a fun thing. we hope we can do it. if whie can get the right partns we will. >> i certainly hope that's the case. i know our nbc family has been part of the parade for a long time. thank you so much, ed. >> yeah. >> for taking a couple minutes out of the organizing. you must have your hands full. if you want to sip cocoa and watch pat raid from home, watch it here. we're going to start airing the parade live at 9:00. nbcbayarea.com. watch it on-line if you're away from your tv. go out to breakfast and put it on for the kids. come. coming up next, police canines need more than collars to do their jobs. one of the newest recruits and how you can help keep all of them safe from harm's way. %! come on... isn't it time an auto insurer gave it to you straight? that's why you should talk to state farm. but not yet. first, talk to any one of the 40 million drivers who already have state farm.

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one of the top dogs in the bay area police department put themselves in the line of danger keeping our community safe and a new line of canine bulletproof vests are helping to keep them in action. diane ward from the oakland police department up bright and early with us and roman who looks all grown up but is not. still a baby, right? >> yep. only 9 months old. >> 9 months old, very spirited and active but that's what you want in a police dog. >> yes. somebody who wants to work and learn? >> he's going to be a good dog. >> he's cute too. tell us about the training process and getting, you know, roman from this little puppyhood stage to going out and patrolling the streets with an officer. >> typically we get the dogs when they're between a year and 18 months old. he was kind of a special case. i wanted to start with a puppy because i had the opportunity to do it. i have an older dog i'm getting ready to retire. i got roman when he was about 11 weeks ago old. he won't be ready to go on the street for -- >> you have to be able to trust

them. >> you have to develop a bond and start with foundation training like obedience and control work. takes several months before they're certified to work on the streets. >> i would imagine this is a major investment not just because of the cost of the dog that you get, he was bred in czechoslovakia. it's a big investment. >> we do all our training in house but it's far more efficient for us to do that. we have a lot of success with our program that way. they can work, you know, they cut the work load for officers in half. and it's kind of invaluable what they contribute to officer safety on the street. >> and we know that they go out with the officers. this is one of the canine bulletproof vests that's really heavy. i would assume it's quite a burden them for them to wear it but costs about $16,000 -- >> $1600. >> still a lot of money. a lot of folks say $1600 for a bulletproof vest for a dog in these tough budget times why is it important to have that? >> it's imperative for their safety. it's kind of becoming more of a

trend that we're seeing dogs are getting injured either by stabbing or gunshot wound and it's really good for them. it's just very protective. like we wear this same thing for our protection. they should have the same level of protection. but we have a foundation that's happening raise money all over the bay area to buy these vests that are custom fit for each dog. >> okay. >> and that's what's really kind of saved us. it's a huge program. >> okay. thank you very much, diane ward. opd. roman. i think he's going to shake out nicely. >> thank you. >> just ahead on "today in the bay," the senate working for the weekend on tax cuts but is it all just for show. that's the question. political analyst larry gur ston weighs in on the search for a tax solution. >> good morning. i'm mikey and the nbc bay area is getting into the holiday spirit today and we want you to join us. at the san jose holiday parade. the world series champions the giants. you sergio romo and lucille will be the grand marshal and

jessica, and bob are going to be doing the live hosting. brent cannon, lawyer ya garcia cannon scheduled to be there with their triplets and the rest of the morning it team will be joining them. the parade starts at 8:30 near the hp pavilion. watch it right here on nbc bay area and we will stream it on-line as well nbcbayarea.com and in san francisco, the bill graham ma nora festival kicks off at 3:00 in the afternoon in union square. music, arts and crafts and a place kids will light their own menorahs and the 25 foot tall mahogany menorah will be hit at 5:00 as hanukkah continues. you have yourself a merry day.

in sacramento, and in washington, our elected officials have been meeting almost around the clock to break through their differences on the

economy. is it all for show or are they serious about finding common ground? let's ask nbc bay area political analyst larry gurston. good morning. >> good morning. they always say in show business never follow an animal or child and look what you got me doing now. nice cute puppy. >> i know. >> we'll make the best of it. >> let's talk first about sacramento. governor schwarzenegger, governor-elect jerry brown, holding major meetings with lawmakers what's happening here? >> i was in sacramento just the other day and the big buzz is here, because you have the guy going out and the guy coming in. look the governor schwarzenegger has called a special session of the legislature to close that $6 billion gap that came out of seemingly nowhere. he's offered some real draconian cuts. he's doing this to end the year with a balanced budget. although there's little chance that anything is going to come of it because jerry brown is taking office in four weeks. brown's story is a variation of a theme.

his net is wider including legislatures u bureaucrats, cast of thousands really and even power players from the private sector. it's kind of a glorified town hall meeting to focus on the totality of the state's problems in hopes of finding some comprehensive solutions once he takes office. so two different ways of dealing with the same basic problem, ain't got enough money. >> well, in washington, the votes were to keep or get rid of the bush tax cuts for families except for those earn more than $250 million or $1 million -- $250,000 a year or $1 million. everybody thought these were going to fail. why do the democrats bring it up? >> a lot of people ask that question are we wasting our time? let's begin with what happens. there were attempts to invoke what they call cloture one of the mysterious things, shutting off debate. in the senate it takes 60 votes. it's not just like getting a majority of any kind.

it's difficult. democrats only have 58 of those 60 votes right now. they'll have fewer once the new senate takes office in january. and even a few of those democrats defected. the idea was to show the pub lick that there are differences between the two sides. and it if we extend the tax cuts to the rich, the huge deficit that everyone's talking about is is only going to grow. for the democrats these votes were important symbols. republicans had their symbolism toop. they viewed these as a little more than showmanship, they were elected to keep the tax cuts permanent or permanent as possible. each side had to make its case. >> basically a vote to show we can't get along, which we already knew. >> not only a vote to show we get along -- >> can't get along though. >> i don't think they were getting along there at all. to show look you guys want to do it this way, we want to do it that way, we think we're right, we think we're right. it's important for the public to see these differences and they are stark. >> okay. so how much of those efforts is going to improve the economy and

what can we expect for the 2012 election? >> that's the -- that's the risk. now we're getting down to brass tacks here. it's hard to separate these two the economy from the election. whether in sacramento or washington, doesn't really matter. the economy is issue number one. yeah, it's the budget here and it's taxes in d.c. but either way, the battles are over, the best ways to tax and spend. precious resources. each side has to make their case. they have to make their case not only for whatever happens in the next month or two, in some ways that's insignificant. the big enchi lad da is 23 months when everything hits the fan. 2012, chris, everybody is liking at that right now. all the positions they take one way or another focusing on 2012. >> thank you very much. as always find more of larry's political perspective on our website, nbcbayarea.com. it's prop 0 is your blog. it's a good one. still ahead on "today in the bay," we'll update you on

today's top stories. here's a live look outside at the preparations for the san jose holiday parade. the wild life is getting all riled up. more about the parade coming up in just a bit.

just about an hour and ten minutes, the san jose holiday parade will kick off and bring happiness and cheer to hundreds -- hundred thousand people along the parade route and watch it on tv but why would you need to when you can go out there in person because the weather is going to hold. look at the little girl wearing turtlenecks under their outfits. that's the only way to be a hula girl in san jose. >> they got the right idea. they'll be dry so that's nice too. >> looking a little iffy for a while. >> absolutely. it's clear, we're done and then this afternoon, good thing it's not an evening parade because it's going to be rainy tonight, chris. show you what we have right now. we have first of all a couple other live shots for you. start off from san bruno moun

mountain, cloud cover over the hills and some of the clouds will get really thick by this afternoon by 12:00 and 11:00 -- or 12:00 and 1:00. san francisco, live looking out over to the west and the transamerica pyramid and some of the high clouds and down across the lower areas across the golden gate bridge, good time to do sight seeing if you are visiting because we don't have any rain right now. there is oakland, some of the high clouds there as well and south end of the bay through san jose getting ready for pat raid. yeah, no rain drops there. there's sunol. look at the fog over the hills. parts of the north bay and east bay inland valleys watch for spotty area with fog. sunshine over san jose downtown and, of course, that is close to the parade route. so this is the radar we've got some rain in the central valley, most of the bay area is dry as far as rain drops are concerned. rain down to the south but most

will stay close to the santa cruz mountains. this is the storm coming through. a lot of cloud cover moving into southern california from the storm that came through yesterday as that makes an exit in the next couple hours the next one comes in with gusty winds out of the south. wind advisories in place through tomorrow morning for about 5:00. we have snow across the sierra, so watch for that. and then small hail possible with some of these storms that come through this afternoon. and some lightning. winter storm warning for the southern sierra, central and southern sierra tomorrow and the wind advisory through 5:00 a.m. gusts 45 to 50 miles per hour. this is future cast. as we take you through 9:00 a.m. there's the parade and we are dry. a lot of rain just off the coast. 2:00 p.m. starts to cloud up. 4:00 p.m., some of the rain gets closer to us and look at the strong line all of the yellow and some heavy rain in the santa cruz mountains, that's 5:00 p.m. today. 6:00, we still have it coming down. between 5:00, 6:00 and 7:00 is when the heavier rain comes through the bay area.

by the time this is said and done by monday morning another three quarters of an inch to an inch, maybe inch and a half for the north bay hills and santa cruz mountains. since it's coming in from the south, don't expect the north bay to get the rain first. typically that's what happens around the bay area. this is coming in just about everywhere at the same time. so rather than working from north to south, we'll just get it all over, especially the santa cruz mountains. got 50s and 60s for afternoon highs today. sun sets at 4:51. serviced, a few lingering showers into tomorrow until about 11:00 or 12:00 tomorrow, clears tuesday. more rain in wednesday. next thursday another rainy day into friday. rain amounts will reach another inch to inch and a half on thursday and friday. the rain gauges for the year are starting to add up which is nice. >> that is good. >> great season last season. we just need a couple more and we'll -- >> need more than a cup jool an all new "meet the press" is

coming. here's david gregory with a preview. >> coming up the president makes a surprise trip to afghanistan as washington feels the full weight of a sour economy with the jobless rate creeping up to 9.8% in november. with still no deal on taxes or unemployment benefits, does either party see room for compromise during the lame-duck session of congress? joining me two men at the center of it all, republican leader of the senate mitch mcconnell and for the democrats chairman of the senate foreign relations committee john kerry of massachusetts. our political round table coming up on "meet the press". >> the news to watch for the week ahead. tomorrow a federal package panel will hear arguments in california's same six marriage ban prop 8. two hours of arguments it televised nationally on c-span. tomorrow bay area lawmakers will call for greater oversight of party busses. assembly man hill will introduce a law to hold bus companies responsible for keeping booze out of the hands of the 21 and under crowd.

the bill was born out of the death of a teenager who drank for hours on a party bus and got behind the wheel of his own car and crashed in a deadly crash. also tomorrow the three people convicted of beating, burning and holding this teenager captive more than a year will be sentenced. the sentencing comes two years after kyle ramirez stumbled into a traci health club nearly naked shack told a chain on his leg. a youth football coach, his wife and the boy's legal guardian pleaded guilty to more than a dozen felonies and each faces at least 30 years behind bars. we want to thank you so much for joining us this morning. the pittsburgh steelers, my daughter doesn't like [ inaudible ]. doesn't get it. the pittsburgh steelers will take on the baltimore ravens on football night in america. our next news cast is tonight at 11:00. always get the day's news at nbcbayarea.com. we're headed off to the parade. it starts live at 9:00 this morning. the little kids are warming up. the balloons are being blown up

and could be the last year of the holiday institution. so trying to make it out there if you can. have a great day and we will see you again next weekend. hi. i'm lisa glen. summer vacation may be over but it is not too late to start planning your next vacation. with me with some great ideas is dave mulligan. he is the host of great getaways a popular travel show on nbc bay area. welcome. >> thanks. >> you have a dream job and this is a wonderful show you have. >> thanks very much. i love my job. i'm very lucky. you said summer is over but it's always summer somewhere. >> tell us about your latest show which is why we're here. >> it's mexican. we just got back from a great mexican adventure in puerta vallarta and cancun almost three weeks. i brought the family.

>> tell me about puerta vallarta. >> that's where we spent the first half of the trip. it's an old fishing village. people forget that. it's maintained that old mexican charm. the cobble stone streets and old shops and restaurants and it's gorgeous. but there's also, obviously, the big mega resorts on the beach there. >> you got to do really unique activity dlouns. >> i did. we all did. a lot of people don't realize that the mountains are right there, the sierra mad dress, basically we're in the shadow of the mountains there. we headed through the jungles on mules up the mountains and came back down on zip lines through the jungle canopy. some of them were 400 feet high. just amazing. >> not many places in the world you can experience that. that's what's so unique. >> absolutely. >> you got to visit cancun. >> we did. >> you and your wife got to go somewhere really special. >> it was romantic. we stayed at a place called leblanc, all white, very, very ritzy, beautiful. and we lad our own butler. 24 hours a day. which we took advantage of.

we called him at 3:00 in the morning and he came. knocked on the door. sen yor mulligan, it was great. >> got to do that. later on you and your family got to go a to a special resort. >> we went to a couple more. one had a big surprise you'll see on the show. they have dolphins in the resort. big saltwater lagoon. my wife always wanted to be a dolphin trainer and got in the water. she spent half the day in there riding them, training them, teaching them tricks. it was amazing. >> sounds fantastic. you also got to go on a great adventure. >> i did. >> with a special something. >> yeah. it was -- thought i was going to be nervous. 20 miles offshore in a boat obviously and got in the water with whale sharks. this is the largest fish in the world, they're harmless because they eat plankton and the plankton come up where the waters meet and that's why they're there. i pulled on the tail and did all -- it was incredible. >> there is so many things you got to do we can't touch on right now but to see everything you did, how do people get to see your show? >> it airs here at nbc bay area.

checklistings or go to pleasant holidays/mexico see the show there and book some of the deals. the deals, the prices have never been better. >> it's really a great time. for more information on everything we talked about go to pleasant holidays.com/mexico. thank you so much, dave. >> adios.