who is responsible when a nightclub on wheels turns deadly. what could end a popular way to party. >> a parolee in a stolen car refews to stop and hits not one, but two patrol cars. you won't believe the damage when we show you that story in a live report. >> the biggest event on is not each on prime time. the gay marriage ban takes place in a crucial courtroom showdown. it is monday, december sixth and this is today in the bay. good morning. i'm chris sanchez. >> it's straight up 6:00 and we want to get you started with rob in the hour by hour forecast. it's changing hour by hour. >> seems that way.

a lot of rain this morning. most of the showers trying to get out of the bay area and a mild day. mostly 50s outside as we pass lurch time. 12 and 1:00 and shoul see 60s. not quite that hochilly. yo will notice around the pass and to the south around the sunollrade and highway 17, still looking at rain. we will let you know when to pack the umbrellas away in a few minutes. >> definitely that rain is playing a factor on the roadways. >> as the volume increases, the number of cars continues to build. we are looking at the water on the road. look at the roost every tailing. that will play a factor for the commute even though it's not actively raping. travel times with the area. an area where we often see flooding reports. i keep scanning and we have santa rosa and oakland and the

pass showing reports of earlier flooding as well. 580 now smoothing out as all lanes are clear and we have a 19-empty drive and add on the travel time as speeds come dun out of the areas hit by rain a few minutes ago. a caution for the drivers. back to you. >> thanks, mike. a federal panel in san francisco will hear argue ams on california's same-sex marriage ban. the three-judge panel will hear about two hours worth of arguments. supporters of prop 8 that ban same-sex marriage will appear a lower court ruling and reenstate the ban. today's hearing will be televised nationally. the ninth circuit court of appeals is review the decision. experts say it's likely that the case will wind up in the u.s. supreme court. the ruling from the ninth circuit could narrow the argument made at the supreme court level. hearings begin at about 10:00.

today in the bay will join us later on in the newscast and he will have a live report. the ninth circuit court is made up of three men with different perspectives. judge steven rhine hart of los angeles was appointed by jimmy carter and considered the most liberal judge on the panel. senior circuit judge michael hawkins was nominated by president clinton and seen as a moderate. judge randy smith is the newest member and was appointed by george w. bush back in 2007 and he is a lifelong conservative and a gradeuate from brigham young university. >> bay area lawmakers call for the power to shut down the party buss that are popular with partiers in their teens and 20s. jerry hill of san mateo will introduce the law to keeping booze out of the hans of anyone who drinks.

this was after the death of a burlingame teen and was dropped off at his car and got behind the wheel and crashed. the parents are comforted knowing that his short life will have an impact. >> he never liked being the center of attention, but he would feel good about this. >> they have dance floors and stripper poles and sound systems. they don't fall into the laws for transportation companies. >> sentencing comes two years after kyle ramirez stumbles into a tracy health club with chains shackled to his leg. his wife and legal guardian have pleaded will go to felonies. they face at least 30 years behind bars. a convicted sex offender accused of assaulting a it is toer in a store is due back in court on

friday. 36-year-old eugene ramos is being held without bail after being charged on friday. police say he assaulted a 2-year-old girl in a dollar store in union city on wednesday. ramos was convicted of sexual assault on a 7-year-old girl and paroled after about three years. a wild car chase through the east bay. it all started when the suspect crashed into a patrol car. live at the crash scene. this guy has quite a storied history. >> that's right. he was in a stolen car according to deputies and also on parole for stealing cars. in all, this chase only lasted four minutes, but in that time he hit the two patrol cars, crashed into a street light that

was right here and hit those cars and plowed into the front yard. you can see the path there this morning. when you look at the condition of all the cars involved, it's amazing that everyone survived. a deputy spotted a stolen honda. the driver pulled over in an odd way. he went down a wide driveway and the deputies got out of their car and ordered him out, but he didn't comply. he threw the car in reverse and plowed into their patrol car. >> the criminal element will try to back into the patrol cars to activate the air bag and disable the police car that didn't happen in this case. >> now, the officers with the damaged car, they kept following him to be in grand where he blew through an intersection and hit a bart police officer's car. that officer is a 38-year-old. he is in the hospital as a

precaution, expected to be okay. the 23-year-old parolee, we are told he suffered a head wound, but is also expected to be okay. they found a pellet gun in the car and wanted to show you what the scene looks like. there so many parts laying around, this appears to be one of the grills to the patrol car hit. christie smith today in the bay. >> thanks a lot, christie. starting in january, taxes are set to go up for everyone unless congress can meet a compromise. they approved the tax cuts 10 years ago, but they are set to expire. democrats force the vote on two bills to extend to middle class americans, but they also allow taxes to go up for people who make a lot more money. republicans voted both bills down. they are now sign that is a deal is taking shape. democrat are willing to extend the tax cuts for everybody

including the rich and the very, very rich in exchange for extending unemployment benefits. coming up later, we will have a live report to talk about the latest in a potential deal. >> here in california, taxes are on the agenda at the state capital. scott is here with a look at the special session called by the governor. a of people say who cares? it doesn't matter. >> a new governor is coming soon and california facing a budget gap for the year and 19 billion for next. state lawmakers will be meeting to breakthrough the differences on the economy. governor schwarzenegger will propose cuts. no new taxes this morning. he is trying to balance the budget for this year. his sewn staff said it will be ugly from food to the poor on to funding for prisons and health care for the needy. jerry brown takes control of the governor's seat in four weeks.

they may wait for him. analysts say what we will see is more like a glorified town hall airing out the state's problems fairly honestly in the hopes of fines a solution before brown takes office. also new this morning, continental airlines and one of the mechanics is found guilty of involuntary homicide. continental will pay a fine of $265,000. i think you are seeing video from the court. the mechanic hit with a fine suspended 15 months prison sentence as well. french air accident investigators say a small piece of metal fell off a continental plain that punctured the tires as it was taking off. the tire disintegrated causing a crash that killed all 109 people on board. seems wherever facebook changes

something, backlash is sure to follow. rolling out a tweet profile page. that's the blog. a new lay out of personal information pulling in more images. the profile starts with an overview of information of where you are from and where you work and which ares a feature that leads you highlight which friends are important to you so you can put them into groups like family, coworkers and teammates, but you have to choose a couple to put on your main front page. also new this morning, wikileaks web hosting company said servers are under attack. the spokesman said it's unclear for what's causing the disruption. wikileaks had several attacks from hackers since it began this huge dump of lip diplomatic cables. once again unresponsive. the facebook thing is like speed dial. why am i not one of your

featured friends on facebook. >> like a seinfeld episode. >> people are focused so much on that, but they are diving in and telling everyone about their lives and maybe you shouldn't divulge so much. >> maybe we shouldn't tell who we are friends with. >> a lot of people deny being friends with me. there you go. >> the traffic issues this morning. >> we will see what we can do. we want to tell but a new accident. highway 4 off the east shore freeway at willow avenue. reports that the slow slain blocked. this is an issue off of the east shore. coming across westbound 80, the bridge close to the limit here, but watch the wet roadways. so far pretty light volume there. we have the slowing through antioch and we end on the maps where we have the slowing for highway 4 as well as travel times. generally things are moving smoothly, but an early slow down and things are getting slower even still. >> all right.

thank you very much. it is 6:11 and still ahead, new hope for parents with children who suffer from autism. the old technology that could offer a new way to spot the disease as it forms. >> the giants world series hardware makes it apparent to the south bay. we have the video of that and who keeps it safe. meet the chief trophy officer just ahead. >> looking live, do be prepared for rain. wear a nice bun or something. it will be drizzly. we will be back in a few. no

welcome back. live pictures from san jose. you are seeing the flags blow around. things are calming down except in the mountains, you will find rain and a few showers southeast of san jose. the showers around danville and livermore heading off to the east. patchy fog in the east bay valleys as we go through the day. the showers shut down and a mild and breezy day with the next round due in on wednesday. rain off and on on thursday and a dry weekend ahead. chris? president obama is making early morning phone calls to discuss with the president of china. china's president spoke with president obama from beijing hours ago and called for all sides to exercise restraint. china is north korea's most

important ally to reign in the north following the shelling of an island. it comes hours before secretary of state clinton plans to meet with the diplomats from japan and washington, d.c. iran, russia and other world powers are meeting in geneva for a round of talks. the top officials claim that the nuclear program is self-sufficient. the country's atomic energy organization tells the media they they have everything they need to process the material that makes nuclear energy. energy officials can make yellow cake which is say substance used in processing uranium. it is not clear whether they can turn uranium into fuel rods that run a nuclear reactor. before the u.s., iran is trying to build a nuclear bomb. iran denies that.

>> rough seas for a broken down cargo ship as it is being towed into alaskan waters. the ship is carrying nearly half a million gallon was fuel, oil, and 20 crew members. the coast guard said the ship is expected to arrive in dutch harbor on the southern tip of the gulf of alaska sometime tomorrow. the ship lost power when the engines broke down and they are stuck in high winds and choppy seas. investigation into a plane crash that lit two homes on fire in a suburb of salt lake city. investigators say the pilot of the sesia na is in critical condition this morning. the plane clips the power lines as it was on the way down and that left 1700 homes without power. heavy fog may have been a factor, but nobody on the ground was hurt. in south america, desperate rescue is under way where a landslide buried up to 60 people. as many as 40 homes have been

destroyed because of heavy downpours of rain. columbia's president said the number of homeless from the rains could reach two million. >> the head of the biggest drugmaker is stepping down after less than five years on the job. jeffrey kindler is retiring to recharge his battery. he is planning to spent more time with his family and prepare for new challenges. it is unexpected as he has only been with the company since 2002. ian reid who ran the operation since 2006 will take over immediately. we will see how that plays in the market. new hope that brain scans can pinpoint and diagnose kid who is have autism earlier. researchers from harvard and the university of utah used mris to analyze brain changes in boys and men with and without autism. they showed the brains of the autistic group had structural differences with language,

emotion and social skills. they were% accurate in determining autism. researchers want a larger study to validate the findings. >> this is when folks start to hit the roads. a couple reported where rob was talking about rain continuing as well as fog. a new accident around glenwood waiting to me a direction. we might have friends that were delayed. through the area, highway 35. mud and rock reported and slit across the roadway. lane gets by and we continue to follow any other reports that come in after the rains hit most of the area. the northbound direction starting to show slowing and up towards 880. up highway 87, speeding towards 55 into downtown.

jumping over to livermore, 580 continues slow and earlier with an accident that cleared, but now we have the build up at 580 westbound. a nice easy drive and the volume building here where the back upstarts and the cash lanes look like the metering lights have been turned on and the build upstarting with the typical pattern. back to you. >> thanks a lot. oprah winfrey and sir paul cartney are among the latest to be honored at the kennedy center. joining hundreds of people at the kennedy honors gala. caroline kennedy included bill jones, composer and lyricist jerry herman, musician merle haggard and paul cartney and oprah winfrey. they got to go to a special

reception at the white house. >> tens of thousands braved the cloudy weather. the parade showcased nearly 100 floats with 5,000 people in the parade. raj mathai and jessica aguire hosted the annual parade, but they are hopping on. look at brent and laura. nobody cares about you. >> which is fine. through the roof. you can see her. she was enjoying that. >> this year's parade welcomed a special guest for the first time. >> the grand marshal is lucille. they got a chance to show off the hardware on the nbc bay area float. where the trophy goes, so does aaron reilly, the trophy cto.

>> the chief trophy officer. it's surprising that a piece of precious metal can cause so much vesz in your life. >> reilly keeps it save and deals with the fingerprint removal. that almost included the prince of the triplets who nearly got their mitts on it. >> grabbed just in time. >> i want to see that picture. about 5,000 people did march in the parade. this was the 29th year for the holiday tradition, but the parade may never turn 30. leaders are considering cutting it to pay for vital services. some consider the parade as much a part of the holidays as the macy's thanksgiving day parade in morning. it is one of the top 10 parades in the country. >> they have to figure out a way to keep that going. major league baseball will be in florida for big meetings. many want to know if the meetings might include allowing the a's to move to san jose. the a's owner does not think the issue will be on the agenda, but

he expects an announcement soon. the stadium issue will not be on the special election ballot in march. baseball can have a little bit more time to work out the territorial issues. if there is a statewide election coming up in may, the issue of a new stadium could wind up there. meantime, big news for stanford football. we know which bowl game they will be in. the cardinal will take on virginia tech in the orange bowl and spores director raj mathai talked with the head coach on last night's sports sunday. there is an unexpected bonus to working on the campus. >> you are a football guy. do you feel strange walking around sometimes? i don't think i can hang there. >> i love it. people think i'm smarter. by osmosis, i work at stanford university and i feel like people look at me like i'm smarter. >> dr. jim. thanks for your time.

congratulations, doctor. >> he is considered one of the hottest coaches in the game. stanford tried to keep him. they extended it and stanford's directionor does think that he will accept. >> that are is good news. >> congratulations. coming up, lost in the woods for more than a week, a missing hiker returns home. the daring rescue is coming up. >> looking live at the ph pavilion in downtown san jose, the roadways are wet. make sure you use your d o.hield wipers and keep yours lights on as you do. we will be back in a few. [ male announcer ] enjoy an amazing usda choice steak

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the bay bridge this morning and the good news is we can see that. nice and clear and the rain is moving out. it's moving out and moving in at the same time. >> it is. >> one and then the next group. we are in a window. >> we will start to dry out towards the afternoon. showers and still breezy in san francisco. southwest winds at 15 miles per hour. that's the reason we are seeing flight delays for arriving flights due to the gusty winds. not much rain around san francisco and oakland, showers leaving and you can see a few showers here heading up to the sierra where snow is flying slows to 6,000 feet. what's left of the showers starts to shut down and 50s across the north bay. we catch a break as we head into wednesday and thursday. and the weekend ahead should be dry. >> a hiker who survives the cold temperatures.

rain water for more than a week in the santa cruz mountains. the dramatic rescue by someone who didn't even know her. >> bullying tells kids it gets better. >> the bay area lawmaker saves san gria. bet you didn't know it was in danger. >> a live look outside this morning. nice and clear and you can tell the roads are still wet. the latest on the commus coming the change is comin

>>ar atoddler shot and kill and why the parents are accused of leaving a loaded gun in an unlocked drawer and now out of jail. >> the slick spots in the bay area and kind of drying out and more rainy weather on the way

today in the bay coming up next. good morning to you. >> 6:30 and we want to check the forecast with rob as we have been talking about. it is changing hour by hour. >> it is. a lot of rain earlier and things are starting to dry out around the bay area. we have lots of 50s outside and eventually 60s. partly cloudy and for the moment, still dealing with showers around how 17 and parts of the east bay. look out for wet roads. >> thank you very much. mike inouye is here with traffic and trying to get you off on your way. >> trying to get the hang up as you might expect much the east shore freeway shows the build up building over the last 15 minutes. we have it on 23 machines off of

the bridge to the toll plaza. meters lights are on and turned on earlier than typical. off of the 880 overcrossing itself. the volume moves until you get fors the maze. a smooth drive approaching 580 and 80, but the freeways themselves with a heavier volume. the slow down over the next 15 to 20 minutes. >> thank you very much, mike. an antioch couple whose 2-year-old son was shot to death on his birthday will learn whether they will face charges. eddie karr and 28-year-old girlfriend were released after posting bail. their son died thursday after being shot in the head where he and his 4-year-old brother were playing. they were not home at the time. they were arrested on child

endangering causing death and reckless storage of a firearm. >> the superintendent of schools will talk about school bullying. carlos garcia will talk about it before the concert for kids which raises money for the make it better project. that organization has been making a series of viral videos encouraging gay teens. a new study suggests that gay teens are more likely to be punished by schools or criminal authorities. they looked at the sample of teens assessing the school expulsion rates and police stops and convictions. gay or bisexual teens were three times more likely to be punished than straight teens. girls suffered especially hard punishment disproportionate to their behavior. >> a girl lost for a week.

the day before she said she fell into a ravine. over the weekend she was found by a neighbor and his young son who went looking for her on less traveled trails. >> why don't we go in the area that she might be. it might get mucky. >> he didn't even know her before he found her on the trail. the rescue took five hours because of the steep and rugged terrain. they told rescuers she survived on rain water. she suffered from dehydration and hypothermia on the toes, but doctors said she was in good shape considering she was out in the cold weather for so long. >> a-judge panel making up the ninth circuit court of appeals will take up the arguments. sponsors are trying to appeal a lower court ruling that struck it down. bob redell is joining us from

san francisco with more on what to expect in court today. bob? >> good morning to you. that hearing starts in roughly 3 1/2 hours. there several people and most of them are people who are against prop 8 who are in favor of gay marriage. the court watchers lined up on the steps here at seventh and mission. they want to get a seat in the courthouse. first come, first serve. they will be looking at two distinct issues that judge panel will be talking about as well as what the odds are of overturning or keeping the ban in effect. that is coming up in about 20 minutes. bob redell for today in the bi. >> thank a lot and a remind they're we will continue to follow this online on nbcbayarea.com. >> bring on the san gria and the hot toddies. a bill is giving the okay for alcohol infused with fruit

flavors. mark leno said a proi hi bigz law let state regulators crack down on bars. leno said the president of the alcoholic beverage control supports the change. >> a menlo park man is allegedly trying to sell phony apple stock. he was sentenced to more than two years in prison and ordered to pay more than $19,000 in restitution. he was charged in may after convincing two people to buy 404 shares of apple stock which he never had. he was kbktconvicted of trying sell a boegus share in the warriors. >> the party may be over for nightclubs on wheels. >> it's nothing more than a booze cruise.

it's wrong. >> our investigation exposes a legal loophole. why a night out on the town could have new meaning for everyone in the bay area. >> a convicted rapist accused of attacking a toddler in the aisle of a bay area store will be in court later today. >> gusty wins and plenty ever rain around parts of the bay area. how long you need the umbrella coming up today in the bay. hey, guys !

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if you will be headed to mammoth, to truckee, snow levels close to 5500 feet. especially for san jose and rain around the highway 17 summit and a few scattered showers. the trend will be for decreasing showers and clearing and mild temperatures, mostly low 60s from oakland southward and upper 50s with a break from the rain. more rain for wednesday morning and at least through thursday. back to you. >> thanks, rob. new this morning, lawmakers call

for greater oversight of party buses. jerry hill from san mateo will introduce a law that forces bus companies to keep booze out of the hands of people under 21 years of age. that came after a teenager's death who drank with friends and got behind the wheel of his own car and crashed. a convicted sex offender accused of sexually assaulting a toddler in a dollar store. ramos assaulted the 2-year-old in a dollar store in union city on wednesday while her family was shopping aisle over. >> time now is 6:41 and the senate is working trying to decide on tax cuts. is it all for show? we will have a report from washington. >> looking live at the flags waving and it's freezy out.

hold on to your hat if you are headed out and take the umbrella. traffic and weather in a bit.

said good morning, everybody. a live look outside in the south bay and things are moving smoothly. checking in with mike. the meantime temperatures not too bad. into the 50s. compared to the 25 we have seen, it's good. we will check the forecast with rob. >> all relative. >> we have been waiting for weeks to see what the congress will do with the taxes. they agree we can't let taxes go up, but they can't agree on how to prevent it. the negotiations seem to be

moving closer to middle ground, but are they really? >> they are making progress. they have the same goal which is not to have your taxes go up as of january 1st and to get it done before the holiday break. they are aim for example before christmas eve. there is a deep divide. number one, republicans want to make sure that the tax breaks we have now are extended for the rich and people who makeover $250,000. they say those are the job createors. over the weekend, the senate voted on a middle class only extension that did not pass. five democrats joined republicans in not voting for that. it failed. democrats want to make sure that unemployment insurance is extended. those are the two things they are negotiating on. a couple of things will happen. unemployment insurance probably will be extended.

republicans want to make sure it's paid for though. tax breaks for the wealthy should also continue. it's just a matter of how long the temporary extension will last. one year or two years? that's what they are talking about. they are motivated to try to get it done so they don't have to stay over a holiday break or come back after christmas. live from capitol hill, i'm tracie potts for today in the bay. >> california faces a $6 billion budget gap. lawmakers will meet almost around the clock trying to breakthrough differences. outgoing governor arnold schwarzenegger must submit a new budget and steep cuts and job losses. since he only has a few more weeks in office and the new governor jerry brown will take over, none of the proposals are expected to take effect. the special session is going to be like a glorified town hall

meeting to find solutions for the new leadership that will be coming in after the first of the year. >> a bart police officer in the hospital after a parolee refused to stop and one step further and slammed his car into the patrol car. today in the bay's christie smith has more on the wild chase and what else the suspect damaged in all the mess. good morning, christie. >> good morning. he hit not one, but two patrol cars and a signal light that was here where you see orange cone. then he crashed into this front yard thaw see here. flower boxes are wrecked this morning. you can see the path he took. when you look at the damage, it is quite amazing that everyone survived. deputies tell us the man involved is a 23-year-old parolee from hayward on parole for stealing cars. it was just before midnight and deputies spotted a stolen honda

near the castro valley part station. they ordered him to stop and he pulled down a wide alley. deputies got out of their car and he threw his car in reverse and hit their patrol car. he then kept going and crashed through a fence and floored it about 60 miles an hour through city streets around hayward. another crash. >> when it came to b street and grand, the suspect went throughout red light and collided with a bart police car who had the grown light and was uninvolved up to that point. >> the bart officer was hit hard. he was taken to the hospital, but is expected to be okay. the parolee went to the hospital as well. he suffered prettied about head wound in the crash. investigators say they found a pellet gun inside the car. i can tell you when the folks who are here at this business get here later, they will have a

clean up to do. there is debris just about everywhere from the wrecked cars. that's the latest reporting live in hayward, christie smith today in the bay. >> what a mess. you shouldn't have too much an impact. a tree might affect the commute. >> that's right. we are looking on the other side. it's a local roadway and not a spot through fremont. we have highway 84 between 54 toll 54 tolla. a tree has fallen down and it's an odd intersection. you are being rerouted and a smooth drive for 101. a nice easy drive and we will see the sunrise slow down around 7:15. the build up in northbound 101. coming into the south bay and through sunol, the southbound side shows build up and when you

get to the top of the grade to fremont, we know it's clearing here. good news and the back ups over the puddles, the puddles you can't see will dry out later on. >> things improving around san francisco. here's the reason why you don't need a thick coat. we start off in the mid 50s and a mild start and still windy. wins from 10 to 20 miles per hour. higher in the hilltops. mike talked about that downed tree along 84 around the peninsula. the wind gusts we had 40 to 57 mile per hour wind gusts in the hills to the south. that occurred at 1:00 this morning. the wind speeds are dropping off, but for the most part the rain looks like it's getting out of here. morgan hill along highway 17 still a few showers. the showers will leave the bay area and a mild day today with 50s to even mid 60s for highs. not too bad in terms of highs. part low cloudy and breezy and tomorrow is dry and the next round of rain for wednesday and thursday and the weekend ahead

looks good. mid 60s to maybe even near 70 in spots by next sunday. >> not bad. people in the bay area are among the smartest in the country. portfolio magazine ranked the brainiest cities based on the average level of higher education and the earning power of adults. san francisco and oakland are ranked number 10 and san jose is number seven. the top three are washington, d.c. and ann arbor, michigan and they looked at the least brainy cities. number one from the central valley is merced. number four is bakersfield and number four i have sail why. >> nothing worse than messing up the least brain. >> i have connections with awful them. i worked for many years in the central valley. somewhere in there it might have affected me.

i don't know. >> let's talk the stock market. the dow industrials are down slightly. two interesting bits of news today. the "wall street journal" has netflix higher. better than 3% and that has been an incredible performer. on the front of nbc bay area, a new white iphone may be coming in the spring. they had production problems with white iphone. >> it's not about the color. >> literally the color. if you don't want a black iphone. >> the blue tooth is not necessarily blue. i will get myself in trouble. . >> the ninth circuit court of appeals hear arguments on prop 8. people who support the major ban will try to appeal a lower court that struck it down. bob redell is live on what we

can expect in court this morning. bob? >> several supporters of gay marriage have lined up outside the courthouse here on seventh at mission. some here for a rally and against prop 8. that will be taking place in about a half hour. others are in line to get into the hearing since seat suggest limited in the courtroom and it's first come, first serve. >> in history i want to be a part of it. it's one of the moments i want to -- it doesn't directly -- i'm single now,u eventually i want to get married and be able to say to my adopted kids or my own children that i was there and i was a part of that. i want to share my experience with other people. >> in just over three hours, a 3 three-judge panel on the court of appeals will hear from lawyers. the judges will be considering two issues.

does protect marriage, the group filing this have the authority to do so? the overturned prop 8 did not have a direct effect. the other issue is whether the judge made the right decision when he ruled that prop 8 is unconstitutional since it violates gay people's civil rights. the hearing is expected to last two hours with an hour dedicated to each issue. it will be lawyers arguing legal points and you will be able to see how the process works on c-span which will be providing live coverage. live here in san francisco, bob redell is today in the bay. >> you can get updates on nbcbayarea.com. >> a last look at the commute. >> we talked about the build up in oakland. closer to 17 minutes and dipping down towards 55 and into downtown. the camera is shaking a little bit here because of gusty wins. another indicator and san mateo

bridge, camera shakes there as well. better movement as you travel westbound with the tail lights. a smooth drive across the bridge and slow. the peninsula side, haze and low clouds as well. a clear look at 101 and the north bay has shown over the last half hour, reports of flooding in santa rosa and wine country and glen ellen as well. >> you a here to talk about that. >> an inch of rain overnight. we are watching the south bay. this is the last of this weather system. around the hilltops, highway 17 with fog mixed with light rain and snow continues to fly around the sierra. quite a bit too. the winter weather advisory should continue through mid-morning. more clouds, but those will be mainly from north around lunchtime. temperatures with a mild start. 40s and 50s and highs today

climbing into the 60s. balmy outside. low 60s. 58 degrees in san francisco. we will catch a break and may have fog to deal with. the interesting part of the forecast, we have rain coming in wednesday and thursday, the first large swell of the season could result in 25-foot waves with the earlier start with the mavericks. we will keep an eye on that. we would like the wind and rain to back off. big waves later this week. >> you expect santa to come down the chimney, but you can find it someplace else. under the sea. for the tension year in a row, santa is in scuba gear in maryland. >> a scary mermaid. you can have your picture taken with santa. the only thing you need to do is bring a can of -- the air is hopefully good. >> they are doing it for a good cause. if you top the make a

donation -- >> that's what i do in the morning. >> you need water. pretty cool. >> you want to make a donation, not there. you can make a local donation. they are doing food drives. >> safeway too. continue to do that. thank you for joining us this morning. the "today" show is up next and a local news update in a half hour. have a great morning.

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