new this morning, rain is falling across the bay area this morning, and you can bet that means some serious problems for homeowners. we'll show you coming up in a live report. we'll also show you how to protect your property from that storm damage and when to file an insurance claim. don't worry, the sun will come out again. rob will let you know when. it's wednesday, december 22nd, "today in the east bay." from nbc bay area, reporting what matters to you, this is "today in the east bay." well, good morning, everyone. i'm scott mcgrew. it is 4:30.

let's immediately talk to rob about, goodness gracious, all kinds of stuff going on. >> we've been seeing some pretty wild weather here but it's actually worse in southern california and off to the east this morning. you can see the snow flying in the sierra. around the bay area, as we take you into the south bay, fremont looking at the rain. scattered showers across highway 17. across the tri-valley you're seeing some rain. heavier rain right around san francisco, pacifica heading up to the golden gate bridge, about to see a downpour in the next ten minutes. across the north bay you can see pockets of rain heading off to the north and east. if you want to find some sunshine, we'll see some clearing skies and a dry forecast by tomorrow morning that will probably lead to some patchy fog. so today kind of a rainy start. we'll see mid to upper 50s for highs today and then the sun will come out with scattered showers. the showers should shut down by later on this afternoon. highs in the mid-50s. just in time for christmas, another powerful storm aiming on the bay area. we'll show you coming up in a

few minutes. the wet weather we're dealing with right now has several counties under a state of emergency this morning. the relentless rain has flooding, downed trees and submerging neighborhoods. christie smith is live in oakland with what it's like out there. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. let me start by saying it's been raining for hours now and of course we're starting to see the fallout from all this rain. we're on the oakland-san leandro border and the homeowner here says she thought it was an earthquake or maybe a plane crashing into the house when this huge tree came crashing down on her house. turns out 75-foot pine tree, the ground completely soaked here. if steve can pan over here, this is a spark arrester from the chimney sitting in front of the house. it crashed through the roof. the homeowner said she was holding her head hoping she wouldn't get hurt. to make matters worse, she had five people over. this was sunday. two of those people had a close

call. >> i had two friends on the couch at the time, so just very, very happy that they did not get hit by the branches because everything else in the living room was smashed. >> reporter: and the damage inside of the living room there pretty bad. she said she had planned to go out of town for the holidays, now not so sure. she's got to deal with all the holes in her roof. i wanted to show you real quickly this is a car that is parked in front of that house as well so it looks like that was hit by one of these flying branches as well. that's the latest from here. reporting live in oakland, christie smith, "today in the east bay." >> i know the worst isn't necessarily over. as the ground gets wet, those trees can still fall. >> reporter: absolutely. i have to say it's kind of dark out here. but when we were coming here, this particular block that we're on, this is the sheffield area, it's completely lined with trees so we were looking all over trying to see which one was the

fallen tree. but there's trees everywhere and the ground is literally soaked. meanwhile cheryl hurd has advice on how to handle insurance claims from rain-related problems. >> reporter: the latest storm rocking california has insurance agents busy. state farm is reporting it has gotten over 900 claims since monday. >> a lot of the common claims are fences blowing over, water coming in through roofs, finding their way through that opening that you didn't know that you had. sometimes gutters are clogged up, so that may cause the rain to come in. >> reporter: that's when flooding becomes a big problem in so many ways. >> flooding in many cases is not covered because that is something that's excluded from many homeowners' policies. >> reporter: right now it's a good idea to check your insurance policy. with storms heading our way, a tree expert says more insurance claims are inevitable. >> as we get more and more rains

and the soil becomes more and more saturated and we get heavy winds, that's really going to cause trees to fail. >> i would just tell them get the trees checked out. make sure that they're not dead. make sure they're healthy. have professionals come out and look at them for you. >> reporter: that is good advice. agents also say make your claims early, paubecause that can only help you in the long run. cheryl hurd, "today in the east bay." well, whether you're headed to work or headed out for the holidays, good idea to check in with us before you leave. you can sign up for severe weather alerts, breaking news alerts as well by e-mail@nbcbayarea.com. only we have mike inouye to advise you as to what's going on. >> thank you, scott. also follow us on facebook and twitter. no matter how you get your information, we try to get it to you as quickly as possible. a look at the bay bridge, and folks know about this but look how rain is affecting the

roadways. the water kicking up and rooster tailing. stay to the middle of the highways better than the shoulders. right now the bay bridge approach from oakland and the rest of the east bay moving smoothly. there's no major disturbance. there's an accident at the caldecott tunnel. it's cleared the roadway about 20 minutes ago but there's still activity there and i still see slowing coming into and out of the caldecott tunnel. the westbouaccident did happen westbound commute direction. typical spots for flooding include the caldecott tunnel so watch for more reports as the rain is still coming down. back to you. meanwhile this morning, investigators are trying to get to the bottom of a disturbing discovery at the oakland estuary. oakland police say a bird watcher using a telescope spotted a dead woman yesterday afternoon. investigators are still looking over evidence collected at the scene at dolittle drive and harbor bay parkway. that's near the northeast corner of the alameda municipal golf

course. the oakland tribune is reporting the woman suffered several gunshot wounds and her throat was slit. obviously if you have any information, call the oakland police department. this morning one defendant in the brutal richmond high school gang rape case is walking free. six others are headed to trial. six defendants will stand trial on felony charges in connection with the october, 2009, gang rape of a 16-year-old girl at the school's homecoming dance. all charges were dismissed against a seventh and youngest defendant. partially because the judge believed police violated his right to remain silent. five of the remaining defendants facing maximum sentence of life in prison if convicted. another faces eight years. oakland city leaders trying to shut down three hotels that they say are centers of prostitution. the city attorney will announce they're filing suit against the hotel owners this morning at

10:00. oakland police say the economy inn on east 12th street is one of those hotels. a receptionist at the hotel said the owners were not available for comment. let's check back in with rob. rob, it is just tremendously wet and yucky out there and lots of trees down. what's the latest? >> right now we're still tracking some pretty heavy rainfall totals, especially along the coast moving across the east bay right now. here's the timeline for you. rainy start to your morning but improving for the afternoon. we'll get some clearing skies. then we're watching a break in the action coming up thursday and friday. right now across the south bay, you can see some rain that extends up toward danville and you can see pretty heavy showers there crossing the coast west of san francisco and across the north bay this morning, we do have rain off and on moving off to the north and east. expect a rainy start to your morning, but some sun breaking through, some clearing skies as we get into the afternoon. highs in the mid to upper 50s from the east bay up toward the north bay. we'll finally catch a break in

the action. this will be for thursday and friday. just in time for christmas we're talking more wind and rain as we kick off the weekend. what better time to introduce the newest member of our weather team. we have christina lauren joining us for the first time this morning. christina, welcome back to california. you're a native californian, aren't you? >> i certainly am. i went to school at chico state, born and raised in palm springs and i forecasted in bakersfield, beautiful bakersfield. i think everybody puts that on a map as a destination they want to travel to before they die. i forecasted all up and down the entire state and i'm really happy to be back working for what i consider to be the best network and the best station right here in the bay area. >> we're happy to have you aboard. you also had forecasting out in south florida and miami talking about severe weather and tropical storms. christina lauren, really happy

to have her on a busy morning. we're working this radar tag team coverage. >> christina, one of the changes around here. also there's a change of scenery. this is our temporary home while our state-of-the-art news set is assembled behind that wall so we will be in our new digs in a couple of weeks. meanwhile, will oakland fight the feds? a decision on pot policy that could land city council members in jail. plus the hot holiday gifts you'll want to get as soon as possible. what's in scarce supply or sold out. you're looking at a live picture of a rainy, messy, bay bridge. we'll talk to mike in just a minute. be careful out there. reporting what matters to you, you're watching "today in the east bay" with scott mcgrew, and traffic with mike inouye. [ female announcer ] what will you gain when you lose?™

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or the comfort of a helping hand. hope. support the american red cross and help save the day. visit redcross.org. well, good morning, everyone. it's 4:43. it is wet, wet, wet out there as we look at the san mateo bridge as you head into the city. we will check in with rob and mike in just a moment. growing pains in oakland, meanwhile. plans to sell pricey permits so people can set up large-scale indoor marijuana farms has hit a snag. the city council has put a stop to the application process. >> this is an example of greed rather than reason irks ed

rosenthal took on the federal government over medical marijuana. now he's taking on oakland's cultivation ordinance. the city was planning to sell four permits to growers at $211,000 apiece. >> there are 300 applicants and they're only going to choose four? most of those 300 people are already growing. so if they -- if they're not chosen, they're not going to stop growing. >> reporter: rosenthal says permit holders who paid top dollar will want those small growers shut down. the alameda county district attorney is also issuing a warning saying in a letter to the counsel, it remains an open question whether public officers or public employees who aid and abet or conspire to violate state and federal laws in the furtherance of a city ordinance are exempt from criminal liability. rebecca kaplan says the letter is leading to changes in the ordinance but she's not worried about facing charges. >> she is not saying we will be tossed in jail.

historically when there have been prosecutions, it has never been against the city government, it's been against the facility. >> reporter: in closed session tonight the council suspended the cultivation application process. the deadline to apply was tomorrow. kaplan won't say exactly what's changing. councilwoman nancy nadell made it clear the number of is up for debate. >> whether the number of facilities would be four or eight or 12 would have to be re-established. >> reporter: rosenthal predicts the plan will go up in smoke. hundreds of people are interested in those grow permits. they'll now have to wait for the council to settle on new rules and language before they can apply. let's check in with mike. mike, one of the pictures you showed me earlier was of the bay bridge plaza. there is this huge puddle. i know you're going to show it again. point it out for us. it looks very dangerous. >> reporter: well, the big

puddle is the bay bridge toll plaza. we are looking at the wet roadways. you can see in the lights the mist kicking off the road. as the cars travel through, yes, a lot of standing water. big puddles. basically the entire area has that sheen. that will be an issue through this area approaching the toll plaza and in many spots like the off-ramps coming off that freeway speed. let's take a look at the approach, a lighter volume of traffic. a lighter commute has been the case all week. the caldecott tunnel still showing a little slowing after an earlier accident cleared from lanes about a half an hour ago. also through antioch we see the first signs of the commute even on this lighter holiday week. we'll see the slowing where 68 is. look at that coming off the bend and antioch bridge, we see unusual slowing there. likely rain causing an issue for those few drivers heading through through. let's check right in with rob and see what's going on as far as the immediate forecast. >> i think we're seeing the

worst of this storm coming through right now. a lot of the heavy rain fell overnight and we're seeing lingering effects this morning. 50s. not too windy. you'll remember yesterday afternoon we had winds picking up 10 to 25 miles per hour. right now across san jose you see the rain leaving campbell. it's a little bit of a sloppy drive. danville into livermore, you can see the rain there too. some pretty good cells pushing across the peninsula heading toward san francisco. you can see more heading towards santa rosa. heading toward vallejo and antioch. now, here's the futurecast. going into thursday the rain is out of here. in fact by this afternoon i think most of the showers will be shutting down. all the rain sets up for southern california. so as typical for this time of year, winonce the rain clears o the winds go, light, patchy fog. so today around the bay area we'll see highs in the mid to upper 50s with sunny breaks. not a bad finish to the day. and for the seven-day forecast,

still on schedule for christmas day will be another system that will bring some wind and rain to kick off the weekend. scott. a former hp ceo mark hurd is asking a judge to keep the letter accusing him of sexual harassment sealed. that accusation led to his resignation and triggered an investigation by federal regulators. the judge is expected to make a ruling on whether to unseal that letter early next year. for other business news this morning, let's turn to hampton pearson who's live at cnbc headquarters in washington. good morning, hampton. >> reporter: good morning, scott. as a matter of fact, futures are flat this morning. stocks climbed higher tuesday with the dow hitting a two-year high. financials leading the way after another big deal, td bank buying chrysler financial. that's sparking hope more takeovers will be on the way. europe is a touch lower. we do get data later this morning on existing home sales and the final report on third

quarter gdp which could show the economy grew more over the summer than we first thought. the dow rose 55 points to close at 11,5 trae and the nasdaq added 18. the house has passed a food safety bill which could lead to the biggest overhaul in 70 years. the measure now goes to president obama to sign into law. it would increase inspections and allow the fda and regulators to recall tainted food. pressure has mounted following several outbreaks involving lettuce, spinach and eggs. food borne illnesses sicken 48 million people each year. there are just three days until christmas and many viewers still procrastinating. the international council of shopping centers expects 23 million people to wait until the last minute, finish their shopping on christmas eve. nearly 75% of consumers crossed everything off their gift list by this past weekend. sales on super saturday were up

15% from last year when many people on the east coast were stuck at home thanks to the massive blizzard. it's going to stop raining so less of an excuse for folks in your part of the world to get out there and do their part to help the economy. >> thank you. in fact if you are a last-minute shopper trying to choose a big screen tv for under the tree, marc barger talked to a tv expert about some possible choices. >> reporter: if you're looking to go high end in your tv search between 18 and $2200. david katsmeyer recommends panasonic. >> it's also a good 3-d tv so if you're welling to spend extra money that's my top recommendation. >> reporter: as a bonus he says this plasma is also the best 2-d tv he's ever tested. if you want a great picture without the 3-d option, vizio is his choice. it runs between $1700 and $2000.

>> this is actually their best tv so far. >> reporter: excellent overall picture quality is just one of the selling points. >> also the apps platform which is one of our favorites. it has a little remote with a keyboard on it to make using a lot of that internet functionality a lot easier. >> reporter: soniest gt-1 series is the best internet tv. it's the first set with google tv built in. >> it has a full built-in web browser and has access to apps and ways to get internet content onto the tv. it can also control your cable box so it acts like a built-in universal remote. >> reporter: he said some software refinements will simplify that experience. you're looking at about $600 for a 24-inch version. $1400 for the 46-inch. if you're looking to maximize dollars spent with picture quality, panasonic's tcpg 20 series is his pick.

>> i like the panasonic for the best bang for the buck. >> reporter: the 42-inch runs between $800 and $1,000. but his best overall mainstream bargain is the samsung lnc 3600 series. >> right there it's a pretty good deal. also it's very good picture quality for the price. >> reporter: and for many holiday shoppers, price is paramount. marc barger, nbc news. prius owners may slam toyota and its dealerships with a class action lawsuit. they're filing the suit over battery failures. the group alleges the car manufacturer is not honoring the hat battery warranty. the announcement will be at 11:00 this morning. do you have allergies? these are common conditions that account for thousands of doctor visits. doctors say you may skip the office visit and treat yourself at home with remedies there. for example, you can use a netty pot to treat symptoms of the

common cold. and heat up some chicken noodle soup. homemade saltwater solution can help you avoid a cold altogether, apparently. >> there's one study in which people gargled daily with water and they had half the colds that people who didn't. >> and for frequent headaches, doctors say people get relief from a headache by rubbing peppermint oil on their temple, so they say. meanwhile, in washington this morning lots of action. the tax deal is done, the repeal of don't ask, don't tell gets signed today, the nuclear treaty with russia heads for a final vote. looks like congress may indeed make it home for the holidays after all. tracie potts has a look at what's ahead today. >> reporter: the yeas are 193 and the nays are 165. >> reporter: that means the federal budget is extended again, frozen until march, one of the last big hurdles congress needed to overcome to get home on time. they rolled back the military's

don't ask, don't tell policy on gay troops serving openly. president obama signs it today. >> we will fulfill our pledge to make don't ask, don't tell a memory by the end of this year. >> reporter: a $1.4 billion overhaul of the nation's food safety system is now a done deal, awaiting the president's signature. >> the motion is agreed to. >> reporter: the s.t.a.r.t. treaty, limiting nuclear war heads with russia, could pass today. 67 senators moved for final vote. >> this is not over. you know, we have to count every vote and stay on this. >> reporter: a bill to provide free health care for 9/11 first responders faces a key vote today. >> get the deal done and protect these heroes that are standing behind me. >> we can pass this vote and it will be a christmas miracle. >> reporter: with so much getting done, a white house that took a self-proclaimed shellacking at the polls just seven weeks ago is now claiming victory. in washington, tracie potts, "today in the east bay."

let's get a look at what's coming up later today in the bay. >> good morning to you, scott. we will witness military history later this morning as you and tracy just mentioned. president obama will sign the repeal of don't ask, don't tell. that's about 6:15 and we'll take you for the white house live. plus, the crash test dummies show us which cars meet safety standards and which ones fall short. we'll give you the latest report to help you and your family stay safe on the roads. those stories, plus a big star makes a big mistake. we'll have the story coming up later on "today in the bay." we'll see you in just a few. >> you were telling me about that earlier. that is amazing. the warriors, meanwhile, will not get christmas off. they play the trailblazers on saturday and will try to give the fans the gift of a winning streak. they picked up a win last night. david lee gave the warriors the lead with a layup and a foul. later monta ellis scores on a circus shot. he finished with 36 points.

the warriors win 117-109. today the warriors will host a special holiday party for young fans. 20 make-a-wish kids and their families will be at the team's practice facility in oakland. players and coaches will take part in the activities with kids and their families, including playing foosball and air hockey. the party from 4:00 to 6:00 today. well, coming up in just a bit. do you feel the flash? there's an app for that. it promises you'll never get caught by another red light camera. is it a good idea? we'll take for it a test drive. and a dangerous pit bull is still on the loose. animal control stillki looking r that dog that mauled a woman. marla coming up after the break. ♪ [ male announcer ] how do you say... can you believe it's been 20 years since college? ♪ [ male announcer ] nothing says "you're special"

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new this morning, a state of emergency. rainy weather all over california is putting a lot of people in danger. >> reporter: and the rain is starting to come down in pacifica but there is another concern here. i'm kris sanchez. that story coming up "today in the bay." from nbc bay area, reporting what matters to you, this is "today in the bay." good morning. it's just about 5:00 on this wednesday morning. i'm marla tellez. brent and laura have the morning off. our top story, of course, the weather. we do have