new this morning, san francisco firefighters still on the scene of a fire that broke out last night, leaving about a dozen people without a place to stay. i'll have that story coming up in a live report. plus the woman who was the victim of a machete attack now the prime suspect in a murder. and police upping the ante after the tragic shooting of an oakland 5-year-old. this is "today in the bay."

happy new year, everyone. good morning. it's 4:30 a.m. i'm jon kelley. we welcome back laura garcia-cannon. >> we made it to 2012. >> happy to report. >> we'll talk resolutions a little bit later. let's first get to the forecast with christina loren. certainly no excuse to get out and exercise. >> no excuses. yesterday we had record highs. 70-degree weather in some bay area cities. and this morning we're picking up showers on the radar. so we're going to take you through a very interesting forecast. we get a couple more days close to 70 degrees this weeks. it's a spare the air day. it's illegal to burn. we'll talk about that and take you through the first week of 2012. >> i can't start the new year off without an accident. what would the traffic report be without something to report?

the accident was blocking a lane for just a few minutes. but now it's off to the shoulder. i'll give you another look in a live report coming up. >> this morning investigators trying to figure out the cause of a new year's day fire. they say this one may have been set deliberately. christie smith is live with the latest details. good morning. >> good morning to you. i spoke briefly with a firefighter on scene. she says fire investigators may be here to figure out what caused the fire. some of the damage is pretty obvious. nearly a dozen people were displaced as it started on the

victorian and moved to two others. very visible. neighbors evacuated. really scary as these are multiple unit buildings. firefighters say their jobs were made more difficult by the fact that the homes are so close together. it took more than 100 firefighters an hour to knock this down. several people were taken to the park police station for help, the red cross and animal control helping out. arkansas on the investigators are back here this morning. back to you guys in san jose. >> the investigation continues. thank you very much. meanwhile, police have arrested a personal responsible for a murder. she was covered in blood. she called police saying a man had attacked her and killed

another woman in the house. investigators suspicions turned to her after they found a bloody machete in the backyard of the home. the murder may have been the result of a domestic dispute but have yet to say what her relationship was to the murdered woman. neighbors think it was the mother of the girlfriend. a shooting in oakland left a 5-year-old dead in front of his father's taco truck. little gabriel martinez jr. was helping unload supplies when she was shot. a man was waiting to order jumped from a war with a woman and took off. oakland police and crime stoppers are offering a $5,000 reward. friends, family and activists gathered to remember oscar grant, killed by a bart officer three years ago.

cell phone video of the 2009 incident at the fruitvale bart station shows mehserle shooting him. they continue to protest the conviction rather than murder. they say his death will be in vain if they don't continue to speak out against police brutality. >> the only way change can come is if we ignite as one. police brutality is unacceptabl unacceptable. >> about 100 people gathered for the march. mehserle was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and served less than two years. he was released in june. a long legal battle over an east palo alto house damaged in a small plane crash is finally over.

the home has been vacant since the crash. but the owner is hoping to rebuild the home and live it in it again. the plane crash killed three people aboard the cesna. nobody on the ground was injured. barry bonds has a few more months to prepare for his appeal of his obstruction of justice conviction. bonds now has until march 21st to file papers. federal prosecutors have until april 20th to respond. the u.s. 9th circuit court of appeals will hear arguments this year but will likely not hand down a decision until 2013. last month bonds was sentenced to 30 days of home confinement, probation and community service for giving evasive answers to a federal grand jury during the 2003 steroids investigation. a new smoking ordnance goes into effect in alameda. the anti-smoking measure is stricter than the current state law. the ban regulates smoking in places of employment, outdoor

public places and multiunit housing. lighting up will be prohibited on sidewalks, outdoor restaurants and in parks. >> today is also a spare the air day. no wood burning. today is the 12th spare the air day this winter and the second in the new year. the ban is intended to help ease health concerns from people suffering from respiratory illnesses. you don't need the heat. it's been quite nice. >> it's been very nice. let's check in with christina loren. >> i don't think they were counting on the showers coming through this morning. showers moving on shore right now, and the rain purifies your aaron. santa rosa to petaluma, watch out for slick conditions. we won't see the showers last

all day. high pressure is firmly in control of weather pattern. it will boost your temperatures to 70 degrees. we have a lot to talk about in your forecast. also another chance of rain through thursday. right now they need the showers. we're going to pinpoint them for you all morning long. >> we're looking at northbound 880 through san jose. indeed the accident at the alame alameda. no lanes are blocked there. let's show you an earlier accident. northbound 87 at the onramp. an earlier accident had a lot of police activity there. it may still be affecting -- the flashing lights might be a distraction for folks at the offramp. no problems downtown. 880 moves nicely with the taillights. no construction this morning all over the bay area.

no lanes are blocked. no one is -- only us working. >> well, we were just happy to know you were driving back. a monkey stolen from the san francisco zoo is back at home this morning. that's right. baa n banana sam was snatched. police received a call about a mile from the so. a man found the monkey was and able to coax him into his backpack. police have questioned the man, but they did not arrest him. look at banana sam. he appeared to be cold and hungry. but otherwise banana sam feeling good. >> how does one coax a monkey into a backpack? >> maybe with a banana less than 24 hours until the iowa republican presidential caucus

starts. candidates making their final pushes f we'll have details coming up in des moines. with the new year comes new laws, including one that will affect everybody in the bay area's biggest city. >> and nfl playoffs are now set. 49ers head to the post season for the first time in almost a decade. we'll tell you how they could face first. for all your news, weather, traffic, including the return of lgc, check out. she's heading over to nbc bay area news. another nice day ive look another nice day across the bay area. lots of news ahead.

welcome back, everyone. playing to make you feel good. it's 4:43. >> it's good to see them go. the start of the new year brings with it new laws, including one that will affect the biggest city in the bay area. the plastic bag ban is considered the toughest in the nation. kimberly terry has details on why you should make carrying a reusable bag a habit. >> plastic bags are banned.

not just at grocery stores, but retail stores, too. >> we get a lot of mixed messages. shoppers are encouraged to buy and bring bags. >> do you need a bag? >> it would be nice. >> they said it's ten cents extra. it was a surprise to me. >> i was shocked. i totally forgot that was happening today. and, 15 cents, i guess that's a little ridiculous. especially it's not even a pretty bag. >> at best buy signs have been up for week warning customers of the change. >> would you like to purchase a reusable bag for 99 cents? >> it will take some time to catch on. >> do you have reusable bags? >> yes. >> where are they? >> i'm going to put them in in my car. i have little ones to put in my purse. >> they passed a ban meant to

help the environment. while they have mixed reviews, they say they support creating a cleaner place to live. >> i knew about the ban. i think it's good. plastic is a waste. and most people just throw it away. and our landfills are really big. so i think it's a great step. >> in san jose. kimberly terry, nbc, bay area news. >> i'm going to sit out there with bags for five cents outside of the store. >> we've got some rain showers out there. it's really hard to fathom that we hit 70 degrees yesterday. and now we're tracking rain this morning. so put a bag on your head unless you want to get your hair wet. showers moving on shore. healdsburg about to get wet. santa rosa. as we head throughout the day today we'll see nice weather. temperatures climbing up to the upper 60s. so right now you can see the

front is starting to push onshore. most meteorologists figured this big ridge of high pressure would not let this front in, but that's just not happening. big ridge of high pressure is still firmly in control. not a lot of this activity will make its way inland. we'll track the showers for you all morning long. it's a spare the air day. so we need the rain. we need it to purr ify the air. everybody else is in moderate rain. 63 degrees later on in san jose. your temperatures continuously climb through wednesday. we'll experience spring like weather for a couple of days. 69 by wednesday. by thursday, really interesting setup. we're going to see a lot of sunshine for the first part of the day. and then late thursday night, a few showers develop up in the north bay. i think some of the showers will start to make their way south of the golden gate bridge as we wake up friday morning. it's the second driest december ever for san francisco, oakland

and san jose, and that's the reason why the air quality had been suffering so much. so once we get the showers roll through this morning, thursday and friday hopefully another round of showers. we should see better air quality. but the good news is we're going to get a couple warm days where you can kick off that jacket and enjoy the short sleeves. back to you guys. >> sounds like a good move, christina. thank you very much. today is the last big push before the iowa caucus run. and the latest polls show there could be a surprise winner. >> people here like to see the candidates talk to them, shake their hands, and now more iowans are leaning toward rick santo m santorum. he's second virtually tied with mitt romney in the last two days of polling. >> a full spectrum of conservativety, rick santorum is

rock solid. >> i let people make own assessment. >> santorum's late surge prompted opponents to pounce. >> four out of ten iowans still say they could change their minds. michele bachmann is hoping for a shot. could newt gingrich land back on t top? riding high is ron paul. now a solid second in iowa. >> i may come in first. i may come in second. >> feeling confident with over 24 hours to go. >> and it's going to be busy day. these candidates are chris crossing the state with two dozen separate events. tracie potts, nbc news, des moines, iowa. the city of philadelphia is gearing up for the winter

classic this morning. citizens bank park was transformed from a baseball field to an ice rink last night. look how fast that went up. take note it starts at noon our time. to take advantage of the best weather possible for the outdoor game. it's two hours later than the original start time. see all the action here on nbc bay area. the silver lining for the raiders, wait, there isn't one. the raiders are out of the playoffs. both can control the own fate but not get it done in the end. that loss costing them a spot in the post season and gives them early vacation. richard seymore summed it up best saying for you can't stop a teap with everything on the line, you don't deserve to be a

playoff team. they're on the role. they're playoff bound. san francisco locks up the second best record in the nfc and secures a first round buy. they will not have to play until january 14th. their opponent, tbd. the wild card round is this weekend. there are three possibilities. now no matter who the opponent is, for the niners, good news, it will be a home game. >> 4:50 right now. if you can't wait for the playoffs, what about a bowl game instead? stanford is ready for the final game of the season. tonight the cardinals take on oklahoma state in the fiesta bowl. kickoff 59:30. >> good couple weeks of.

>> we'll tell you which city is new year's baby. >> and occupiers looking to get their message across at this year's rose parade. why you may see a little extra something this year. plus the hunt continues for a serial arsonist in l.a. almost 40 fires set over the past three days. we'll show you the man police want to talk to about this spree coming up. and we're looking at highway 24. a lot of schools, a lot of businesses off this monday morning. but we got to get started with a nice, smooth commute.

welcome back, everyone. a monday shot live of san jose. the city looks nice with the red ambers in the background. we'll keep you posted. and the traffic. >> 2012 is marked in in many ways. one is the birth of the first baby of the new year. this year comes with a twist. both were the first and the last babies of the year. jana was born at 11:59. her sister leah came just after midnight, january 1st, 2012. here in the bay area the honor goes to a baby boy in castro

valley. those parents say they didn't plan it at all. i don't know. let's check the commute to work. >> my son was born on the 30th. after about a few hours of it, i was like, i'm done with this. my wife had a few. >> got a tax write-off. no major problems for 24. interstate 80 east shore freeway. now the carquinez bridge and benicia bridge moving smoothly. there may be light drizzles in the bay area. i wanted to shout that out before she got her forecast. i always want to take her thunder. highway 4, no thunder going on now. an easy drive. we'll track highway 4 as an indicator for the commute volume and a live look hat the golden gate bridge with a smooth drive into or out of the north bay.

that has no problems. >> that is feeling lonely. thank you very much. l.a. police releasing surveillance video of a person of interest in a string of arson fires. officers say is this man dressed in all black was seen leaving the scene of a car fire on saturday night. police stressing right now he's just a person of interest and is not a suspect at this point, anyway. overnight at least 11 more fires. on top of the 39 suspicious fires. it's 4:56 right now. occupy protesters could cause trouble in today's rose parade. octopus shaped human float. the float is supposed to represent the whole corporations that they think they have put across the country.

occupiers estimate anywhere between 4 to 40,000 people could turn out for the protest. this is video of a mini demonstration held on friday. parade organizers have issued a warning to protesters saying disrupting or impeding the parade is punishable by fine and jail time. meantime, parade preparations getting their final touches this morning. this is the 123rd time the floats will make their way through the streets of pasadena. normally it happens on new year's day. but the parade operates never on a sunday policy. it was instituted back in 1893 to avoid interfering with religious services. that's why it's on january 2nd this year. the theme of today's parade is just imagine. >> i will. >> see the whole thing on nbc bay area. >> and i have a float that i'm building. we can use around the newsroom. work on that with me.

>> nice. >> it's co4:.mi coming up, in addition to the new plastic bag bag. we'll tell you what else has changed. when someone gives blood and a life is saved, that moment when heartbreak turns to hope, you're there through the american red cross. every day, the red cross responds to nearly 200 neighborhood emergencies. and your support makes it possible. use this moment to join us today. visit redcross.org.