from nbc bay area, this is "today in the bay." >> good morning. if you have friends or family visiting from out of town, what a pretty shot to send them out with this weekend. thanks for joining us. i'm kris sanchez along with meteorologist anthony slaughter. if you did have people in town, they enjoyed some beautiful weather. >> this was really the envy of the nation, 60s and 70s for daytime highs, on thanksgiving itself it was spectacular here

across the bay area. things are going to change and you may find that on your scrolling seven-day. but right now let's take a look outside and show you what it's looking out, beautiful sunrise here in san francisco. look at the fog just hugging the bay bridge. we still do have visibility only limited to about six miles in the city itself. it is not causing any airport delays. later today temperatures will top out in the low to mid 70s. a little cooler as you head to the peninsula. even san francisco, topping out at the mid 60s but nonetheless very comfortable for this time of the year, talking about snow in parts of the northeast, new york city and boston. a slight cool front will cool us but is offering spectacular clouds across the bay area. it's cold in napa at 39 degree, livermore fell to 39 and gilroy

as well. this upcome being week, temperatures are expected to fall back in the 50s for daytime highs. enjoy this weekend, we'll be close to the 70s this weekend. that's the same story across the east bay and the north bay as well. we'll have more on that cold snap headed our way. get those scarves, mittens and gloves ready. we'll have more on that coming up. >> overnight a video posted on youtube confirmed an 85-year-old korean war veteran's arrest. in the video you can hear merrill newman confe his hostile acts against the government and explaining what happened during his ten-day visit to north korea. >> i asked me guide to help me look for their families and relatives and i gave the document written with their

addresses and e-mail addresses to the guide in the hotel. >> you can see the korean war veteran bow and put his thumb print on each page of his written confession dated november 9th. north korea has been known to force confessions from detainees like these. his family revealed he's needs medication for a heart condition. the 85-year-old has been missing since late october when north korean officials took him off a plane as he was leaving the country. >> back in the bay area, all weekend lanes of highway 84 of the dunn barton bridge are open after a pedestrian was fatally struck in fremont around 10:00 last night. that accident is now under investigation. >> in san francisco, a woman hit by a garbage truck yesterday morning has died of her injuries.

the road and several connector ramps were shut down for several hours for that investigation, but still no word why that woman was on the freeway. >> now to a follow-up. san jose police released the name of an officer involved in a deadly shooting on thanksgiving day. they say 37-year-old officer kevin peters shot and killed a man police believe shot three people and stole a van. ss -- the suspect alleged live rammed a police vehicle. officer peters believed his life was in danger when he shot and killed that suspect. >> police say this man robbed a bank in walnut creek last night. he went into the bank of america in the rothmore shopping center, passed a note to the teller demanding money. once he got the cash, he ran. police are asking anyone with

information about his identity to call the walnut creek police department. >> you survived gray thursday, black friday and today is small business saturday. neighborhood businesses hoping for a boost in revenue today, according to a survey of independent businesses and american express, 67% of the small businesses participating in small business saturday are offering discounts to draw shoppers in. many plan to offer a free gift with purchase. >> as shoppers walked in for black friday deals, many of them walked past protesters demanding fair wages at 1,500 walmarts nationwide. >> officer arrested five people outside the walmart store in san leandro. ten people were arrested in southern california. supporters want walmart to commit to paying full-time

employees at least $25,000 a year. >> this is our country's largest employer and about two-thirds of the workers make less than $25,000 a year. ands they just not enough to put food on the table. >> but walmart's president defended his company and said that the company pays the average hourly worker $12.83 an hour, far above the minimum wage. he added that his employees had a chance to move up and earn higher wages as well. all of that posted on the walmart web site. >> shoppers were out in force not just at the big box stores but also at the mall. we sent george in. >> that familiar car horn sound, something you hear a lot of on this black friday. check out mont grew expressway, bumper to bumper, as far as the eye can see. >> it's too much to bear. i wish we could get there quicker.

>> it was 30 minutes to get into the parking lot, another ten to find a parking space. >> i don't want to deal with all this traffic. it's ridiculous. >> jerry decided to park his ca two miles from the mall and walk -- yes walk -- the rest of the way. >> it took me 30 minutes just to find parking this morning. >> once inside, what do you see? a majority of shoppers walking or sitting around. some were standing in line to take advantage of the sales. >> we've been waiting in line all day. >> after hours of shopping, you just have to put your bags down and eat the porng of fo-- importance of food on black friday should not be overlooked. >> stress got the best of celeste. she decided to get a chair massage. >> my bag and legs hurt after

standing in line. >> you can't blame this guy for taking a nap. he was knocked out cold. only the presence of the media woke him up. 6:30 a.m. you've been here all day in. >> all day almost. >> reporter: that's why you're sleeping. >> yup. >> if you're wondering what to buy for your family and friends, you can search our gift guide for some of the most popular tech gifts this season for under $50. >> a local nonprofit tried to get in on the spending spirit, taking advantage of the crowd to ask for help for people in the philippines. they shet up shop near the nordstrom store there. the group says tens of thousands of people are still waiting for medical supplies, shelter and food. >> we also know that this is going to take a really, really

long time. there's why we're trying to appeal to the public, that although we want the immediate release, we also have to think long term. >> more than 5,500 people died in that storm and 1,700 people are still unaccounted for. if you'd like to donate, you can find a link on our web site, nbcbayarea.com. >> still ahead, cries of racism. what vandals did to this gap advertisement. >> plus -- >> i think i've made a difference in somebody's life. >> the donation that could save somebody's life this holiday season and it doesn't cost a penny to give.

i hope you are snuggled to your blankets as the bay bridge is covered in fog this morning. this was supposed to be a campaign celebrating diversity

but instead a gap add triggered concerns of racism after someone vandalized the poster in new york. it features a male model wearing a turban and a full beard. >> it was the first time after he saw someone in an ad like this look like him. but a few days later the ad was back in the spotlight because someone had replaced "make love" with "make bombs." the saddest of all, he said he wasn't surprised. >> i've seen things like this happen to us since 9/11. >> he grew up in fremont and said even here he was bullied in school, even in the third grade.

>> i was in the third grade. people used to pull my turban off. >> reporter: people continue to misidentify them as muslims. it was found that 70% of americans who responded could not identify a sikh man in the picture. most of them thought the man in the turban was a muslim. >> which is i didn't dylan produced this documentary, "the sikh next door." he said there is some progress, albeit slow, toward understanding differences.

>> and the new research that could play a major role in the medical marijuana debate. >> and waking up to clouds and a little bit of fog this morning, but otherwise not a bad weekend under way. we are talking about a major cold snap that's going to hit the bay this week. details in just a bit. which means it's never been easier to get a new 2014 jetta. it gets an impressive 34 highway mpg and comes with no charge scheduled maintenance. and right now you can drive one home for practically just your signature. sign. then drive. get zero due at signing, zero down, zero deposit, and zero first month's payment on any new 2014 volkswagen. hurry, this offer ends december 2nd. for details, visit vwdealer.com today

this was the tree lighting in downtown san jose at christmas in the park at cesar's plaza. outdoor ice skating rinks also opening up and perhaps the most unusual is the one under the palm trees in san jose. this year the trees are

specially equipped to put on a special nighttime light show. skaters from all around the bay area enjoy christmas in the park, then of course some dining and some skating as well. it looks very strange not to see them bundled up. right, anthony? >> especially being from boston, i'm so used to being bundled up this time of year in scarves and gloves. it did not feel like thanksgiving for me. but, hey, i'm not complaining. i love this weather, especially being from boston. can you always get that seven-day forecast scroll ting the bottom of your screen. we are talking about a major cold snap headed our way this week. just want to start you off with our temperatures, 39 in napa, 35 in gilroy this morning but this is just a taste of what's to come. we've got 20s and 30s in our forecast for morning lows once we get into this upcoming week.

let's start you off with the views across the bay of course in san francisco always picture perfect. you can see the fog hugging the bridge. this will continue to burn off and should be out of here as we head to 11:00. even in the south bay we already cleared out and still do have a little bit of fog hanging on. you can see visibility starting to improve. temperatures will warm to the 60s and 70s later today. even in san francisco today, not bad. 66 degrees. i want to set you up with what's happening with our weather story. we have a weak cold front moving through now. you'll notice a few clouds with it but it's really falling apart. this is not going to be a huge weather maker for us. you'll find our jet stream usually positioned across canada, that's going to sink way into southern california as we head to tuesday. that's going to mean a very,

very cold morning across our inland land valleys come wednesday. napa expected to be at 28 degrees come wednesday morning, even san jose at 35 for your morning low on wednesday. even by wednesday afternoon, these are our daytime highs, only talking about 50s across the board. it is going to be very, very chilly. as we were just talking, didn't feel a whole lot like the holidays. but hang on, come the middle part of this week it will cool off. off to the north bay, well back into the 70s. tri-valley, we'll see our warmer air back into the low to mid 70s. even for tomorrow temperatures are expected to stay warm through tomorrow and even warmer in some locations. again, just a heads up, tuesday and wednesday going to be very

cold across the bay area. that will do it for me. back over to you. >> all right, thank you very much. well, how about a gift that doesn't come wrapped in paper, tied in a bow and costs nothing to give. the holiday season may be a time for giving but when it comes to donating blood, a lot of people don't quite take the time to do it. today we look at why supplies are always low this time of year. >> if you don't have enough blood, it not good at all. you can pass out. that's what happened to me. >> reporter: at 14 years old, that's what tyra watkins remembers about being sick. but her father frank's memory is a little better than hers. >> we learned prior to birth that tyra was ss. >> reporter: that means that tyra has a serious form of the blood disease sickle cell anemia. >> tyra's had a need for blood one year about four times. >> reporter: for the first nine years of tyra's life, she was in

and out of the hospital getting blood transfusions. >> one instance we weren't able to get the blood that she needed for five days. >> during the holidays it's especially hard too pa fathom because people get together with family and friends and don't think about people who are sick with cancer or blood diseases. >> only 38% of americans are eligible to give blood. out of that 38%, just 8% donate. he now organizes blood drives and wants to raise awareness. >> there should never be a time that the blood flow goes so low that we don't have enough to respond to the hospital, to somebody overseas or in another area of the country that might

need it. >> reporter: for the watkins family, it's a lesson learned. >> one pint of blood, you can save three lives. >> it's been different for me because i'm scared of needle ls and i've given blood 11 times now. i think they've made a difference in somebody's life. >> still ahead on "today in the bay," the rare research here in the bay area that could change the national debate on medical marijuana.

the use of marijuana as medicine has grown more common over the last ten years, but because it's not regulated by the food and drug administration, as other medicine is, many wonder how safe it is and what health risks may come with it. one san francisco doctor is finding those answers in the deceased. >> reporter: california's medical marijuana movement has exploded in the last ten years,

like the endless strains and hybrids filling the market, users now come from all ages and walks of life. but dr. limbos isn't interested so much in the lives as he is in the death. for the past ten years, he has served as chief forensic toxicologist for san francisco's medical examiner. >> we've been screening for cannabis. >> reporter: the department runs tests looking for traces of alcohol and medications, including marijuana. >> in every kay -- case we see cannabis. >> reporter: he sees patterns, especially in women over 40 with an enlarged heart. >> women have been shown statistically more greater

chances for causing death. >> reporter: he believes cannabis should come with a warning. >> we may need to evaluate using a black box warning about cardiac conditions and use of cannabis. >> reporter: but this psychiatrist who spent his years studying the effects of drugs isn't convinced about his theory. >> there's been a lot of research, thousands of studies which have not found effects of that kind with marijuana. >> reporter: while there are no requirements medical marijuana carry warnings, some dispensaries supply their own. this owner says every new member gets a fact sheet listing potential cannabis side effects, including heart issues. >> in great detail we warn people about if they're taking other medication to talk to there doctors first. >> we are hoping prescribing

physicians, as well as patients, will use this medication or prescribe this medication after having their hearts evaluated for possible risks. >> the medical examiner office has began to list medical marijuana intoxication as a cause of death. >> the doctor says he's hoping to get a grant to open an official research project to answer questions surrounding the health effects of medical marijuana. >> still ahead on "today in the bay," turning tragedy into a teachable moment. how an attack on an east bay teen-ager is sparking a conversation. >> and what led to this black

friday brawl. one shopper pulling out a stun gun.

. from nbc bay area, this is "today in the bay." >> good morning to you. looking live in san francisco, you can see some fog squished down almost to the sidewalk. that's not stopping those runners from running off their thanksgiving feast. i'm kris sanchez along with meteorologist anthony slaughter. if you're headed out to burn off your pumpkin pie, should you wear the mittens? >> thanks for reminding me. we are expecting cooler weather to head our way as we head towards tuesday and wednesday of this upcoming week. we're in the 30s and 40s right now across the board. that cool air is headed our way. right now waking up to a few cloud across the board. a week cold front is breaking

up. you'll notice it is offering a wide array of colors this morning. even in san francisco, beautiful as the fog is squished down right on top of the bridge. we are starting to see this lift just a little bit right now. that will be the case as we head through the day. the best area to be in today will be the south bay. you'll notice the companies climbing into the 60s quickly by this afternoon and eventually the warmest time of day will come when we see 70s across gilroy up toward san jose. otherwise, the peninsula looking pretty good. we'll see a few peeks of sunshine, same for san francisco, low to mid 60s there and that will be the case as we head through the rest of your microclimate zones. once we hit about 2:00, 3:00, you'll notice lots of sun today and even for tomorrow. again that, cooler weather headed our way for tuesday and wednesday. >> thank you, anthony.

now to that developing story out of scotland, where a police say a helicopter cashed into a pub, killing at least one person and injuring more than 30 others. police say the death toll is likely to rise. there were about 120 people inside that pub in glasgow at the time of the crash. >> i heard a very long bang. i was not sure what happened. i thought the speakers had possibly blown. i had noticed just before the cloud of dust took over the whole pub that the ceiling had fallen on to the bar or the central bit of the pub and that's when i realized things were serious. >> authorities are still trying to figure out what caused the crash. they have confirmed a crew of three were in the service helicopter when it went down. >> new this morning, the united states is offering to destroy 500 tons of dangerous serious

chemical weapons. the group is under pressure to find alternatives for syria's dangerous arsenal. the rest of the chemicals deemed too dangerous to transport or processed commercially will be treated offshore on a u.s. ship. >> there are two stages, chemical agents will arrive from different sites. those will be brought to two other ships that will send it to -- it will not be in syrian territorial waters. >> the organization looking for a mediterranean port where the processing can take place said a naval vessel was undergoing

modifications to support those operations. >> and back to the developing story of a palo alto man detained in north korea where overnight a youtube video was confirming his arrest there. you can hear merrill newman confess to crimes and explained what happened when he was in north korea. >> i asked me guide to help find my family and relatives and i gave their addresses and e-mail addresses to the guide. >> you can see the korean war veteran bow and put his thumb print on each page of his written confession, which is dated november 9th. north korea has been known to coerce confessions and statements from detainees like

this. the 85-year-old man has been missing since late act when north korean officials took him off the plane as he was leaving the country. >> all four westbound lanes of the dunbarton bridge are open after a pedestrian was killed last night. >> last night, this man walked into the bank of america passing a note to the teller demanding money. once he got the cash, he ran. police are asking anyone with information about his identity or his wheres about to call the walnut creek police. >> earlier this month a sleeping teen-ager was set on fire on a bus. this morning sasha fleischman is

home recovering. sasha is one of thousands who considers himself agender, meaning neither male nor female. >> perhaps history thrusts people into moments that are bigger than many of us. >> reporter: that's how many feel about sasha fleischman, the skirt wearing, ajander teen-ager set on fire aboard a transit bus, whose story has prompted many to rethink issues like gender. >> we're talking about issues like agender and we've never heard those terms before. >> reporter: joel says sasha's story is shining new light on something many young people are embracing, the idea that gender shouldn't be limited to just male or female. >> it's each person, each young

person having the right to self-determine what gender means to them and who they are in the world. >> these are really comfortable. >> reporter: sasha refers the term "they and "them" to "he" and "she." >> i more recently identified as agender, which is specifically not -- i don't have a gender. >> reporter: sasha realizes what happened aboard the bus has placed them in the public eye. despite the injuries, the teen says they're willing to help open eyes. >> i hope to sort of inform people about nonbinary genders, and agender is just one of several. >> sasha is an amazing person simply because they're being authentic to themselves.

if every one of us could be brave in that way, i think we'd have a really different society. >> and now you survived great thursday, black friday, now today is small business saturday so get your wallet out once again. neighborhood businesses are hoping for a boost in revenue today. according to a survey by the national fed situation of independent businesses, 67% of the small businesses participating today are offering discounts to draw shoppers in and 33% say they plan to reward you by offering a free gift with purchase if you'll give your small businesses in your neighborhood a little love. >> witnesses say -- that crackle sound came from a taser, a stun gun used after a fight broke out in a mall in philadelphia after yesterday's mad dash for black friday deals. it wasn't a security guard using it either. two women began arguing and

throwing punches and one pulled out what appeared to be a stun gun. mall security pulled the women apart and escorted them both out of the building. >> police say they were forced to use pepper spray to control a crowd at a busy west texas walmart store. walmart management said it happened when the crowd rushed to the display of head phones and tablets. >> still ahead on "today in the bay" sparks were flying yesterday as the spartans and bulldogs lit up the scoreboard.

good morning to you.

looking live at some happy little families there. that little girl must not be too cold. she's not complaining. we will need mittens, though, by mid week or so. we'll talk with anthony slaughter again in just a moment. some have likened yesterday's matchup between the bulldogs and spartans to a video game because of those high scores and it's not far off. the spartans were trying to spoil the 16th ranked bulldogs bcs hopes and the scoring came fast the two teams combined for 83 points in just the first half. david fal les threw for six touchdowns and 587 yards. the spartans beat the bulldogs and with the win, san jose state now bowl eligible. >> and to hoops now. golden state up by 2 with just

seconds to go. russell westbrook in des respiration, 3 points and the warriors with a heart breaking loss. >> the st. louis blues, burns nets his sixth goal of the year. third period sharks up 4-3. he'd celebrate his first career hat trick. san jose beat the blues 6-3. >> why was i raking the yard. >> a double dose of the holidays may have proved to be too much for instagram. >> clouds burned off very quickly as you can see. we'll take a quick peek at your forecast that does include much

cooler weather. i'm talking 20s and 30s. stay tuned. ♪ ho ho ho [ female announcer ] at 100 calories, not all food choices add up. some are giant. some not so giant. when managing your weight, bigger is always better. ♪ ho ho ho ♪ green giant tomato florentine soup, it took a little time to get it just right. [ ding ] ♪ but finally, it happened. perfection. at progresso, we've got a passion for quality, because you've got a passion for taste.

welcome back. it's 7:45. a sneak peak at what it will look like come tuesday and wednesday morning. that's where we're going to be at we head to tuesday and wednesday morning. 39 in napa. even cool in livermore at 39. one of our cooler spots right now, gilroy. about 10 degrees cooler once we get into wednesday morning. it's going to feel more like winter as we head through this upcoming week. still burning off a little fog in san francisco where you can see the visibility at about six miles. the fog starting to lift across the bay bridge toll plaza. later on today temperatures will turn out to be very warm. the warmest location will be back to the east bay, the

tri-valley. even in san jose we're looking at sunshine right now and we'll see this continue through all of the day. this cold front is falling apart. it's not going to reinforce a whole lot of cold air but it will open up the jet stream so that that cold air that typically sits across portions of alaska and canada, that's going to move this way. here's what i was talking about at the beginning of the hit, 28 the expected morning low on wednesday and santa rosa will be at 29 and san jose expected to get down to 35 degrees. we're not going to recover a whole lot wednesday afternoon. our daytime highs wednesday only stay in the 50s. that's across the board from napa over to the santa clara valley. even pleasanton, tri-valley, expecting a very cold week ahead. the last couple of days of warm weather. foster city, you'll be at 66 and

san francisco, you'll be back in the low to mid 60s. otherwise, a bright day expected for everybody. east bay and tri-valley temperatures near 70 but the warmer location in the tri-valley with low to mid 70s there. so enjoy this weekend, chris. i know you'll have to squeeze in some time between work but nont business, beautiful conditions between today and tomorrow between tuesday and wednesday. >> thank you very much, anthony. >> a rare combo of thanksgiving and hanukkah posts may have overwhelmed the photo sharing site instagram. many complained on twitter that they saw big delays while trying to upload their photos and videos. company officials didn't offer any specific numbers but they said they believe they set a record. more than 10 million photos with

thanksgiving captions were uploaded last year. >> still ahead on "today in the bay", the bay area's version of the polar express. we'll introduce you to the folks behind the roaring holiday lights train. avo: the volkswagen "sign then drive"

sales event is back. which means it's never been easier to get a new 2014 jetta. it gets an impressive 34 highway mpg

and comes with no charge scheduled maintenance. and right now you can drive one home for practically just your signature. sign. then drive. get zero due at signing, zero down, zero deposit, and zero first month's payment on any new 2014 volkswagen. hurry, this offer ends december 2nd. for details, visit vwdealer.com today you're watching "today in the bay." >> and looking live from our san bruno mountain camera, diablo in the distance and a blanket of fog between here and there. get out and enjoy it because it's going to get chilly later on. head up into the san a cruz mountains and hop on board the holiday lights train. rides started yesterday at the santa cruz board walk.

george kitiyama takes us along. >> reporter: they're getting their holiday lights ready. >> it's just fun. christmas season, it's hard to find anyone who comes here grumpy. >> reporter: the train is the brain child of gary. 14 years ago he and two of his friends wand to create a christmas experience on the railroad tracks. >> it's like a rolling piece of eye candy, going right down the middle of the streets of santa cruz. it's like a parade. >> reporter: thousands hop on board the festive train every year. senior conductor kent jefferies says it's a major adventure. the nighttime holiday ride begins on the santa cruz board walk and takes everyone on a christmas journey. thousands of lights blink and flash on the side of the train.

>> mr. clause and his beautiful wife show up and we have a great time with all the kids, even the ones that are over 90 years old. >> reporter: the roaring camp itself is decorated with wreaths and other ornaments. those who work there say it's hard not to get into the spirit for the holidays. >> it is beautiful, it is awe inspiring, it makes your soul rise and soar. >> reporter: but it's the holiday lights train that takes center stage. for gary and his crew, the tradition doesn't end until the last train returns home. >> still ahead on "today in the bay," we have two gorgeous little puppies who are ready for a home. and for my nephew who says he wants a chihuahua for christmas. we'll be right back.

our friends from pets in need are here. lisa simmons is here with alex and his sister zelda. i thought they were chihuahuas. they are chihuinis. they've both been fixed and they would love a home for the holidays. >> they would love to wear all those silly little outfits for the holidays, right? >> they are ready for their forever homes. the holidays can be a decent time to take on a new pet because you have a little more flexibility, a little more time. >> absolutely. it's a good time to get them

introduced into the home and acclimated before you head back out to school and normal life after the holidays. >> very good. well, lisa, thank you so much for bringing them in. a dose of puppy breath is always a very good thing. can you find out more about alex and zelda on their web site, pets in need.org. thanks so much for coming in. speaking of weeny dog, the dachshund made famous for being a little chunkers is now famous for his amazing weight loss program. he made a stop in the bay area yesterday to show off his new trimmer figure. obie, the once obese weiner dog, now travels and the country promoting his weight loss. this is what he looked like when he was rescued, 77 pounds.

veterinarians think his owners only fed him people food. now he can walk and play. much more at 5:00 and 11:00.

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