>> announcer: from nbc bay area, this is "today in the bay." >> very good wednesday morning to you. it's 4:30. i'm sam brock. >> i'm laura garcia-cannon. lots to get to. first, check the forecast with meteorologist christina loren. rain's on the way. >> yeah, we have rain, a lot of it on the radar right now. good morning to you. you can see some parts of the bay area getting drenched just before we kick off the morning drive. so this could become dangerous notice san francisco now getting moderate rainfall, also here's your palo alto, getting good downpours. a lot of this just started up over the past couple hours. want to take you up north and show you marin county, getting quite a bit of rain, all of this

packed in, san rafael, over 101. take it easy. we'll get all of your specifics. on the drive with mike. mike, we need this rain, just not this time. good morning to you. >> good morning. yeah, maybe not while i'm on shift or you're on shift, but whatever. looking at the bay bridge, that's dry. so is the golden gate bridge. christina showed you that radar. san rafael, evidence of rain having passed through, sheen on the roadway, small puddles. on right-hand side, that's where the trucks pull off. nothing dramatic. light flow. not registering on our index. with more of the rain coming in, christina showed you what's coming over on the peninsula, we'll keep our eyes out. speeds are fine. at the limit along the limit and the south bay. back to you for now. we begin with breaking news. a number of cars on fire

overnight in a popular san francisco neighborhood. it happened on noey in the castro. "today in the bay's" stephanie chuang live in san francisco. do police believe they have an arsonist on their hands? >> good morning. that's the question. it does seem suspicious because there were two vehicle fires. the first at 18th and newy, it began to rain. earlier you could have seen the wet spots where the firefighters tried to put the fire out. the second up a block up on 19th. take a look at video, you can see vehicles with flames and smoking. a tall white van, the one apparently set on fire at 19th and noey. the fire department and police got here within minutes of the fires. the second vehicle at 18th looked like a jeep sort of vehicle. kind of burning on the front right part of that car.

again, we spoke with someone who works at a store across the street and describes what he saw what appeared to be intentionally set fires. >> the fire on the bottom of the hill was on the hood. looked like someone set it. it wasn't anything from inside the hood area like engine fire or anything like that. the fire department got it under control within ten minutes. so they got it under control and taken care of. >> reporter: this happened around in the 2:00 hour here this morning in the castro. that witness saying there were eight to nine patrol cars in the area at the time. it get settled pretty quickly. we'll bring you latest when we get it. stephanie chuang, "today in the bay." this morning, governor brown is going to try and sway uc region before they vote on whether to raise tuition across the state. governor brown begins to speak against the hikes to keep where

rates where they are. if not, a 5% jump for the next five years. next year students have to pay $600 more for a uc education, or $1 $12,80 for a year. uc president says the university needs more money and depend on the tuition hikes. the santa chera county animal shelter is looking for people to adopt more than 30 neglected horses rescued from morgan hill. horses were surrendered by the only er after charged with animal cruelty. he neglected the animals, and many are malnourished. the shelter will screen all applicants to make sure they can properly take care of the horse. applications and fees are online sccountypet.org. later today, we could be

hearing from a mentally ill man accused of killing his mother and his 1-year-old nephew. ramirez stabbed his 48-year-old mom and 1-year-old nephew last year in san jose. also accused of stabbing a 3-year-old girl, but not fatally. this happened in the allen rock neighborhood. investigators aren't sure what led up to the attack. he had a type of mental illness but did not elaborate. the former kung fu instructor who pled no contest to sexually assaulting two students pled guilty today. likely sentenced to three years in preside prison. he was rested in 2012 after two students in san mateo came forward and said he molested them. they were 9 and 11 at the time into two valuable cars swiped from a music school, now a man observed in surveillance images

is being tied to the thefts. instruments include the eight-string classical guitar, stolen at the san francisco conservative of music. together valued at more than $30,000. the school issued several surveillance images. officials say the man you see in the snow cap has guitars in his hand. police are not commenting on the case. the school wants to know who that man might snonow. state water officials slapping a company for contaminating a peninsula creek. the state water quality control board will decide in february whether to impose $3 million penalty against the california water surface. that company accused of misdiagnosing a water main break in san mateo last year. that break caused water that had been treated with color remean into the creek. hundreds of fish died including

77 steel head trout. a meeting adjourned late last night before council members voted on the issue, the proposal requiring gas stations to put stickers on all gas pumps warning that burning fuel contributes to global warming. it would be the first of its kind in the country. opponents say the proposal is politically motivated. san francisco is considering the proposal. much needed information this morning for those worried about affordable housing in the south bay. low income housing supporters celebrating a big victory. city council approved a fee on new rental housing construction that will go towards building lower priced units. $17 per square foot will start in 2016. the vice mayor had to fight back tears recounting her family's struggles while she was growing

up. >> i know where i came from and i know how i got here. and i want to do what's right for the thousands of families in our community who need affordable homes so they can call san jose home. >> admirable given how expensive it is to rent in san jose. opponents say the fee discurrents contractors from building rentals. council members hope to start talks about a county wide low income housing tax for the 2016 ballot. >> making a difference in our community. 4:38 now. the rain going to make a difference today. >> it's here. >> checking in with christina. >> it's going to make a difference. every single drop in the bucket counts. good morning, sam. welcome back, lawyer rap this is what we're welcoming as well. i think laura brought the rain with her this morning. a good time for our drought situation. you know what? i can tell you our hillsides need this rain. they're going to be really pretty after we get through this

series of storms. everything looking good. you can see we do have light to moderate rainfall coming down for the bay area. heavier batches rolling on shore. let me focus in and show you what's happening. cells are passing through quickly. you're getting brief, heavy downpours along 101 specifically and 280 as well on the peninsula. you can see up here we're looking really good for decent rainfall totals, potentially to the tune of a quarter inch to half of an inch. if you can see this, this is rainfall coming down steadily on the golden gate bridge this morning. over to mike. traffic and weather go together. want to make sure you get to work safely. >> that's why i'm showing the cam r camera. four minutes ago it was bone dry. now look at the lights. that's where you can see the rain, mist, drizzling coming down. it's strong enough using windshield wipers. we should see the map, road weather index shows roads to

highlight to green. watch for the data to come in. live cameras show us the real conditions as you're driving there. wet across the golden gate bridge, into san francisco off of the bay bridge, fremont, there's a crash. activity off of the shoulder. smooth drive into the city despite that. smoother drive around the rest of the bay. speed sensors are not a problem. rain down the peninsula, we'll check palo alto with our live camera. training the camera toward the big seen by ikea, you can see the shine on the roadway it's not yet rain but rain's coming in. we'll watch that. we'll use whatever clues we can to show you conditions for driving. you see buses along the routes where shuttle drivers will vote on whether to unionize. facebook shuttle drivers transport some of the highest paid workered in who world but their pay does not reflect long hours they keep. they picketed outside

headquarters yesterday, demanding the company not interfere with their right to unionize. voting takes place all day today. we howl know the results after 5:00 this afternoon. unveiling of sorts in the south bay today. the san jose earthquake's new stadium is going to be named. naming will be announced around 10:00 at the new stadium. the 18,000-feet venue, under construction on coleman, next to the san jose international airport, it is expected to open up some time next year and be a world-class facility. >> 4:41. people magazine's sexiest man alive revealed overnight. we'll tell you who took the top honor. >> parts of the east coast buried under feet of snow this morning. and it is only going to get worse for those folks. tensions continue to rise in ferguson, missouri. people now stocking up on guns as they wait to hear if the officer who shot and killed an

unarmed man will face charges.

welcome back. worshippers are returning to the synagogue where four members were killed yesterday. it happened in a techl in west jerusalem. three american-born rabbis are among the dead. police shot and killed the pair. a police officer later died from his injuries. this is the deadliest attack in the holy city in six years. some fear it may spark a new round of retaliation by israel. >> upsetting events there. 4:45 on your wednesday morning. the city of ferguson, missouri, bracing for more trouble oust a looming legal decision. many believe grand jurors should be getting close to deciding whether charges should be filed. protest groups acknowledge there may be resentment if the officer's not charged, and the ripple effect being felt in gun

stores as far away in st. louis. sales have tripled in recent weeks, attributed to nervous residents. 4:45. safety regulators want a japanese company to expand its recall of defective air bags. land end is live with details. >> good morning. u.s. safety regulators are calling on japanese auto part maker takata to expand a recall nationwide. currently the recall only covers space with high humidity conditions the move is prompted by a new incident in north carolina. they say if they won't agree, they'll order the company to do some the senate is holding a hearing on the earn tomorrow. futures are higher after stocks closed up on tuesday with the dow and s&p 500 hitting record levels again. investors reacting to positive economic data from europe and better than expected report on

the u.s. housing market. data today on housing starts, and minutes from last month's fed meeting. earnings from lowe's, staples and target. the nasdaq up 31 to 4702. walmart upping the ante in the holiday shopping wars. the giant will match competitors' black friday prices a week early. walmart cutting prices on toys, electronics and other items starting this friday at 8:00 a.m., this includes 40 and 60-inch hdtvs, play station 4 and select le go sets. >> something for the entire family. thanks so much. >> 60 inch tv, now is the time. >> need a wall to hang it. >> parts of the east coast buried under massive piles of snow. and the storm is not over yet. this is what it looks like in buffalo. it is possible that snow totals, get this, could top 6 feet by

this afternoon. if i opened the door i'd be staring face to face with a pile of snow. >> i'd be buried in it. >> another storm expected to roll in tomorrow. so far this is sad, six people have died because of the storm. crews worked through the night rescuing motorists trapped on the new york thruway. the storm affecting large swaths in the northeast. >> you see whiteout. they're unable to find the cars underneath all of that. >> which we might find more wreckage once that gets cleared up. >> we are getting rain in our part, great news for us as well. christina joins us now to tell us when and where. >> good morning. we have what could become a slow drive this morning. want to make sure that your mind is prepared to drive through elements. a lot of rain coming. the good news the storm will push the big, cold chunk of air to the east. that's good news. they'll get out of the snow and it looks like the it cools

faster because the system's coming in quickly. everything is connected. good morning to you. happy wednesday. halfway through the workweek. last thing you wants a slow drive to work. give yourself extra time. the earlier you leave, the better off you will be. the stuff's starting to come in heavily especially in san francisco and north through marin county. you'll find a moderate heavy rainfall from time to time. as i widen out for you, we haven't had a lot of rainfall here south of highway 92. that's going to change. you can see the big batch of rainfall headed our way. counting on that to hit san jose at 6:04. i'm tracking this storm to your doorstep on nbc bay area all morning long. temperatures not that cold this morning. mostly in the 50s, close to 60. on the east shore this morning, taking a look, golden gate bridge, look at this, the rain is really coming in. motorists fighting through heavy

downpours. i can tell you, this will have the big blob of yellow push out through the next 15 minutes. before it moves out we're going to see ponding and, yeah, that water will collect on roadways. i love it. we need rain. you don't want a slow drive to work. make sure little ones are ready for a cool day. temps in the 60s today. more rain moving in throughout tomorrow. another strong system comes through. a break on friday. by saturday a big storm likely to impact the north bay specifically. we've got a big event coming up. yes, it's our safeway holiday food drive. your favorite nbc bay area anchor posted up at the safeways. i'll be out with scott mcgrew. i believe you two in morgan hill. >> we are on safeway over on dunn avenue.

come join us. christina, a big line to see christina. 4:50. when is $1 billion an insult? apparently when it's the nfl's payout for brain injury. the league is ready to finalize its plans to compensate retired players for brain trauma. opponents are addressing a judge in philadelphia. they believe the nfl is getting off too easy. especially in light of revenues topping $10 billion a year. at least one billion settlement would resolve thousands of lawsuits. a judge rejected $765 million settlement over concerns it would not cover future medical costs. the cresecret service is one hot seat in capitol hill answering questions about security breach as the white house. a number of lawmakers expressing concern still over the secret service's mission to provide protection to the first family. the historying will look for ways to prevent security

security breaches from ever taking place. new this morning, four-star chris hemsworth has been named this year's sexiest man alive. pe "people" magazine announced during jimmy kimmel live. he beat out chris pat and matthew mcconaughey. he said, quote, i'm excited about the alive portion of the statement. i'm flattered. >> you were close. you guessed matthew mcconaughey. >> i did. he's had it before. give the honor to someone else. if you bend your neck to text or play or onsmartphone you could be damaging your back. >> this study publiced in the journal "surgical technology international" the more severe the angle of your neck, the heavier your head weighs. if you're bent over, you're putting stress on your spine that doctors say could lead to surgery down the road. we all know we have that addiction to looking down at our

phone all the time. >> soon they'll have a yoga class just for the text. >> stretch it out. >> 4:52. a's adding offensive fire power to the lineup. looking here, early morning commute through fremont, dry roads and clear drive north of 92, slicker conditions. we'll talk about what's coming in and what is here. also, i'll be there in fremont saturday with the food drive. bring food out, folks.

out of the playoffs, now going to play for them. the a's have signed billy butler of the kansas city royals, formererly, to a three-year deal worth $30 million. the former kansas city royal hit .271, 9 homers and 6 rbis last season. the giants are not giving up on pablo sandoval. the third baseman is in boston, meeting with the red sox brass. however, the giants have reportedly offered him afive-year, $90 million deal. that's within the range of what the red sox are reportedly offering. we'll see if he will stay here. >> maybe on his way to fenway pablo sandoval got lost in all of the traffic and construction in boston and never got there. who knows? wishful thinking here. good morning. >> send a word over to traffic folks, we might have some

connections. >> over here looking at westbound 580, no slowing here. look at that, through dublin, look at your maps. tri-valley nice and easy here. early in the commute, starting the build out of the altamont pass, typical for wednesday. rest of the bay moves smoothly. road weather index is not registering wet roadways but look at our golden gate camera, drizzle and rain right there. be careful. back to you. >> it's 4:57. a young preteen missing for a week, where she was last spotted that's giving the family hope. san josefund-raiser, helpin raise money to get guns off of streets. over a million californians have a gotten something that's beend.

out of reach for far too long. health insurance. how? they enrolled through covered california. it's the health insurance marketplace where you'll find a range of plans from leading health insurance companies that offer you the best combination of quality, rates and benefits. you can compare plans side by side, choose the one that best fits your needs and enroll online. coveredca.com is also the place to find certified experts in your area who can answer your questions for free, and help you enroll. and, through covered california, you may get financial help to pay for coverage. it's based on income, and 4 out of 5 people who have enrolled qualified. if you don't have a health plan, or you do, but you want to make sure it's the best plan for you, now's the time to visit coveredca.com. but to get covered, you gotta get going. to have health insurance starting january 1st, you need to enroll by december 15th. visit coveredca.com today.

new to tell you about, a pair of cars catch fire in san francisco overnight. now arson investigators are trying to figure out what happened. >> a key vote today on a

controversial issue uc region ready to decide on a massive tuition hike. rain, we need it, we don't need it during your morning drive. that is exactly when the heaviest is going to come through. then we get another round as we head into your thursday. a dry break for friday before the biggest of the three storm systems comes through this weekend. i have so much to go over with you in your microclimate weather forecast. at least it's not tuesday. wednesday has a lighter flow of traffic. wet roads, look at that, we sort out what's going on. we'll show you a better shot coming up. >> on your wednesday morning, mike, a live look outside from san francisco, where the city's experiencing storms. christina will update you next. wednesday, november 19th. you're watching "today in the bay." >> announcer: from nbc