signs of hope are showing through the ruins of the valley fire... more people now being allowed to return home.. but the firefight is far signs of hope showing through the ruins of the valley fire. more people returning home from the ten city but the firefight far from over. three deputies accused of beating an inmate to death as we learn more disturbing details about this case, what we uncovered, next. toxic algae and what could be to blame "today in the bay" starts right now. hi, good morning, everyone. i'm scott mcgrew in for sam brock. >> i'm laura garcia-cannon. we made it to friday, kari. >> happy friday. warm weather headed our way and it starts today with slightly

warmer temperatures than we had yesterday but look at the cool start we are getting now in the north bay. it's 50 degrees and 58 degree in the peninsula and san francisco. highs today in the 70s and 80s. 85 degrees in the north bay. and the east bay today reaching 80 degrees. the tri-valley 87. let's check in now with mike for the commute. good morning. >> good morning, kari. looking over here towards dublin. construction crews and usual spots eastbound the lower commute side. that is the issue just for the next few minutes. we're looking at your maps and don't see any slowing. so, that's a typical pattern. remember, get away friday. a lot of folks heading east away from there. early afternoon will be the start. right now no drama around the bay. i'll check the san mateo bridge. now to developing news. a glimmer of hope for thousands of people waiting to go home this morning. some evacuations are finally lifting in lake county as firefighters gain more ground on

the valley fire. crews are making progress with containment lines and still at 35% containment, but the fire has not grown past 73,000 acres. three people have died with another person still missing. the fire has destroyed nearly 600 homes. for some, they were finally able to return home after days of evacuations. "today in the bay" bob redell is live in calistoga. more may be able to go home today, right? >> correct, scott and laura. part of hidden valley a small part inside the zone part could be reopen today. as you recall, authorities did lift the evacuation order in the fire zone in napa county and during a town hall meeting here at the napa county fairgrounds, this is where the evacuation center is located. this town hall meeting for evacuees, firefighters and local leaders promise residents who have already been displaced for five days that they will be able to return to their homes within seven days, assuming their home

is still standing. services are restored in their respective communities. remember, as you were mentioning, the valley fire is only 35% contained. >> we're looking in seven days this incident being declared controlled. that's not complete normality for these folks. that is the safe area that these folks can go in and occupy and not continue to be threatened. >> in middletown, a community that suffered a lot of destruction, the water is back on, power restored. the school district still trying to figure out when to reopen the schools. what is remarkably survived a wildfire that blew through that town this past saturday. reporting live, bob redell. >> thank you very much, bob. 4:33 for more videos on the fire head to nbcbayarea.com or download our app. jail guards accused of beating a mentally ill inmate to

death are expected to enter a plea after new court documents reveal a disturbing trend. in the evidence guards text each other bragging about abusing inmates. in the response appointed a blue ribbon commission to audit the jail system. they plan to recommend changes by the oend of the year. toxic algae is taking over east bay lakes. this time in berkeley. could be deadly to your pet. now off limits because of blue green algae. the fifth lake to be affected in that area. "today in the bay" stephanie chuang with what's to blame. good morning, steph. >> the answer is the drought, really, because of the dry condition. this blue green algae really builds up. now closed so health officials can perform tests to determine if it's safe for people and pets to go into the water. the east bay regional park district says it regularly tests all of its lakes and discovered yesterday a high enough level of

the blue/green algae to shut down the lake. here's the notice to the public. no bodily contact with the water, which can cause rashes and stomach problems. now, toxic problems of blue green algae has shut down the lake in oakland, which is in the city. along in castro valley and cory lake. dogs are especially vulnerable. you may remember that golden retriever that died after swimming in the russian river, which had blue green algae just commont a couple months ago. so, the next step here at the lake is for the park district to send the samples to the environmental protection agency for more testing to be done and the results from those tests should be in some time next week. live here in the berkeley hills, stephanie chuang. we got used to the cool down, but here comes a warm weekend. >> it will be really heating up over the next couple of days and at least we have a cool start to

the morning. it's in the 50s all across the bay area. here's a look at the highs today and what to expect saratoga today up to 83 degrees and palo alto 82. it's not that bad today but it does go up as we go into the day tomorrow. it's starting today with a few degrees warmer over yesterday. in napa, 85 degrees and 88 degrees in livermore today topping out at 86. we'll take a look at that weekend forecast and what to expect coming up in a few minutes. let's see how the commute is moving now with mike. >> we'll go back to dublin. do you know why i pulled you over? it's not on 580 but over 580. chp always watching. just keep that in mind. back to your maps a smooth drive through that area. that was right here with the camera. no problem for that overnight crew, should be clearing soon from that lane approaching the dublin interchange. right at 17 a crash over on the shoulder actually blocking the

slow lane, as well. sounds like a deer was hit in the last few half hour and trouble with that scene. the traffic very possibly getting there in the next few minutes. the rest of your bay, guys, very easy. >> unusual spot for deer, mike, thank you. 4:37. coming up next, fresh off the debate show down. gop presidential candidates will go at it, once again today, as donald trump causes more controversy, surprise, surprise, on the campaign trail. a live report from washington, next.

a mini-debate today.. it's not official but 11 of the 16 decision 2016. a mini debate today. at a forum in south carolina and the sparks are expected tafly. >> today in the bay tracie potts has more from washington. pardon me. good morning. >> getting all choked up about it. >> good morning, everyone. we're going to hear a lot more from those candidates today, including, we're waiting to see if donald trump may explain what he didn't say when he was questioned as a forum in new hampshire last night. most of the republicans, 11 of them, will be conservative forum. lindsey graham didn't make the cut. he's polling below 1%.

donald trump will be there. this morning, trump's under fire for not correcting this question in new hampshire last night. >> the problem in this country. we know our country president is one. you know, he's not even american. >> hillary clinton tweeted calling it hateful rhetoric, disturbing and just plain wrong. cut it out, she said. she also said she'll soon announce whether she supports the keyxcel pipeline. >> i'll tell you what i think soon because i can't wait. >> targeted clinton and bernie sanders last night on growing the economy. >> hillary clinton and bernie sanders. you know what their views are. hillary, she's kind of drafting right behind bernie. >> sanders is a new target, since polls show he's overtaking clinton in iowa and new hampshire. and clinton is also weighing in

on what's happening here on capitol hill over the next couple of weeks, lawmakers have to decide on a budget or we could be looking at a government shutdown. she in a statement is urging lawmakers not to hang up the whole federal budget and furlow government workers over this issue of funding planned parenthood. so, a little bit of politics here on capitol hill, little bit of campaign trail spilling over into what congress is trying to get done in the next two weeks. >> little bit of politics on capitol hill, i like that, thanks. coming up more bugs in apple's operating system and what might be to blame, coming up next.

there's always a little spring in everybody's step on a friday. >> rain or shine. >> and it will be a beach weekend. you know what, when these temperatures heat up, the best place to be with some hot weather inland. i'll show you that in just a second. let's get a live look now at the bay bridge and things are looking good starting out this friday morning. we have mostly clear skies and we'll have a lot of sunshine as we go. not only into today, but the next couple of days and i don't think we'll see the morning clouds and the fog like we're usually seeing this time of year. 59 degrees now the current temperature in livermore and 50 degrees now in napa and the wind coming in from the north, it's fairly calm this morning. and we'll get a little bit

stronger as we go through the day, not much of a gusty wind. our winds sustained coming in from the north at about 10 to 15 later on this afternoon. let's go hour by hour in livermore. we start out with some 50s at 5:00 in the morning and also at 7:00. not much change in the temperature there. but it does start to jump up quickly as we go through late morning, early afternoon, with the highs topping out in up thor 80s and then dropping back into the 60s tonight. all the microclimate showing us some 70s and 80s and still some 60s along the immediate coast and then some upper 80s as you head over towards antioch. san jose bike party starts at 8:00. it will be 73 degrees and nice and comfortable for that and mostly clear skies. once again, we've been talking about this being a beach weekend and this is the reason why. you're looking at 90s pretty much everywhere inland. san francisco 77 degrees and peninsula 87 degrees and then

even hitting 100 degrees in the tri-valley on sunday. it does still cool off as we head into next week. let's check in now with mike for the morning commute. >> good morning, kari. looking at the bay bridge where we did have a backup but all the cash takers on pace and everything is moving smoothly, once again. no problems out of the maze or east shore freeway. yesterday morning a very tough drive until basically midday down the east shore freeway and we'll see how things shape up so far and we're hoping for friday night and that's what we're seeing so far. no problem across the san mateo bridge. quick look at fremont, we'll show you that one. no problems here either. back to you. there are more issues stemming from apple's new mobile operating system and may have to do with bugs that were never fixed the last time. >> let's turn to landon o'dodowt

cnbc world headquarters. >> feds decision hold off on raising interest rates while the u.s. is improving, developments in global markets specifically in china could pose a risk to the economy, however, fed chair janet yelin says there is still a chance for a rate hike this year. stocks swung all over the map after the fed decision and the dow and nasdaq are still on pace for their second straight week of gains. the dow closing down 65 points yesterday to 16674 and the nasdaq rising four and several apple customers are reporting their devices cracked when they tried to upload the new upgrade. tech analysts say it's likely because too many people tried to download the upgrade at the same time. and some were never fixed. and walmart is hiring 60,000 extra workers for the holidays.

the same number as last year. the retailer will have more employees in stores and more registers opened during peak hours. current employees will have first choice on picking up additional hours. walmart says more than half of last year's tempworkers stayed on after the holidays. back to you. no more rabbit meat at whole foods. follows an nbc bay area investigation in may that revealed questionable conditions at the company's meat farms. vicki has more on the details of the whole foods announcement. >> whole foods started selling rabbit meat in select markets last summer, including northern california. the company said for many years lots of customers requested the meat. not so said pet owners. 60,000 people signed a petition, others staged protests. many concerned about how the rabbits were being raised and slaughtered. our investigation revealed usda

inspectors noted animal welfare issues for rabbits caged overnight in cold weather with no access to water. the usda also sent a letter of caution to whole food rabbit farm for sending out multiple cartons of rabbit meat labeled as usda inspected when they were not. rabbit advocates say the change actions didn't meet its own farm animal standards. >> ultimately, nbc exposed that they were not following humane standards. that there were violations in food safety. we're thrilled that whole foods has decided to stop the sale of rabbit meat. we wish it had come sooner. >> nbc bay area news. >> whole foods declined our interview request but said in an e-mail we are pleased to have worked with a small group of farmers to create a rabbit growing system that met our quality standards. however, the pilot ultimately

revealed that the sales volume did not justify the continuation or expansion of the pilot program to a national program. if you have a tip for our investigative unit, give us a call or send an e-mail to theunit@n theunit@nbcbayarea.com. hefty fine. comcast giving a $33 million penalty for listing thousands of unlisted phone numbers. a settlement reached between the california public utilities commission and comcast. starting in 2010, 75,000 customers paid extra to keep their numbers private. but comcast released the numbers anyway. customers will receive a $100 credit or a check in the mail. we should mention comcast is our parent company. coming up, a human problem affecting sea life. how a sea otter ended up with asthma, coming up next.

my name is jamir dixon and i'm a locate and mark fieldman for pg&e. most people in the community recognize the blue trucks as pg&e. my truck is something new... it's an 811 truck. when you call 811, i come out to your house and i mark out our gas lines and our electric lines to make sure that you don't hit them when you're digging. 811 is a free service. i'm passionate about it because every time i go on the street i think about my own kids. they're the reason that i want to protect our community and our environment, and if me driving a that truck means that somebody gets to go home safer, then i'll drive it every day of the week. together, we're building a better california.

4:53 right now. >> on a friday. >> i'm helping you get those weekend plans together and where to go to. if you're heading to sonoma, wine countries, in the mid-90s both days this weekend. monterey a lot of sunshine and highs today reaching 81 degrees and 84 degrees and still bright and sunny and the santa cruz boardwalk at 87 degrees on saturday and 90 degrees on sunday. we'll take a look at the rest of the microclimate and what to expect heading into the new week. let's see how the roads are moving now with mike. >> south bay and bottom of your screen and thanks for clearing that, guys, right on crew. the activity out of is the roadway. your lanes are now clear as you come through los gatos. the giants game tonight at 7:15 and a live look at the golden

gate privilege as we talk about a smooth drive. we have your get away traffic flow as you travel across the bridge itself. right now moving the center divide. keep that in mind just for the next few. back to you. new details on a controversial high rise project in san francisco after nine hours of public input last night the planning commission gave it the green light, according to the san francisco chronicle. the development dubbed 5m is causing a fight for affordable housing in the city continues. the development of the 470-foot high rise project insists a good percentage of those units will be affordable housing, as required by law. a slow down in home sales in the bay area. research shows sales of bay area homes and condos dropped more than 10% last month compared to july. the median price in august was around $650,000. overall, the figures are higher than previous years.

are bay area school kids getting enough pe? gym class is mandated by law but a lawsuit filed in san francisco claims that 90 school districts throughout the bay area are cutting back on pe. >> i can say that it's very clear that it's not happening. the school districts say they're doing it all. the local administrators and the different school say they're doing some of it. but if you talk to the teachers you find out much more about how much is being done. >> california law states all students in grades 1 through 6 have to get 200 minutes of pe of pe per ten days of class. school testing scores are keeping kids in the classroom chairs, instead. >> if someone is trying to get higher test scores by having them sit longer they are doing the students a disservice. plain and simply. >> pe is supposed to be logged by teachers and school principals turn in reports, as well.

a human problem is affecting a sea otter. this 1-year-old otter from the seattle aquarium also has asthma and also learning to use an inhaler. the first of her kind to be diagnosed with asthma. she started having trouble breathing due to smoke from recent wildfires. experts say this is a sign we need to take care of our environment and otters. >> and otters. coming up, it could kill your dog and popping up all over the east bay. a toxic algae affecting our lakes and what could be causing it. more evacuees are heading home in the fire zone. the progress being made on the flames, next. crews hold the flames steady---

as signs of hope shine through making progress. crews hold the flames steady as signs of hope begin to shine through the destruction of the valley fire. more people are now allowed to return home. their stories coming up. plus, new court documents reveal disturbing details about the jail guards accused of murdering an inmate as the three head back to court today. and five east bay lakes plagued with toxic algae. what could be causing it. "today in the bay" starts right now. happy friday. i'm scott mcgrew in for sam brock. >> i'm laura garcia-cannon.

maybe a peek at the weekend forecast. >> and it's going to be heating up after a cool week across the bay and we're going to see some highs in the 90s and even 100 degrees as we go into the weekend. but right now, take a look at this cool start we have to the day with mostly clear skies and highs today in the 70s and 80s. a few degrees up from yesterday. 85 in the north bay and 80 in the east bay and san francisco breezy and 72 degrees. i'll show you all the microclimates and that hot weekend forecast coming up. let's check in now with mike. >> i want tupeidate the folks. this is still going on on the overpass over 580 and police activity and this is dublin dt and flashing lights and one vehicle they're checking out and we do have that traffic flowing beneath there. you will be distracted by the overhead. where that is approaching the dublin interchange. right there but no big deal and into livermore and a mild build there and the rest of your bay because it's friday we expect a lighting volume of traffic and we only