let's see what's happening with the morning commute. >> a lighter volume consistent with this month. there's the eastshore freeway. that moves well. eastbound getting away. countercommute getting toward the richmond-san rafael bridge heading across 580. they're cleaning up an earlier spill. there was concrete and a disabled big rig in the area. that's been cleared but the sweeper truck looks like it's doing a final pass through the area. mine while, we look at our maps and see no major slowing at the scene. san pablo over to central. we'll take you past the backup. a mild build for the tri-valley. traditional patterns as well as san jose, northbound 101 hit ag burst of traffic there. an earlier crash is cleared 101 at whipple. through palo alto, no problems, no delays. this is northbound past the shopping center where a lot of folks get their coffee in the

morning. new details now on a massive water rate hike coming to one south bay city. just hours ago the milpitas city council approved to raise the cost of water by 65%. "today in the bay's" bob redell joining us live from milpitas this morning. bob, you hear about utility rate hikes, you think maybe a buck or two here or there. this is a lot more than a buck or two. >> reporter: we're talking on average, sam, as much as $28 per month for the average customer here in the city of milpitas. last night behind me in city hall, the city hall approved a 65% rate increase for water customers that will be phased in over the next several months. in awe few weeks, starting in january, the bills will go up 30%, and then again in july by 35%. again, on average looking at about a $28 increase per customer per month. the city council explained the decision to a packed room full of concerned residents saying

the drought made the water more expensive. for example, mill ped tas gets some water from the san francisco psc. the city says it needs extra money to cover improvements in the infrastructure. the council heard from one woman who isn't buying. >> we are given base numbers and left to speculate they are justified. many of us are not willing to trust this slight of hand. >> reporter: one resident expressed views to the council that this could be financially devastating for older people on fixed incomes. they question what kind of effect this could have on local businesses. reporting live in milpitas, bob redell, today "today in the ba. firefighters say a space heater is to blame for starting this fire that engulfed two apartments in pittsburg. it started at an apartment complex on pepper tree way.

a space heater was plugged in using an extension cord. there was a lot of clothing and cardboard boxes near. two families lost everything including their christmas presents. thankfully no one was hurt. a quick thinking woman grabbed her 18-month-old niece when she heard the smoke alarm. >> behind the bed, down, coming up. oh, my god, i didn't know what to do zbh red cross helping the families who don't have a place to stay. at least two men, perhaps a third in the hospital this morning following a wild shootout in fairfield. here is the map. it happened yesterday afternoon on santa barbara way east of north texas street. police arrived to find two men already with gunshot wounds. one of them right now in critical condition. a third man then arrived at a hospital suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. he is also in critical condition. police say many rounds were fired and it started from some kind of dispute between two

groups. 6:03. turning now to decision 2016. >> one at a time. >> aim allowed to finish? >> go ahead, mr. trump. >> i know you're trying to build up your energy, jeb. but it's not working. >> plenty of jabs back and forth during last night's final gop debate, the most spirited between front-runner donald trump and jeb bush. >> jeb was jabbing, trump still in the spotlight. "today in the bay's" kris sanchez tracking reaction from last night's showdown. one of the big headlines was a promise made by trump. >> this is something critics and supporters have been waiting to hear about, whether donald trump would go at it alone and break his promise to stick with the gop. he made that promise to stick with the gop. let's show you one of the main highlights of last night not to run as an independent.

trump dominated social media and six online polls. it was the first debate since donald trump called for an all-out bans on muslims in the united states. surprisingly, though, there was little talk about donald trump's move to ban all muslims from entering the u.s., though at one point donald trump did say he would deport any new syrian refugees allowed into the u.s. by president obama he said. the candidates steered clear of that proposal. florida senator marco rubio saying it's not going to happen. jeb bush saying it's not a serious proposal. the candidates spoke more in depth about how they would defeat isis. texas senator ted cruz calling to carpet bomb them into oblivion. carson saying we are at war and calling for more boots on the ground. chris christie calling nor a

no-fly zone. >> you would carpet bomb where isis is, not the city, but the location. >> we have a phobe i don't about boots on the ground. >> the candidates also sparred on immigration. the republicans will square off next on january 14th. s and it is the last debate before the iowa caucuses. we will remind you that in addition to the overnight polls that put donald trump in the lead, he does lead the polls nationally up to this point. ted cruz is narrowing the gap. marco rubio is the one that has the best chance to beat hillary clinton in a general election according to the latest nbc news-"wall street journal" poll. >> thanks so much. in san francisco we spoke to republicans who gathered to watch the debate. hoping to hear from a candidate with a plan they support. >> we need to keep two things in mind, the liberties of the american people and not infringe on privacy. but we also need to make sure

we're safe. >> some want to put boots on the ground. some don't. somebody said they want to wipe out the people's families. that doesn't sit right with me. >> again, there's one more republican debate before the iowa caucuses about a month and a half away. that's the gop signed side of things. on the democratic side, front-runner hillary clinton is expanding on their claim to beat isis. clinton specifically addressed the threat of home grown radical terrorism. silicon valley companies may play a critical part, last month she called on tech companies to lend a hand in dismantling isis. >> three burglary suspects are in custody after an alert neighbor called police about suspicious activity. take a look at the suspects, all 18 years old. police in redwood city said yesterday afternoon neighbors saw three men get out of a car, jump a fence and enter a home. officers arrived to find the

home ransacked and no one there. they set up a perimeter and found two men hiding nearby. officers also found a handgun. officers later found the third suspect in a car. all three are now facing burglary charges. cool to start out your day, baugh sunny finish in store. kari hall was telling us this is one of the best chances you'll have all week to enjoy nice weather. >> yes, especially this afternoon. we need to bundle up this morning. it is cold and near record low temperatures. we have widespread 30s. let's drop in on the south bay where it's 33 degrees downtown. as we head to the south county, it's as low as 28 degrees this morning. wow. it is really cold. but looking a little bit better as we go into the afternoon. still cooler than average in san jose. in mountain view, 55 degrees. the presidio at 56 degrees, 57 in santa rosa and oakland. 55 in pleasanton. the next few days it brings us

up a couple more degrees. but then we get ready for rain. i'll detail all that coming up in the micro climate forecast. mike has an update on what's happening with the commute. >> even though we haven't seen more chauch as far as the photographic flow, a lot of change from the scene. moving news vans around. that likely means they're getting ready to open lanes. what we have is the closure from the eastshore freeway counter-commute. these folks make their split and over towards the richmond-san rafael bridge. sweeper trucks have been circling back and forth for about the last 20 minutes as they pick up chat appears to be concrete dust. you'll see all the dust, and they have to take multiple passes through the area. that's what's holding up the area. the big rig trailer has been cleared, 47,000 pounds and debris. you get on to central off san

pablo as an alternate. westbound your commute direction starts to show the build and distraction from the lights causing a little more slowing. the bay bridge toll plaza metering lights are on. sounds like a lot. this december commute keeps things light around the area. no major problems. slowing from pleasanton. we'll look towards the south bay with no major drama. a live shot shows fremont, an easy drive south down toward milpitas and a smooth drive from 37 toward mountain view. back to you. up next, a major policy change for the san francisco police department. what an officer must now do any time he or she points a gun at a suspect. plus today is the day, or at least we think it is, the fed is going to raise interest rates. we'll take a look coming up in business and tech.

the gets to work by 8:00...ids, and always manages to give them a healthy lunch. the newlyweds seeking out wholesome meals and exciting flavors for their new cookware. the guy who finally decided to kick

35 years of bad snacking habits. you inspire us to do everything we do... ...for goodness' sake. saying "no" to a new jail. last night -- they unanimously turned down 80 san francisco supervisors are saying no to a new jail. last night they unanimously turned down $80 million to help build it. while the supervisors agree the current jail is in bad shape and the new jail is needed, they say building a new one isn't the answerment the supervisors would rather get a new facility that focused on mental health and substance ab bruce treatment. the "mercury news" reports

over the next two years the county will spend $74 million beyond its original budget to improving the training of guards and beefing off psychiatric care. the new plan comes in the wake of last summer's beating death of a mentally ill inmate. three guards are facing murder charges. 6:14. any san francisco police officer who points a gun at someone must now report it to superiors. it's a new policy according to the "san francisco chronicle." pointing a gun is now a use of force. the change comes on the heels of an uproar over the deadly shooting of mario woods by nearly half a dozen officers two weeks ago. more and more departments are making the change including oakland. the san francisco police officers union is upset about what they call a change in working conditions. happening today, an announcement on affordable housing for veterans in millbrae. 55-unit housing project will be

announced at 11:00. people say it's going to allow veterans at millbrae to return home. >> if only we saw this coming -- >> the federal open markets committee finally expected to raise interest rates for the first time in almost a decade. >> that's right. he spoke with ceos about the change. >> the ceo of ford was in town to kick off the hands-off driving. ford internally, by the way, calls this the reindeer car. lo mark fields tells me he doesn't expect a big change if and when the fed raises rates later today. as he pointed out, the fed would only raise rates if janet yellen and the rest of her open markets committee thought the economy was getting better. a good economy is good for

american industry. it's good for ford. what does it mean for you? it's a small enough hike it will be largely invisible. the new direction up is going to mean over time savings accounts, cds, bonds, the things people invest in over the long-term will pay more. mortgage rates are indirectly rate rated. >> it's going to be a very gradual increase in mortgage rates. no need to run out tomorrow and lock in the rate. it's not going to be something that's going to be overnight in response to these short rates. >> i often say that berkeley's janet yellen is the second most powerful people in america. what she does this morning at 11:30 our time or 11:00 with u.s. interest rates affects the world economy. remember, money looks for big payouts. if rates here are very low, money will go overseas. it's going to go to brazil and it did over the last decade.

man, did it pour into greece. as interest rates go up here, the money begins to flow back and out of places like bazile. our rate hikes can hurt like a steel factory in brazil. and cause lay-offs. a guy who has never heard of janet yellen is going to lose his job over this as we continue to shift in the other direction. >> that's what's amazing to me. >> it is. we'll know 11:00 our time, janet yellen will have a press conference at 11:30. >> a lot of people talking about star wars these days. you see it everywhere. for some fans, the force awakens the start of what will be a full emersion in a star wars saga tomorrow. >> a full day of watching star wars. san jose's century 20 oak ridge theater is one of many offering the marathon tomorrow. movie goers will see the first six movies and final the "the

force awakens" in 3d. >> the marathon starts at 3:00 a.m. tomorrow. the cost for a ticket is $50 for about 19 hours of star wars. if you don't have a ticket already, tough luck. the oak ridge event is already sold out. >> only one catch. you have to dress like chewbacca. >> ready for the next viral video? jimmy fallon may have a hit on his hands after last night's tonight show. >> he decided to use the force, packing everything short of yoda yodeling. ♪ [ star wars theme ] >> that's pretty cool. a walk down memory lane. that's fallon, his house band the roots and stars old and new perform acoustic renditions of

the star wars classic, culminating with a really big finish. listen. ♪ >> that was great! >> cast old and new. one of those didn't sound like the rest. r2d2 couldn't hit the tune. i don't know why. >> i was watching, and i think those storm troopers were lip syncing behind their masks. >> they're imposteimposters. >> a historic debut for star wars. maybe making history with our weather. >> near record cold temperatures this morning. bundle up this morning. you can see your breath and you have to do some extra work

scraping some frost off of the windshield before you head out. a live look at the bay bridge. we see things are getting going with this cold weather behind that weather system that rolls in through the weekend. now that cold air is really rolling in. a look at the temperatures and where we stand as far as records. gilroy starting out at 28 degrees. santa rosa at 31, and we have concord now at 35 degrees. a lot of 30s here. let's see how that compares to historical records. 35 degrees is the record in gilroy and 27 in santa rosa. we are very close but not there yet. we may see the temperature dipping a couple more degrees right around sunrise which happens in the next hour. as we go into the day in san francisco, a lot of sunshine making it into the mid 50s, and not as windy as it was yesterday. that will give you a little bit of a break. into the day, all bright and sunny. then tomorrow we start to see scattered showers moving into the north bay. spotty light rain possible, but the rest of us won't see any wet

weather until late friday night into early saturday. a stronger storm system rolling on through, bringing in measurable rain. as we take a look at what's happening in the sierra, the snowfall report brings in chilly temperatures for the next couple days. but look at the bay. 46 inches at squaw valley and alpine meadows. by friday there will be some more snow moving in. so a look at where we compare to normal in the sierras, and we are making some progress there. just last week we were 61% of normal. now it's at 85. once again there is more snow in the forecast. several weather systems will be moving in, not only bringing the bay area some rain, but once again more snow for the sierra between saturday and wednesday. we'll keep you up to date on that. let's see what's happening with the morning commute with mike. >> starting out here, looking at san rafael. traffic through this area is just fine. getting to san rafael, 101, may be an issue from the east bay. let's show you why our chopper is over the scene. we still have the closure. this is the eastshore freeway

going away from the bay bridge. these folks are trying to get to that richmond-san rafael bridge. you see two sweeper trucks, a number of caltrans vehicles. the sweepers going through clouds of dust. i still see the big rig trailer. i was mistaken. it's not completely cleared from the scene, but is over on the shoulder. on the map it doesn't show a tremendous backup. the bigger backup is west out of richmond. that is a note 580 heading west through the whole plaza. meanwhile we have debris reported in pleasanton. the rest of the bay moving smoothly. south bay included. northbound 101 in the south bay slow. palo alto, you see a little more company but no slowing. laura and sam will have more news for you right after this break. a popular fremont hiking area

has become too popular -- if not for its own good, than for th we're always talking about how we like to be outdoors. a popular fremont store is becoming too popular for the people living nearby. the area we're talking about, mission peak. the problem is the parking lot fills up quickly so visitors flood the neighboring streets. relief could be coming for the people who live there. the merc reports possible permits for street parking. east bay regional parks is looking to expanding the mission peak lot to about 300 spaces.

a kitten is saved after being nearly gobbled up. he was found in a garbage processing plant. the little gay is just days old. >> a worker spotted him on a conveyor belt. >> i heard them say they found a live cat. i was curious because that's just amazing. >> breaks your heart that the cat would even be in that position. whatever the case, the kitten is okay now. one worker immediately adopted him and has given him the name murphy, that's the acronym for the name of the machine which helps to sort the garbage. >> not stinky, huh? 6:26. another amazing story. remember the shocking video of a beam right through the windshield of a bmw? hear from the san jose driver behind the wheel at the time. plus shear sticker shock in the south bay. the reason some people will see the cost of their water jump by

65%. joining us. i'm sam brock

=laura/2shot= and i'm laura garcia cannon. (ad lib toss weather) good wednesday morning. thank you for joining us. i'm sam brock. >> i'm laura garcia-cannon. it's a cold start out there. i was going to say baby, it's cold outside, but i don't want to sing this morning. >> make sure you head out a few minutes early and scrape the frost off the windshield, too. it's only 31 degrees in the north bay. it's 37 in the peninsula and south bay.

looking at highs today once again in the mid to upper 50s and not as windy as yesterday with the bright sunshine heading into the next few days or getting ready for some changes, some rain this weekend. i'll detail that coming up. let's see what's happening on the roads now. what's going on out there, mike? >> a chopper is still above the eastshore freeway. chp just gave us the update. theer are the three sweeper trucks sweeping up all the cement and dust that spilled off the big rig. as we zoom out, you see spectator slowing, folks cannot get over off the eastshore freeway away from the bay bridge. they can't get over towards the richmond-san rafael bridge because that connector is closed. notice here at the top of your screen, that's the albany off-ramp towards buchanan. i believe if you continue at surface streets, speeds in the area, the signal is you can get back onto the freeway just north of there. the distraction is causing more slowing as the commute spills.

westbound the commute slows a bit as well. there's the jam, slow all the way in through albany. we look at the maps, we see the build westbound. there at the bay bridge toll plaza, metering lights are on. whatever debris was there has cleared from pleasanton. 880 building out of union city toward hayward. 101 seeing the most volume. back to you. >> thank you very much, mike. 6:31. new details, turn off the tap. sticker shock for your water bill. late last night the milpitas city council agreed to raise water rates by 65%. "today in the bay's" bob redell is live. people will see bills jump very soon. >> people on average, the average customer will see their bills jump per month by $28 to $30. we are talking about an overall

65% water rate increase here in the city of milpitas. in january, bills go up 30% followed by another increase in july of 35%, getting you toward the 65. the council chambers were full of upset residents last night as the city council listened to their concerns. the city council passed the hike a few months prior but couldn't get their final approval until hearing from the constituents which they did last night. the constituents are worried about how to make ends meet with this significant increase in their monthly bill. >> so many of our residents are lower and fixed income and will be financially devastated. our water and trash bills are already high. the raise is certain to have a domino effect on our local businesses as well. >> reporter: milpitas blames the rate increase partly on the drought. the city gets most of its water from the san francisco public

utilities commission which increased its prices for water more than 20%. milpitas also raised rates to help cover improvements in its infrastructure. reporting live in milpitas, bob redell, "today in the bay." turning now to decision 2016. >> you're a tough guy, jeb. >> we need to have a lover -- >> you're tough. >> you're never going to be president of the united states by insulting your way to the presidenting. >> i'm at 42 and you're at 3. so far i'm doing better. >> doesn't matter. >> plenty of jabs back and forth during last night's final gosh debate of the year. the most spirited between front-runner donald trump and jeb bush. much of the talk centered around national security. "today in the bay's" kris sanchez tracking the reaction. one of the big headlines was actually a promise made by trump. >> yes. one of the things jeb bush said during that debate is he called donald trump a chaos candidate.

for now that chaos has little to do with him running as an independent. wouchb the made headlines of the debate, trump's vow to stick with the gop party and not go at it as an independent. trump dominated social media and six online polls including one from "time" magazine. it was the first debate since the terror attacks in paris and san bernardino, also the first since donald trump called for an all-out ban on muslims in the united states. surprisingly there was very little talk about donald trump's call to ban muslims, though trump said at one point he would even deport any new syrian refugees. the candidates steered clear of that proposal. florida senator marco rubio saying it's not going to happen. former florida governor jeb bush saying it's not a serious proposal. the candidates did speak more in depth about howe they would defeat isis. texas senator ted cruz with a call to carpet bomb isis into oblivion. and carson saying we are at war

with isis and calling for boots on the ground. also chris christie calling for a no-fly zone in syria. >> you would carpet bomb where isis is, not a city, but the location of the troops. >> we have a phobia about boots on the ground. >> you fly in, it applies to you. yes, we would shoot down the planes of russian pilots. >> the candidates also sparred on immigration. the republicans will square off on january 14th. it is the last debate before the iowa caucuses. we'll remind you that the national polls have donald trump at the top, though ted cruz is narrowing the gap and marco rubio is the candidate that has the best chance to beat hillary clinton according to an nbc news "wall street journal" poll of last week. >> thank you very much, kris. two people are dead after a medical helicopter crash out of phoenix. one person made it out alive and was flown to the hospital. the trop per went down about 55

miles east of phoenix. a doctor, nurse and pilot were on board. the company in charge of the helicopter says no patients were on board and an investigation is under way. if you smell something funny this morning, don't be alarmed. in about 30 minutes pg&e will release natural gas at two locations on the peninsula. this is a live look at one of those areas. that one in san carlos on old county road. the other location is redwood city at the intersection of edgewood and interstate 280. people in those areas might smell or notice a smell of something or hear the sound of venting at about 7:00 this morning. the idea here is to relieve pressure on pipelines in the area. federal researchers are worried about a threat to wildlife and the environment. it comes from dozen containers that fell off a ship near san francisco last friday. the contents of one already washeda ashore at baker beach. the rest are floating south towards specifically and moss

beach. the marine reserve in moss beach could be in danger from a large amount of sigh foam and plastic crates. work to recover the containers is under way. anyone who sees anything should call the coast guard. it's still hard to believe someone could have survived this. the driver that lived after the massive heavy beam blasted through the windshield of his car, is now sharing his story. don lee of san jose says he's lucky he lived through the a harrowing experience. last week he was driving southbound on 280 in san jose when the beam fell off a big rig, bounced off the road and came slicing through the windshield of his bmw, missing his head by inches. >> looking at the picture, hard to believe right now. just one moment, life and death right there. >> that's a moment he'll never forget.

you see the scratch on lee's elbow right there. that's all he suffered after that incident. >> great safety add for bmw. >> apparently battle tested. it gives you chills to see that. it is chilly outside now to start your wednesday morning, almost historically so, kari. >> getting close to records this morning, watching the thermometer very closely. seeing widespread 30s. in the east bay many spots are below freezing. it's 32 degrees in pleasanton and livermore. in dublin, 30 degrees. lafayette 29 and orinda now at 32 degrees. so with all of this cold air, it gets a little bit better as we go through the day. highs in the mid to upper 50s, even 60 degrees at half moon bay. pittsburg 58 degrees and pleasanton up to 55 degrees. dry today and tomorrow for most parts. but then we're getting ready for rain by the weekend. i'll let you know what to expect and help you make plans. let's see what's happening on

the roadways with mike. >> we have the slower spots for your commute starting to slow in the bay. nothing unusual except for this one scene. the closure off the eastshore freeway. these are eastbound drivers going away from the bay bridge trying to get to the richmond-san rafael bridge. that connector is closed. estimated time of opening is 7:00 a.m. the sweeper truck doing a lot of cleanup work. can take that slowly on the city streets, on to the freeway and you should be okay. eastbound 80 unusually slow on our maps as you travel through the area as well. that's going away from university. golden gate fields, things clear towards the carquinez bridge. traditional building off the upper east shore. a little build in walnut creek interchange. the debris has cleared. hayward nothing unusual. san jose northbound, 101 shows slowing. so does north 87. coming up next.

changes rolling out today surrounding the government's terror alert system. a district on the defense. many criticizing l.a. schools for canceling all classes after what turned out to be a bogus threat. next in the live report, the reason the nation's second largest district says it chose to take no chances with the safety of its students. a very strong chance of an interest rate hike in just a few hours. we'll take a look coming up in business. ==sam/cu== the wraps are

coming off a new system - alerting people here in the u-s of possible

happening today, the wraps are coming off a new system alerting people in the u.s. of possible terrorist threats. "today in the bay's" tracie potts joining us live from washington, d.c. this morning. the new system is being billed as more modern, hopefully more informative than the one in place right now, the color codes. >> reporter: remember we started with the color codes after 9/ 11. then they updated the system because they said it didn't give people enough information. the national advisory system came out which you may have never heard of because they actually never used it. it was supposed to tell us when there was an elevated, intermediate or imminent threat, to tell us where it is, transportation systems that might be affected, affects to social media in terms of getting the word out. it had to be based on specific credible evidence and that just never happened. now, the secretary of homeland security in an announcent in about an hour and a half will

announce that they're trying to come up with something different. they want to try to take the best of the two, something that's simple for people to understand but doesn't have to rely on specific intelligence, specific intel in order to activate. in other words, when something big happens like san bernardino or the attack on the canadian parliament, that raises the level of concern and the level of risk here, but doesn't necessarily mean something is going to happen here. how do we get the word out to people about that? what does that really mean? those are the things they're trying to address. we should get details on that in just about an hour and 15 minutes. >> we'll check back with you. thank you, tracie. in about an hour or so, more than a half million students will head back to class one day after the entire los angeles unified school district was shut down because of a threat. the "today" show's miguel almaguer has more. the district says it wasn't taking any chances especially

because of what happened in san bernardino. >> reporter: good morning. it was a controversial decision made by the superintendent. he shut down the entire school district at about 6:45 in the morning. that was shortly before the early morning bells at many of the schools in the area. this is massive school district covering 710 square miles, more than 700,000 students all across this region. when that decision was made just before classes begun, it certainly sent shock waves, sent parents scrambling, teachers had to leave school. it was a very big headache. the superintendent was taking no chances in the wake of what they called a terror threat at the school system. they said it was a credible threat, so they shut down the entire system. they also got the same similar threat in the new york city school district where they immediately called it a hoax. the superintendent here certainly facing criticism this morning. we'll have details on that as well as what parents believe should have happened. >> miguel, do you know if there will be extra security out there mo th morning?

>> reporter: yes, lapd says they'll have extra security officers a /* at some of the high-profile schools. it's difficult for officers to cover all the schools at the same time, but they say there will be stepped up security at many of the high-profile schools. >> miguel almaguer live from los angeles, thank you. you can watch miguel's full report coming up at 7:00 this morning. meantime, a hayward teenager could face serious charges after allegedly making threats against his high school. a 15-year-old student from mt. eden high was taken into custody yesterday. police say he admitted to posting threats on social media, but there was no indication he had any weapons. the student is now in juvenile hall. last time the fed raised enter et rates, no one tweeted about it. >> there's a good reason for that, twitter hadn't been invented yesterday. >> far more people at the time were using myspace. it has been that long since the

fed raised rates, nearly ten years. the last time the fed lowered rates, that was more recent, but still predates the iphone. the point is history will be made, or at least we expect it will be. you'll hear 25 basis points, .25%. yellen holds a press conference at about 11:30. we'll have it for you as it happens. do we need an interest rate hike? hikes are designed to keep an economy from growing too quickly, and our economy is growing. -- >> i think some people see it almost as kind of making after offering to the gods to prevent the volcano from erupting, the volcano being inflation, of course, which people have been, again, predicting wrongly for the last seven years. >> going to raise rates perhaps because we think it's time to.

how about something less intellectual. we've been talking about black friday and what people do on black friday. it isn't what people think it is. to prove that, we took one of amazon's banner black friday sales items, a kitchenaid mixer and started tracking the price. this was $343 on amazon's front page black friday. this weekend the price dropped to $249, $100 difference with free shipping. so again, black friday is fun, it's a tradition. but once again, more actual proof that the prices actually go down after black friday. >> so we're paying more to enjoy black friday. >> and get up early, apparently so. >> interesting tradition. thank you, scott. if you get out early and head out the door, you'll notice we had a cool weather snap lately. >> some of the coldest temperatures this season settling in this morning. behind the strong cold front that rolled in over the weekend, now we're really feeling that

cold air since the winds have calmed down. as we take a live look from san bruno mountain towards san francisco, a clear start to the day. but yes, you're trying to rub those hands together to keep them warm. it's freezing in the valleys. sunrise will be happening here shortly in less than 30 minutes. it will be sunny and cool later today, widespread 50s across the bay area, and the rest of what you need to know, mainly clear skies this evening. sunset at 4:51. let's take a look at the temperature and where we stand now for the record. it's 28 degrees now in gilroy. many spots below freezing, especially in the valleys. in concord 35 degrees, in palo alto it's 37 degrees. the daily record for the coldest temperature is 25 degrees in gilroy. now, we're close but we haven't gotten there yet. certainly a very cold start to the day. as we see those temperatures warming up going hour by hour in san jose, 10:00, 48 degrees. by lunchtime in the lower 50s.

making it into the mid 50s today. the futurecast keeps it dry for now. we'll start to see some light spotty showers moving in with a weak disturbance moving in tomorrow morning for the north bay. it looks like it only will be a north bay thing until the rest of the bay area sees some rain with another system dropping in on friday. this one will be stronger, and by late friday night, as you go out for a late dinner or celebrating this last week end before christmas, we will have some wet weather moving in. and we'll see several waves of that as we go into the weekend and early next week. so tomorrow, a good day to head out to the ice rink at union square. i'll be there for the midday show at 11:00. it will be 52 degrees. and all through out the day in the 50s in san francisco. into the weekend we'll start to see these low pressure systems lining up over the pacific. as the jet streamlines up over the bay area, it will keep us wet. we will have the potential of a couple of inches of rain in some

spots between saturday into tuesday. so now is the time to clear out the leaves once again and get those storm drains ready for more wet weather. we'll keep you up to date on that. let's see what's happening with the morning commute with mike. >> happening as we speak, kari. we're over the scene of the closure off the eastshore freeway. i've seen chp encourage the media vans to clear the area. this is eastbound 80 away from the bay bridge. the backup the other way, that's the commute past golden gate field. these folks trying to exit the freeway. they can't yet because the connector is closed getting toward 580 westbound. that's the richmond-san rafael bridge approach. looking at your approach from the emeryville camera, this shows the backup. this is a live camera. that's where the closure is. there's the backup starting to form over to the scene. this is flaching lights over

there to help us. this with the reopening in the next couple minutes. we're looking west as well. in fact, that goes from the top of your screen out of san pablo and richmond. more distraction because of that activity. a lighter december commute. it's eastbound that's unusually slow heading through berkeley into richmond. pleasanton, 680, hayward, union city, typical southbound build towards fremont. nothing alarming about this. in fact, it's very nice right now. a slower drive across the san mateo bridge. northbound routes through the silicon valley out of san jose, a slight build. back to you. >> keeping our fingers crossed it stays that way. thank you very much, mike. >> when you need little luck on your side, who do you count on? >> my co-anchor. >> good answer. you can also count on your mom. it might be the lesson this morning in minnesota. >> here is the background. grace ramey and her mother angela had the chance to win free tuition from the

bloomington private school after coming in first place in the school fund-raiser. >> that's the first shot there. >> the only catch is they had to make the basketball shot from half-court. the first two shots, not so hot. the final shot, really didn't start off much better. [ cheers and applause ] >> what was that? mom's lucky bounce carried the bell there, winning tuition for grace next semester, it will be on the house. she brought down the house with that shot. >> coming up, drastic times call for drastic measures. the reason some people in the south bay will see their water bills jump by 65%. one south bay city. late last

night - milpitas city lears get ready to pay up for water in one south bay city. late last night milpitas city leaders approved a 60% price hike. >> "today in the bay's" bob redell live in milpitas with the details. >> reporter: a significant increase, sam and laura, 65% increase for water customers here in the city to be phased in over the next several months. it will go up 30% in january, 35% in july. if you're looking at the average bill, we're talking about a $28

monthly increase on average. the city council explained the decision to a packed room last night full of concerned residents saying that the drought has made water more expensive. for example, milpitas gets water from san francisco puc which raised rates by 20%. the city says it also needs the money to cover improvements to infrastructure. remember porting live in milpitas, bob redell, "today in the bay.." in the east bay firefighters say a space heater is responsible for this fire in pittsburgh. it started around dinnertime on peppertree way. officials say there was a lot of clothing and cardboard boxing near the space heater. two families lost everything including their christmas gifts. no one was hurt thanksed to a quick thinking woman. >> someone pushed me to go into

the bedroom, behind the bed, down, coming up. oh, my god, i didn't know what to do. >> luckily she got out. the red cross now helping families who do not have a place to stay. turning now to decision 2016, sharp exchanges marking the last republican debate of the year. jeb bush tore into donald trump as not a serious candidate saying the billionaire cannot insult his way to the presidency. trump then brushed the comments aside, blasting bush for being way behind in the polls. trump went on to say he would only run as a republican. big news coming out of the debate last night. as for marco rubio and ted cruz, they argued over immigration, national security and how best to deal with isis. we'll have complete coverage coming up on the "today" show in just a few minutes. complete weather and traffic, we'll check with kari right now. >> very cold this morning. it's just like, wow, trying to keep those hands warm. it's 31 degrees in the north

bay, 39 degrees in the east bay and san francisco 42. bundle up, and you'll need love sleeves all through out the day, mid to upper 50s this afternoon. >> you're watching the eastshore freeway. >> yes. things are loosening up over there. it's good news. we have the reopening of the connector off the eastshore freeway at the bottom of your screen. that truck you see with flashing lights, merging back into traffic. the last of the caltrans vehicles at the closure. let me show you what i'm talking about. the camera shows you the taillights from university up to the split where some folks move over to the san rafael bridge. all lanes reopened. westbound is your commute direction, that would be the headlights coming down towards university, not a surprise. also the san mateo bridge, the heaviest volume outside of the area. the rest of the commute looks really good. >> let's hope it stays that way. that's what's happening "today in the bay." we're back at 7:25 with a live

local news update. >> you can join us for nbc bay area news at 11:00. we leave you with an iconic shot of the golden gate bridge. now to the debate performance last night. good morning. jeb bush go at it on the las vegas strip. >> you're never going to be president of the united states by insulting your way. >> i'm at 42 and you're at 3. i'm doing better. >> doesn't matter. >> you started offver here, jeb. you're moving over further and further. pretty soon you're going to be off the edge. >> trump's proposed muslim ban a hot topic along with a new one. how he wants to shut off parts of the internet. this morning the highs and lows of the most heated debate yet. flight of fear. a southwest airlines plane skids off the runway after landing in nashville. 100 passengers evacuated, at least eight taken to the hospital. the terrifying moments as we he