holiday vacation? join the club. the record amount of people expected to take to the skies and roads today. "today in the bay" starts right n now. good morning on this wednesday. thanks for joining us. i'm sam brock. >> i'm kira klapper in for laura garcia-cannon. today the best day to get on the road or catch a flight. we'll have dry conditions across the bay area. temperature now 40 degrees in the north bay and 50 degrees in the peninsula and south bay. heading into the afternoon, we're looking at highs that will be in the mid 50s. i'll detail that and what to expect as the next storm system approaches, begins to bring rain to niechlt more on that in a few minutes. >> if you get motion sick, focus on me and we'll see the

background. the wind taking it up there. a smooth drive for both of the bridges. a reminder warriors play tonight. a lot of roaring at oracle. the speeds on the roadways moving well. talking about getaway traffic. getting toward i-5 and the southland, there is a crash around henry co-state park. chp is there with that crash. back to you guys. a developing story now, crews this morning will begin the difficult task of recovering the body and wreckage from a single engine plane crash in the foothills of castro bali. "today in the bay's" chuck coppola live at the oakland airport. that crash happened yesterday morning. but the cause still remains a mystery. we do know there was inclement weather yesterday. >> reporter: that's absolutely right. in one minute the plane lost about half its speed.

about 2 1/2 minutes later it was gone from radar. that's how quickly things can go badly. the plane was taking off from lincoln in plaser county, bound for oakland international airport. it was found in teercht foothills near castro valley. pilots tell us going over the eastern foothills near sunol, about 45 miles per hour which was the plane's speed at the time, it probably wouldn't have lasted more than 30 seconds before crashing. the presumed pilot and the plane's owner is 60-year-old john sacco of rockland from the california occupational safety and health standards board. weather may have been a factor. >> you're very prone to icing which is a critical factor for any aviation, whether commercial or jgeneral. >> reporter: the plane was a piper pa-32, single engine

aircraft, coincidentally the same make and model that crashed last weekend killing a gilroy family about 50 miles from oakland international the pilot radioed air traffic controllers saying he was having engine problems. i'm chuck coppola, "today in the bay". >> oakland back open after a portion of concrete broke forcing the chp to close three southbound lanes between broadway and oak street. the slab broke in at least three places. crews had to pour cement overnight and reopened the highway around 2:00 this morning. new this morning, a toddler found dead at travis air force base. now the babysitter is under arrest. investigators say 24-year-old gina bailey shook the 18-month-old violently and dropped him. this started last week. doctors at the hospital in travis initially treated that child for difficulty breathing.

he later needed to be transferred to uc davis medical center in sacramento. he ultimately died. bailey is in jail being held on $750,000 bail. new details on an east bay nightclub shooting we first brought you as breaking news monday morning. detectives now have two suspects in custody. the shooting wounded four people in a parking lot at popular club caliente. gunfire broke out early monday around 2:00 a.m. investigators won't release any information about the suspects or what exactly happened until later today. they do say the injuries to the four victims are non-life-threatening. a follow up on last month's dramatic tour bus crash in san francisco. the chp released an inspection report on the other buses in that company's fleet. a majority of the buses inspected had violations, including broken taillights to

no working emergency exits, even loose steering wheel components. the report also found the drivers weren't required to log daily inspection reports. drivers were not properly licensed with the dmv. the company released a statement saying it fixed all the problems highlighted in that report. now to the aftermath left behind from this week's wet windy weather. watch the right side of your screen and see that huge ficus tree come crashing down. in petaluma, one horse was killed after two toppled trees hit a stable. these are just a few of the incidents we saw yesterday on the first day of winter. a man in gold country can thank his lucky stars after a brush with a giant boulder that nearly killed him. it happened yesterday afternoon on highway 50 near wrights lake

road. the man said a huge rock, five feet high and seven feet long smashed into the side of his pickup. the force of the boulder pushed the truck onto the shoulder of the road. chp says the difference between life and death may have been a matter of inches. >> luckily it was a little forward of where he was sitting. had it been further back, i don't want to think about what may have happened. >> definitely appreciate what i've got going for me. keeping everything in perspective. >> no one was hurt, but the rock slide did cause big delays through the rest of the evening. drivers didn't move at all for hours until crews completed avalanche control. >> the driver seemed pretty calm given everything that happened there. yesterday's stormy weather apparently left tourists high and dry or at least rearranging their plans. that's because "the examiner" reported that rain and wind crippled the cable car service. muni says cars were halted for

several hours yesterday. the hyde street line resumed service a little more quickly as did the california line. happening right now, gearing up for record holiday travel as we take a live look outside at oakland's international airport with a little bit of a shaky camera there. experts say this is going to be the first time ever when a number of total travelers in this country is going to top $100 million across the country. that's nearly one out of every three u.s. residents taking the the air, the road or the rail. big factors in the increase include the economic recovery and a pretty sizable drop in gas prices. gas right now the at a seven-year low. 91 million people estimated to be driving this week, that's the highest number on record. warmer than normal weather back east is also making it easier to get around. it could be the busiest holiday season ever. meteorologist kari hall will tell us, i predict, that today would be the day to get out if you're going to travel. is that right? >> absolutely.

we're in between weather systems. it's been so active here in the bay area with round after round of snowstorms moving in and rain storms, too, we are taking a break now, but the next one is right there knocking on the door, and we're still seeing some rain and snow in the sierra. snow happening just to the north of us along with the showers. as you start out the day, getting a dry start with temperatures in the 40s and low 50s. we're looking at highs today where we'll be topping out around 55 to 58 degrees all across the bay area and into the day tomorrow. once again, that's when the rain returns. i'll detail that and what to expect heading into the weekend. that's coming up in a few minutes. still shaking around those cameras out there, mike, still breezy winds. >> that's right. folks will consider maybe more than breezy. our bay bridge toll plaza camera is steady eddy. i-80 moving smoothly along the bay area. make sure you practice with the

chains before you pack them. make sure you pack them before you head to the sierra. in the north bay, no problems coming across the carquinez or ben nee benicia bridge. at '680, sounds like there might be one lane blocked. another crash sunol, south 680 at 84. san jose, an easy drive. >> been pretty light so far this week. thank you, mike. coming up, a political firestorm reignited. kentucky marriage licenses are in the headlines. the new executive orders making waves across the country this morning. got a tip for nbc's investigative unit? call 1-888-996-tips or e-mail theunit@nbcbayarea.com. kentucky over same-sex marriage

licenses... kentucky's governor ordered the state to prepare new licenses... and this time after uproar in kentucky, kentucky's governor ordered the state to prepare new licenses, and this time they're not going to include the names of county clerks. >> this move comes after the political firestorm that was sparked by the county clerk who refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. she said it went against her religious beliefs. "today in the bay's" tracie potts is live in washington with

reaction. so far residents are pretty split on this issue, aren't they? >> reporter: they have been split, kira and sam, because initially kim davis spent five days in jail for defying the judge's order to sign off on the licenses. now the state had the new republican governor. he says this is a compromise that will preserve religious freedom while allowing people to get those marriage licenses. kim davis from rowland county refused to sign off on them so her deputies did. the governor saying there's a new form that does not require the signature of a county clerk. the aclu not satisfied with that. they think it may land in court because kentucky's law specifies that it does have to be signed by the clerk which is exact opposite of what the governor is saying, that it does not. they think this macon fuse things rather than help. >> tracie potts in washington,

thank you. now to the race for president. we're now hearing from hillary clinton after donald trump called her a liar and made some crude references about her. trump made explicit references to clinton's bathroom break at saturday night's debate and used a vulgar term to describe her failed presidential bid in 2008. he won't repeat it. this morning trump tweeted that the bias media incorrectly defined his words. clinton, however, isn't backing down. >> it's important to stand up to bullies wherever they are and why we shouldn't let anybody bully his way into the presidency. meanwhile, there's been another shift in the standing among republicans. ted cruz appears to be picking up steam. one poll has his neck and neck with trump. >> we have so many more months left. >> this roller coaster. 5:14. major accusations against t-mobile.

youtube saying the company is interfering with its video traffic. >> for that and more news we turn to kate rogers at cnbc world headquarters. >> well the markets will try to go for three in a row after stocks rose again on tuesday. futures are higher ahead of the opening bell, but volume has been getting lighter as investors start heading out for the holidays. look for data on personal income, durable goods, new home sales and consumer sentiment. the dow rising 165 points, its eighth straight triple digit move to 14417, the nasdaq to 5001. youtube is accusing t-mobile of interfering with video traffic. offering a program to offer video, but reducing the quality of video not in the program. that includes youtube. that could violate the fcc's net neutrality rules which ensure internet providers don't

discriminate. starbucks expects record gift card sales on christmas eve as consumers scramble to pick up stocking stuffers. the coffee chain sold 2.5 million gift cards with one in every seven people saying they got one. the national retail federation says gift cards are the most requested item for the ninth straight year. >> how much coffee do you think santa has to guzzle to make it through that 24-hour marathon. kate rogers, thank you very much. he's going to have some of the work done for him. santa could have new reindeer pulling his sleigh this year. this is reindeer in 2015. google's robotics division released this video. the reindeer are headless. the video -- i've heard of the headless horseman. the video gives bizarre look into the future if robots took over the world. google robotics created a lot of buzz this year by showing off its, quote, intelligent robots.

talk about a close call. a drone fell out of the sky and barely missed a professional skier. do you see that? this austrian skier making its way down the slope. that was a broadcast drone. the skier had no idea what happened until after the race. i hope he won. >> that's a pretty close call. you think about we're worried about drones interfering with things in the air, not usually on the ground. >> we've got the kind of weather where you go skiing in the sierra for once in so many years. all of these ski resorts are selling out like crazy and getting ready for another white christmas. here in the bay area, it's going to be chilly. get ready for that, we have dry clear conditions. as you step out, you're thinking, okay, i need to get a few more layers because that's the kind of weather we'll feel this morning.

chilly temperatures and we'll see that continuing into the weekend. at least it is dry now. the next storm system really starting to roll into northwestern california producing light rain. even snow in some of the mountains now, as we go into tonight, we'll start to see scattered showers moving into the bay area. some of the heavier more widespread rain happens from 4:00 to 10:00 tomorrow morning. scattered showers throughout the day. as the cold air enters, the snow will be dropping, too. it looks like a possibility of snow on mt. hamilton thursday night and early friday. if you're going to the sierra, it's still snowing there, light flurries coming down. the next storm system coming in will bring the possibility of another foot of snow, maybe two feet in some of those ski resorts. now, let's take a look at how much snow we've got this season and how that compares to normal. the statewide average right now is above average at 111% of

normal. look at the central sierra, 121% of normal. with this next storm system i think the numbers will continue to go up. as we go into christmas day, that storm system will be moving out, leaving behind chilly temperatures. highs only in the 50s. morning temperatures below freezing for most of the bay area. let see what's happening on the roadways with mike. >> we have something happening, not happy to hear about a crash but at least i've got something to report. west 580 is jamming up as you approach the dublin interchange. what's going on right here, just before you hit 680 on west 580, a crash on your left shoulder as well as blocking your fast lane. let's look at your map. what's going on, there's debris, maybe part of an axel blocking the fast lane. crews working to clear that. i think they'll be able to because the traffic is

relatively light. the crash 680 off 84, a smooth drive there. san mateo bridge, we'll show you the wind advisory there, the camera shakes. back to you. coming up next, finally finding justice, a grieving widow getting answers after her husband died at a postal facility here in the bay area. we have been investigating this for month. the latest on the story coming up next. 28 years after being sent to

prison -- a colorado man is 28 years, almost three decades after being sent to prison a colorado man now getting his first taste of freedom, at least until there's a new trial. clarence moses el walked out of a denver jail yesterday on bond. last month a judge overturned his conviction after doubts arose over the victim's testimony. moses el proclaimed his innocence since the beginning. he says his spirituality has kept him going in jail all these years. >> feel really great. i'm kind of lost for words, but i feel really great, and i want to thank my legal team and

everybody that stood by me all these years. >> denver's district attorney is still deciding whether or not to retry moses el. just in case, prosecutors have asked for a new trial date which the judge set for next may. actik prompted by an investigative report. the federal government is granting tens of thousands in death benefits to a bay area widow hours after our investigation aired. >> vicky nguyen has an update. >> good morning, guys. it is happy news in the last chapter of what has been a very sad story for larnie macasieb and her family. her husband sam worked for the u.s. postal service for 28 years. in august of 2014 he suffered severe head trauma during his shift at this postal facility in west oakland. no one called 911 for at least 20 minutes.

sam later died. larnie fought to get the rules changed but later won. the office of worker's compensation says it was unclear how sam got hurt because there were no witnesses. last week we aired a story about the government's decision. the next morning, the office reopened and reviewed her claim and called larnie's attorney to say her benefits request was approved. the office of workers' comp decliepd an interview with us, but e-mailed us to say when the program became aware her claim was denied, the director ordered a review of the evidence. her attorney calls it a christmas miracle saying he has never seen this type of action so quickly. you can see more of our report on nbcbayarea.com. just click on the investigations tab. >> some resolution for the family. thank you very ", vicky. if you have a tip for our investigative unit, call 1-888-996-tips or you can send us an e-mail to theunit@nbcbayarea.com. 5:26 right now. coming up, a plane crashes in

the east bay foothills killing the pilot. the connection to last week's plane crash that killed a bay area family in bakersfield. tragedy overseas takes the life of a bay area woman. the details we're now learning about the victim of a suicide bomb attack in afghanistan. joining us. i'm kira klapper

in for laura good morning. it is 5:28. thanks for joining us. i'm kira klapper in for laura garcia-cannon. >> i'm sam brock.

we had a cold snap and now nothing but non-stop rain for the last three or four days. cold to start your wednesday. >> nice break in the rain, for one day at least, right, kari? >> yes. no complaining about this cold because it gets colder as we go into the weekend. let's take a look at what's happening now as we start out with temperatures in the low 40s in the north bay while it's 50 in the south bay. in the peninsula today, we're looking at 56 degrees, the tri-valley also at 56. san francisco 56 and the east bay 57 with a lot of sunshine. that will be short lived as the next storm system approaches. i'll detail what to expect heading into christmas eve in a few minutes. let's see what's happening in the roadways with mike. >> i was hoping this would be shorter lived. west 580 jammed. we have a fast lane blocked by a crash and some debris. we're hearing the tow truck can't get there until maybe

6:30. this is the slower drive towards the dublin interchange. it's backed up to at least hasten da, probably all the way to tas hara. the rest of the tri-valley moving very well. we have another issue away from the bay bridge, east 580, crash at the attenuator barrels there. we have a light build for the cash lanes at the bay bridge toll plaza. not too bad. now to a developing story. first, the search, now the recovery this morning. crews will take on the very difficult task of recovering the body and the wreckage from a plane crash in the east bay. >> "today in the bay's" chuck coppola is live at oakland airport where the plane was headed. investigators are still trying to piece together what happened, is that right? >> reporter: that's right. we don't really know what happened to the aircraft that took off from lincoln. we do know the plane's owner is

60-year-old john sacco of rockland. he is a board member of the california safety and occupational and hell safety standards administration. he was flying a piper pa-32. air traffic controllers say he lost about half his speed, down to an equivalent of 45 miles per hour when it was flying near sunol. searchers had a tough time flying the plane after the pilot reported engine problems. >> a very controlled environment. to even get in the aircraft you have to have a certain amount of hours on the ground. then you get sem later training. it's up to every pilot to decide whether or not they want to fly. >> reporter: the plane was found in the east bay foothills near castro valley to . two alameda county firefighters were injured in the search. they found the body of the pilot

and it is a very, very steep area and the weather at that time was very, very bad. the plane took off from lincoln in plaser county. it crashed shortly before noon. today they're trying to piece together exactly what happened and why it went down near castro valley. in oakland, chuck coppola, "today in the bay." >> a lot of brush to get through out there. thank you, chuck. 5:32. all clear, interstate 880 in oakland is back open after a portion of concrete broke, essentially cracking, forcing the chp to close down three southbound lanes overnight. it happened between broadway and oak street. that slab reportedly broke in at least three places. crews poured cement on it overnight and reopened the highway about 2:00 this morning. it marks the deadliest attack in years for the u.s. military. six americans killed in a suicide attack in afghanistan.

a bay area woman among the dead. air force major adrianna vorderbruggen leaves behind her wife and young child. she was the first openly gay american female officer to be killed in the line of duty. she spent years fighting the repeal of don't ask don't tell. many calling her the face of equality in the military and the dangers of war. >> her death signifies that women and lesbians and gays are truly equal and that we do have the same risk out there. >> in a statement, vorderbruggen's widow, heather lamb, says adrianna was the light of their lives, calling her a hero, never more so than now. a followup here. richmond police launched an internal investigation into why it took so long to find out about a pipe bomb photo, the suspect and threats to a local mosque apparently posted this

picture to his facebook page. an investigation by the cont"co costa times" found it took richmond police 11 days to learn about the photo, this is despite the fact the 55-year-old man was already under investigation. police in calaveras county where he has a home reached out to him with a warning that he could be dangerous. police arrested him on sunday after finding an explosive inside his richmond home. the charges are making death threats and making a pipe bomb. also a hate crime enhancement to the charges. a man will remain behind bars after a judge denied bail to 22-year-old adam shappey. the fbi says he was planning to join an affiliated al qaeda group in syria. investigators say they have recorded telephone conversations from back in june where he referred to the possibility of joining the terror group.

friends of the family say it's all a big mixup and cha he should be released. >> there's no reason for him to stay in jail. he's not a risk for anybody. he's a very young guy, maybe said something foolish. >> schaaf fi pleaded not guilty. a high profile case, a lot of eyes on it. the raymond shrimp boy chow trial continues in san francisco. the alleged chinatown crime boss expected to take the stand. yesterday he explained why he took money from an undercover fbi agent. the undercover agent says chow took those cash payments, approved crimes and introduced him to other gang members. chow testified he simply took the money as a token of the agent's professed love and respect. chow says he left the life of crime years ago. also happening today, the

family of the oakland teen pronounced brain dead will continue her fight to deem her alive. today they plan to file a federal lawsuit. they claim her brain dead status under a california law is unconstitutional. lawyers say there is evidence that she has brain function. you may recall the teen was declared brain dead two years ago when she was 13 after she suffered complications from a surgery at children's hospital oakland. it is possible an ugly dispute among neighbors will be settled later today surrounding the behavior of a boy with autism. one side believes went unchecked by his parents. a sunnyvale couple claim the boy's aggressiveness amounted to a nuisance because his parents let it go on. they also said they feared for the safety of their own children. in september a judge called for mediation. today the sides are supposed to hold another hearing. this week sonoma city

leaders signed off on a new plan to expand a ban on marijuana. local governments are still allowed to opt out as long as they do so by next march. sonoma city council numbers monday voted unanimously -- the city seeks to maintain local control. pot has always been illegal there. here it took some time, but they finally got their men. a whopping number of burglaries in san jose some three years ago. finally police have more than two dozen suspects. investigators now name 29 suspects in all. this epic-like string of burglaries turned into what seemed to police to be an epic investigation. detectives staked out jewelry stores and pawn shops for what felt like ages. they were able to track down gang members, many suspects don't have jobs because police

say they ran their crime operation like a business. some even taking to social media to brag about their exploits. >> there's quite a few text messages through instagram and facebook where they're talking about how much money they make burglarizing houses. >> police say the gang members would wait outside jewelry stores to identify possible victims. they would follow them home, waiting for the right time to burglarize their homes. with christmas less than 48 hours away, thieves are getting brazen. police tell us grab-and-run robberies are in the rise especially in walnut creek. this person rushes in and steals several phones right off the display. a few blocks away, another person caught on camera vandalizing the front of a jewelry store. compared with last year, the downtown walnut creek corridor has seen twice as many grab-and-run burglaries. >> not good.

>> thbeing on foot or being on bicycle is the only way to catch them. >> police are using more undercovers as well. patrolling the skies for us this morning is kari hall. yesterday was active. today dry as a bone. >> yes, very dry. a nice little calm break from the wet weather. we're expecting more of that rain and even some more sierra snow to come down. we'll have a colder system dropping in by late tonight into early tomorrow morning. and this is what the futurecast shows. scattered showers tonight and then the possibility of heavier downpours, maybe a couple rumbles of thunder heading into tomorrow. tomorrow afternoon, still some rain off and on and the snow levels will be dropping as the cold air drops in from the north. we're looking at the potential of snow on mt. hamilton and also more snow for the sierra.

more on that in a few minutes. mike has a major heads up for the tri-valley drivers. >> that's right, especially unexpected when we've had very light traffic for the last few weeks. west 580 towards the dublin interchange, a big problem. your map shows you can extent. crash at the dublin interchange blocking your fast lane. it's a big distraction. it may be 6:30 before we can get the right size tow truck. we need a bigger one to move what sounds like a moving van. no major injuries reported. still tracking that. that's a con serb for all of us. meanwhile, the traffic flow is slow there. you can use dublin boulevard as an alternate. 84 also will cut you past that towards south 680 if that's your route. the rest of the bay, an easy drive towards the bay bridge toll plaza where the metering lights are back on. the left lane very easy. back to you. >> what a surprise, mike.

thanks. see the cars bunching up out there? gearing up for record holiday travel, this as we take a live look at san francisco international airport. experts say this will be the first time ever when a number of travellers u.s.-wide will top 100 million. that's nearly one of three u.s. residents taken to the air, the road or rail to get to grandma's. big factors in the increase include the economic recovery and the drop in gas prices. gas at a seven-year low. 91 million people estimated to be driving this week, the highest number on record. why? for one thing, warmer-than-normal temperatures and conditions back east making it easier to get around. this could be the biggest holiday season ever. coming up, a man buried for more than 60 hours is found alive. the incredible survival story coming out of china this morning as the search continues for more than 70 people still missing in a massive landslide.

it lit up the skies, now social media. we have answers about the mysterious light seen from nevada to northern california last night. a remarkable story of survival

out of china... a migrant worker a welcome back. a remarkable story of survival out of china. a migrant worker is alive this morning after surviving 60 hours buried under debris and mud flow following a massive landslide earlier this week.

rescuers pulled the man to safety early this morning. more than 70 others are still missing. the hill that gave way was a man-made mountain of dirt, cement chunks and other construction waste that had piled up over the last two years. night quite "star wars" in the western sky, but a bright fireball that also lit up social media, not just the skies. a little after 6:00, a mysterious streak stretching across the skies from las vegas to sacramento. it had a lot of people asking, what was that? the defense department has an answer, debris from a russian rocket launched on monday that re-entered the atmosphere above arizona of all places. it's not clear if that debris burned upon reentry or if it may have touched down. a minor setback in our mission to mars. nasa announced it's suspending a planned trip for at least two years and is not launching the insight aircraft in march

because of an air leak. the leak could affect how the aircraft handles the harsh conditions on the red planet. despite the setback, nasa says it's sticking to the goal of sending humans to mars. the hot item under the christmas tree is also a hot item for thieves. theer is surveillance video from atv wholesale in sacramento. those people sprinting are thieves getting away with more than $1,000 in hover boards. each one of them is worth more than 300 bucks. store employees thought they might be getting robbed when those thieves came in. >> one goes to one side, one goes to the other. hover boards there, hover boards there. here comes the third one. >> when they first came in, i got scared, they all had hands in their pockets, hoods on. at first i thought it was going to be a robbery. >> they'll get burned when they're finally caught. the surveillance cameras caught the suvs waiting. the store employee chased them

out. the suspects still on the loose this morning. if you want local grab any time soon, the season is still delayed. it's already postponed past christmas, this because of unsafe levels of toxins brought on by an algae bloom. no immediate word on when the local season might get under way. it was first set to start at the beginning of november. we should note you can still get fresh crab at san francisco's fisherman's wharf. it's being flown in from washington state. you can go home after all, in this case just in time for christmas for one lucky and be loved duck. the famous juanita, the name the staff gave her as a duckling at the bellow gardens assisted living facility. she became a pet and companion to the seniors there. in juan neseptember juanita fle

coop. the facility couldn't get her back buzz technically ducks are part of wildlife. now they have a permit allowing her to return. cheese and quackers will be served at the event. a drought-stricken pine tree that had to be cut down is giving a spiritual lift from its very core. the tree which soared next to the st. paul's episcopal church, it was believed the branches would crash through the roof of the church. look at that? the image of a flowing cross was discovered in one portion of the trunk. it's now on display in the consider ch foyer. they hope to relocate it to.

he is santa's little helper. a family in utah turned their infant son into a real life elf in the shelf. rockwell lawrence looks like a perfect version. his art director dad poses with rockwell for safety -- is he balanced there? then he edits himself out. so far rockwell has been the mischievous el of. he chugged pancake syrup and wraps the christmas tree in toilet paper. >> we have our own elf on the shelf, selfie on the shelfie. that was much cuter. >> if you want to know what mike is talking about, check out his facebook page. >> it's so good. >> i have nothing interesting on facebook. >> you don't have an elf on the shelf? you'll see it. >> you have an interesting

forecast for the day. >> yes. don't discredit yourself. >> today is a day to travel or get last-minute shopping in because it will be dry. tomorrow, not the same story. let's take a live look outside as we start out with clear skies and chilly temperatures. as we go into the day we'll have a lot of sunshine as we get a little milder. right now we're at 50 degrees at san jose and san carlos. santa rosa, get ready for freezing temperatures there this weekend. this christmas eve storms drop in some rain starting late tonight into tomorrow. once again travel will be affected by this. the widespread heavy rain comes downey time between 4:00 in the north bay to 10:00 for the south bay. then we'll have the spotty light showers with the possibility of isolated thunderstorms. as the cold air rolls in, our snow levels will be dropping. we do have the possibility of light snow in some of the east bay hills and south bay hills as

well. look at the wind forecast. it will be windy starting today. then the winds start to calm down as we go into this afternoon and evening just to pick up again tomorrow with the storm system arriving. at least we're catching a little bit of a break as we go into the day. it's still raining and snowing in the sierra. light snow flurries coming down. the next storm system will bring in another heavy round of snow. the possibility of one to two feet of snow on thursday into early friday. by friday it all clears out and it will be cool. highs only in the low 50s, 51 degrees in san francisco. low 50s on christmas day for the north bay, east shore and tri-valley. morning temperatures, take a look at this, will be dipping down to 27 degrees in gilroy. freezing temperatures for those valleys into the weekend. let's see what's happening on the roadways with an update from mike. >> i have bad news but we'll give it a positive twist. we have a slow drive.

this is west 580 starting before you get to el chara and down toward the dublin interchange. here is what's going on. there is a crash at the dublin interchange west 580 at 680 blocking your fast lane. the activity calmed down right now. they're holding. a lot of the distractions settled down as well. as the tow truck arrives that will get busy again. we're looking at what chp just confirmed a couple minutes ago. possibly 90 minutes until they can get the right size tow truck there. it sounds like the truck is involved. that will be a big backup for the tri-valley and toward the dublin interchange. the rest of the bay holds up with the light flow as we expect. we'll begin with the bay bridge toll plaza, metering lights are on. the wind is an issue as you travel across. >> we're focusing on you, mike. thanks. the 9/11 memorial in hayward becomes complete this morning. it happens with the installation of six granite benches, each

dedicated to a veteran's group, including disabled vets and prisoners of war. the benches circle the memorial, each ob liss is in memory of the four planes used in the terror attacks and their target. it's at the site on d street and mission boulevard and that's in hayward. quickly approaching 6:00 a.m. 5:53 right now. up next, a war of words on the campaign trail showing no sign of winding down. name calling from both sides. the response from hillary clinton after donald trump called her a liar. action prompted by an

investigative unit report. ==sam/2shot== the federal government now granting tens of thousands of dollars in death benefits to a bay area widow -- just hours after our investigation the federal government now granting tens of thousands in death benefits to a bay area widow hours after our investigation aired. >> vicky nguyen now has this update. good morning, guys. it's happy news in the last chapter of a sad story for larnie macasieb. in august of 2014 her husband suffered severe head trauma during his shift at this postal facility in oakland. no one called 911 for 20 minutes. larnie fought to get the rules changed but lost.

twice she lost the fight for death benefits. the office of worker's compensation said it was unclear how he got hurt because there were no witnesses. last week we aired the story. the next morning the office called her attorney to say the benefits request was approved. the office of workers' comp declined to interview us but e-mailed us saying when the program became aware the claim was denied, it prompted a review of the evidence. her attorney says he's never seen this type of action so quickly. you can see our full report on nbcbayarea.com. just click on the investigations tab. >> thank you very much, vak i can. if you have a tip for the investigative unit, give us a call at 1-888-996-tips or e-mail theunit@nbcbayarea.com. now to decision 2016. we're hearing from hillary clinton after donald trump called her a liar and made crude references about her which we

won't repeat. he made explicit references to clinton's bathroom break at the debate and used a vulgar term to describe her failed presidential bid in 2008. this morning trump blamed the buy yas media saying they incorrectly defined his words. >> stand up to bullies wherever they are, and why we shouldn't let anybody bully his way into the presidency. >> meanwhile there's been another shift in standing among republicans. ted cruz appears to be take picking up speed. a new black eye for the bell leaguered secret service. police in washington, d.c. says somebody broke into a secret service agent's car on monday, took a bag containing other items as well including a portable radio. this happened just a u few blocks from secret service headquarters. for now the secret service is only confirming the accuracy of the report but not commenting

any further. just shy of 5:59. a developing story right now at 6:00. a mayday call. troubling details about the moments before a plane crash. the baby-sitter sitting in jail. what she's accused of doing to a toddler on a bay area air force base. a driver escapes serious injury maybe even death as a boulder slams right into the side of his truck. how he was able to walk away without even a scratch. "today in the bay" starts right now. good morning. thanks for joining us, i'm kira klapper in for laura garcia-cannon. >> i'm sam brock. sometimes you have to dress for the mood. carry hal wearing blue, not because she's sad, but it's cold. >> it will be cold for the next few days. as we take a break, we can enjoy a cool start to the morning and a lot of sunshine today.

it's 39 degrees in the north bay while in the tri-valley and peninsula it's 50 degrees. a look at today's forecast brings us to the mid 50s, mostly sunny skies, a breezy wind and more clouds moving in tonight ahead of the next storm system that's set to arrive as we go into late tonight or early tomorrow. mike, there was a problem in the tri-valley, now the south bay? >> we have two major incidents, three spots where you'll really hit the brakes. san jose north 101 jams up from 680. on the map you see it going past mckee. there's a crash blocking one of the middle lanes. don't know when they'll clear that. two vehicles involved. they have to clear both of them. looking toward the tri-valley with the other major issue. a crash still blocks your fast lane west 580, commute direction at 680, the dublin interchange. that lane will be blocked as they hook up a truck and have to clear it. i'm told