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 7:30 until they can get

the laned cleared. we're tracking that. that's the only maj oish you unexpected. we do expect the backup at the bay bridge toll plaza. you have that because the metering lights are on. back to you. a developing story now at first light today crews will begin the grim task of working to recover the body of a pilot killed when the plane crashed in castro valley. that plane was headed to oakland international airport. that's where we find "today in the bay's" chuck coppola. we do know there was bad weather in the area when the plane went down? >> reporter: that's right. it was very nasty weather at that time. the plane took off bound for oakland international airport. sometime between 11:30 and noon at the bay area, that's when things started to go very wrong very quickly. the pilot reported engine problems. the pilot and owner of the aircraft is identified as 60-year-old john sacco of

rockland, a board member with the california occupational safety and health standards administration, also a safety engineer with earth shine consulting. the weather, assi mentioned, was very, very bad at that time. not a good day in general to fly if you could avoid it. >> you want to make sure all the possibilities are accounted for, all the contingencies looked at. that way you can be safe and sure when you take your flight. >> alameda county firefighters found the wreckage in the east bay foothills near castro valley and recovered one body. air traffic controllers say in about a minute the plane lost half its speed, was traveling the equivalent of 45 miles per hour. it was a single engine piper pa-32. coincidentally that's the same make and model as the aircraft that crashed killing a family near bakersfield last weekend. live from oakland, chuck coppola, "today in the bay."

>> two tragedies in a very short time. new this morning, a toddler found dead at travis air force base, mao the babysitter 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 at travis initially treated the child for difficulty breathing. he later needed to be transferred to the uc davis medical center? sacramento where he eventually died. she's in jail being held on $750,000 bail. happening today, the family of jahi mcmath will continue their fight to keep her alive. the family claims mcmath's brain dead status under a california law is unconstitutional. lawyers say there's evidence that shows mcmath has brain function. the teen was declared brain dead two years ago when she was 13 after suffering complications from a surgery at chirp's

hospital in oakland. it's just shy of 6:04. we're learning more about the bay area air force major killed in a suicide attack in afghanistan. adrianna vorderbruggen leaves behind her wife and young son in san rafael. felly military members are remembering her as a fighter. 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 call her the face of equality both in the military and in the dangers of war. >> her death in some ways signifies women and lesbians and gays are truly equal and we do have the same risk out there. >> in a statement vorderbruggen's widow heather lamb says adrianna was the light of their lives. five other americans also were killed, making this the deadliest attack in years for

the u.s. military in afghanistan. honoring a different kind of life lost now, the 9/11 memorial in hayward becomes complete. this happens with the installation of six granite benches, each dedicated to a veteran's group. the benches circle the memorial which has four obelisks and a flag post. each of the obelisks sound a flagpole. it's on d street and mission boulevard in hayward. a followup on last month's dramatic tour bus crash. chp released investigation reports on other buss in the fleet. those results pretty alarming. the majority of those buses inspected had violations among, which include, broken taillights, no working emergency exits and loose steering wheel components. the report also found drivers weren't required to log daily inspection reports.

drivers were not properly licensed with the dmv. the company, city sightseeing released a statement saying it fixed all the problems highlighted in that report. we have new details now, all lanes of southbound 880 in oakland were back open after crews were forced to shut down lanes overnight for emergency road work. it happened before 6:30 last night when three cracks developed in a concrete slab. that happened between broad aand oak street. crews poured cement overnight. had to wait for it to dry, reopened the highway around 2:00 this morning. oh, my god! wow. >> that would take your breath away, too. from a windy bay area to a blustery southern california. the wind in parts of inland empire and mojave so strong, it ripped off the roofs of buildings. no one injured, but gusts also tossed big rigs onto their sides. the winds will die down just in time for christmas.

now to a miracle in the sierra. a driver lucky to be alive after a boulder slammed right into the side of his pickup truck just off of where he was sitting. take a look at this. looking at the damage left behind, it's hard to believe anyone could walk away from that. the man said that huge rock at least five feet high, seven feet long smashed into his vehicle. chp officers say the difference in this case between life and death, probably a matter of inches. >> luckily it was a little forward from where he was sitting. >> definitely appreciate what i got going for me, keeping everything in perspective. >> the rock slide did end up causing big delays to the rest of the evening as crews completed avalanche control. closer to home, the storm coupled with the high winds brought down several trees at the sonoma horse park in petaluma. one horse was killed. the facility has since moved its

forces into a different area and a professional service will work to remove the fallen trees. in alameda, take a look at the surveillance video, that car passes by on the right side of your screen. seconds later a huge ficus tree comes crashing down. 6:08. yesterday stormy weather left tourists high and dry. rain and wind crippled muni's cable car service for a while. this is video from sunnier times. muni says cars on the powell-mason line were halted for several hours. good day to get out there and enjoy the cable cars because we have a break in the rain. kari hall is here to tell us when it will be returning. >> we need the rain but it's coming wave after wave. all these storm systems creating flooding possibility with king

tides today and tomorrow. as we take a look at the storm system, beginning to roll inland into northwestern california. scattered light rain showers and snowshowers for the mountains. this is what we can expect as we go into tomorrow. the rain begins actually late tonight into early tomorrow. the heaviest rain arrives between 4:00 and 10:00 in the morning starting in the north bay and moving farther to the south. we'll have scattered showers all through out the day and chilly temperatures along with gusty winds causing the snow levels to drop in see era and parts of the east bay hills. i'll give you an idea of what to expect and how cold it will be as the system rolls out. that's coming up in a few minutes. also an update on the sierra snowpack in a few minutes. let's get an update from mike. >> looking towards dublin west 580, this looks a bit better, and it will continue to improve.

the dublin interchange just cleared minutes ago as well. recovery should be relatively quick. they cleared this over an hour earlier than we thought they were going to. it was just a half who from the time the tow truck was reported heading to the scene. the crash over on the shoulder, a minor distraction. there's the tri-valley build, not so bad. the rest of the bay looking light. i could say this northbound 101 commute, that just cleared as well. north 101 at old oakland road, the jam back to story road. that will be a slow site for the next few minutes. light traffic on the speed sensors. no problem here or for the silicon valley. at the bay bridge toll plaza, the metering lights are on. we expect the backup that won't clear until later in the commute. golden gate bridge, this sign yesterday said caution warning about conditions. this morning it just talks about lane configuration. two lanes north, the rest heading into the city. >> looks good. coming up next, a brazen robbery caught on camera. the fiery holiday gadget these crooks got away with next.

got a tip for nbc bay area's investigative unit? call 1-888-996-tips or e-mail theunit@nbcbayarea.com. nbc bay area, we investigate. a whopping number of burglaries

in san jose, some three years ago! finally, police have more th a whopping number of burglaries in san jose some three years ago, finally police

have more than two dozen suspects. they didn't give up. investigators now name 29 suspects in all, the epic-like string of burglaries turn in to what seemed to police like an epic investigation. detectives staked out jewelry stores and pawn shops for what felt like ages and finally tracked down gang members from san mateo, alameda counties. many suspects don't have jobs because police say they ran their operations like a busin s business. some going on social media bragging about their incidents. >> some textbooks where they're talking about how much money they make burglarizing houses. >> police say gang members would wait outside jewelry stores to identify victims, follow them home and burglarize their home. turns out the hot item for under the christmas tree also a hot item for thieves. this is from atv wholesale outlet in sacramento.

those are three thieves getting away with $1,000 in hover boards, each won worth more than 300 bucks. store employees say they thought they might have been getting robbed when the thieves came? >> one goes to the other. hover board there, hover board there. here comes the third one. >> when they first came in, i got scared for a second they had their hands in their pockets, hoods on. at first i thought it was going to be a robbery. >> surveillance cameras caught the two suvs used in the thefts as well as the lookouts. the store owner chased them out to the suvs. the suspects got away and are still on the loose this morning. talk about scary. a drone fell out of the sky just missing a professional skier. the austrian skier makes his way down the slopes, a broad craft drone crashed behind him, missed him by a second. the skier had no idea what

happened until after the race. he is santa's little helper. a family in utah turned their infant son into a real life -- actually an elf, right? 4-month-old rockwell lawrence looks like a perfect version of the popular christmas character. that's a balancing act. art director dad poses with rockwell for safety and edits himself out. so far rockwell has been quite the mischievous elf because he chugs pancake syrup and wraps the christmas tree in toilet paper. >> so cute. >> do you do that in your house? >> yes, the elf visits our house. >> i wonder how many man operation or woman operation it was? the mom stages everything on the right, camera person in the corner of the room. >> we know it takes a full crew, four-person crew looking out for

your weather and traffic. >> very cold, but going to get colder so no complaints here as we take a look at the bay bridge camera. it's just shaking all around. we do have wind gusts. we'll get an update from mike in a second on what's happening on the roads. let's take a look at our next storm system. ta da, there it is. it's going to move in as we head into tomorrow. the next storm system rolling in and also creating the possibility of king tides and flooding today as we start to see some of those scattered showers rolling in from the north. the futurecast paints a picture and gives us a timeline of what to expect later tonight. spotty light showers start to move in. it gets heavier as we go into tomorrow morning. it moves from north to south. the cold air rolling in will cause snow levels to drop and the possibility of isolated thunderstorms by tomorrow afternoon. in the sierra, it's still snowing and we're getting ready for that next storm system to arrive.

squaw valley and alpine meadows, we have base of snow at 80 inches. that's is just amazing! there's more snow on the way heading into tomorrow that wraps up on christmas day. computer models are putting down another 22 inches of snow at squaw valley. it popped off the screen there, but we're looking at at least a foot or maybe two again as we head into the next 24 hours. the sierra snowpack, we're now over the amount of average for this date. so early in the see soint's really looking good. 121% of average in the central sierra. and once again there is more snow on the way. as our conditions improve there, also getting much-needed rain in the bay area. heading into christmas eve, it will be cool. christmas day that system moves out. it will be dry and chilly. highs only reaching into the low 50s by this weekend. morning temperatures will be really cold. we're expecting widespread freeze in the valleys.

napa, 28 degrees there and on sunday 30 degrees in the morning. some 20s and 30s all across the bay area heading into saturday and sunday. prepare for that. let's get an update on what's happening in the roadways as we check in with mike. our rooftop camera shaking. hey, ho! over here the bay bridge moving slowly. the wind may catch you like it's catching the camera. a backup at the toll plaza as we look at the maps. the only drama approaching the bay bridge. through the maze, we have a couple of key spots. we're recovering westbound. west 580 heading toward the dublin interchange, the crash took a while to clear. once it did clear from lanes, a little recovery for those speeds. dublin boulevard getting more traffic as folks try to hit it. 84 is an option as you head toward sunol. easy drive for the rest of the bay. san jose showing one other slow spot. that earlier crash cleared at oakland road a few minutes ago.

we still see a slow drive because as this crash is clearing. we also have traffic building a bit. no major concerns outside of this stretch from 680 and 280 up to 880. after you get through that, the rest of silicon valley looks great. it is 6:20 right now. coming up, you say hello and i say down low. the new way beatles fans can get hands on their hit. found alive after being buried under mud and debris for days. the amazing survival story coming out of china this morning.

a remarkable story of survival out of china... a migrant worker is alive this morning - after surviving it's a remarkable story of survival out of china. a migrant worker alive this morning after surviving 60 hours buried underneath debris and mud following that massive landslide earlier this week. rescue crews pulled the man to safety early this morning. they say he's now at the hospital undergoing tests. more than 70 other people still missing. the hill that gave way was a man-made mountain of dirt, cement chunks and other construction waste that has piled up over the last two years. prosecutors in southern california have reached a deal to return real estate air robert durs back to los angeles to face murder charges. his arrest in march made headlines. he was arrested in new orleans just before the airing of hbo

documentary that seems to catch him admitting to three murders. prosecutors now say durs t will be expedited by august. the deal is still contingent on a weapons case being resolved in new orleans. the nfl shooting down reports that it backed out after a deal to fund a groundbreaking study on brain taum ma and football. espn yesterday reported the nfl backed out of a plan to better detect brain trauma in living patients. the nfl says the national institutes of health decided on its own to fund the study without financial help. the nih later backed the nfl's claim saying the nfl was on board to fund the study but the money would instead be used for a different study. chipotle is now tweaking how the restaurant prepares its food. among the changes, certain ingredients will be cut in

separate locations and then shipped. raw chicken will be marinated in plastic bags instead of bowls. within the last few months, dozens of people have become seriously sick after eating at chipotle restaurants across the country. the fact source of the illnesses is still unknown. in november chipotle sales dropped 16%. >> they haven't been together since like 1970. yet this group somehow ahead of taylor swift, the beatles are not going to have to worry about a drop in sales. they're unwrapping their music collection on christmas eve digitally. paul, john, ring go and george on several music streaming sites. the entire catalog of that group is going to be available on spotify and apple music, just to name a few. there's almost a dozen. the streaming site, the only one that won't have it is oakland-based pandora.

>> i twoent paul mccartney's show right before they destroyed candlestick park and he talked about their last concert together at that same place. >> now we can have them again. >> now we can have them once again. it's download them to my spotify later today. what a difference just a few days makes. the big changes happening right now to lake tahoe. tragedy in the air once again, twice in one week. investigators trying to piece together what caused a small single engine plane to plummet in the east bay foothills. >> got a tip for nbc bay area's investigative unit? call 1-888-996-tips or e-mail theunit@nbcbayarea.com. nbc bay area, we investigate. come on in pop pop.

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as it affects how well it works. it's such an important thing to do to help protect against another heart attack. brilinta worked better than plavix. and even reduced the chances of dying from another one. don't stop taking brilinta without talking to doctor. since stopping it too soon increases your risk of clots in your stent, heart attack, stroke, and even death. brilinta may cause bruising or bleeding more easily or serious, sometimes fatal bleeding. don't take brilinta if you have bleeding, like stomach ulcers. a history of bleeding in the brain, or severe liver problems. tell your doctor about bleeding, new or unexpected shortness of breath, any planned surgery and all medicines you take. i will take brilinta today. tomorrow. and every day for as long as my doctor tells me. don't miss a day of brilinta.

=kira/2shot= and i'm kira klapper inr good morning on this wednesday. thank you for joining us. i'm sam brock. >> i'm kira klapper in for laura garcia-cannon. let's get right to the forecast with kari hall. >> taking a break from the rain, but expecting more rain and chilly temperatures heading into christmas eve and the weekend. a live look outside across the micro climates, 39d degrees in the north bay. while in the south bay it's 49

degrees. today's forecast keeps our temperatures pretty much even, in the mid 50s from the coast to the inland areas to the valleys. a high of 57 degrees in the east bay. we'll take a look at what to expect with this next storm system arriving late tonight into early tomorrow. let's get an update on what's happening now on the roads with mike. >> welcome to the sticking point in san jose. it's tough for this segment of 101 from 680 up towards the crash. let's show you where the crash is. it's just north of there just north of oakland road. the crash has moved out of the lanes. there's activity on the shoulder. that distraction and the build for the morning commute causing that slowdown to stick around even after the lanes cleared about 20 minutes ago. the rest of the south bay moving well. recovery for the tri-valley, we continue to see better and better speeds heading toward the dublin interchange. light traffic flow this holiday week. that crash cleared at the dublin interchange. still activity on the shoulder as well. the bay bridge toll plaza has your metering lights on.

no major issues, a live shot from the bay bridge toll plaza itself. all lanes are full, back to west grand avenue. back to you. mike, thank you very much. a developing story now. at first light today crews will begin the grim task for working trying to row cover the body of a pilot killed when a small single engine plane crashed near castro valley. the plane was headed to oakland international airport where we find "today in the bay's" the chuck coppola. chuck, the exact crash unknown, but the weather was bad and investigators think it may have contributed to this tragedy. >> >> reporter: that's absolutely right. on top of that, whatever happened happened very quickly because the plane lost about half its speed in about a minute's worth of time. 2 1/2 minutes later, air traffic controllers lost contact. the plane took off from lincoln and plaser county. pilots say going over the

eastern foothills near sunol at roughly 45 miles per hour, it probably wouldn't have lasted more than 30 seconds before crashing. the pilot is identified as the plane's owner, 60-year-old john sacco of rockland, an appointed member of california's occupational safety and health standards board. he's also a safety engineer with earth shine consulting and has been one for 17 years. weather, as you mentioned, may have been a factor. >> very changeable, very prone to icing which is a critical factor for any aviation, whether commercial or general. >> it was very nasty at that time. a lot of rain and wind as well. the plane was a piper pa32 single engine aircraft, coincidentally the same model that crashed near bakersfield last week killing a gilroy family. right now they're about to begin searching some more for remains

of the pilot. that's the latest from here at the oakland international airport. i'm chuck coppola, "today in the bay." >> chuck, thanks. it's 6:33 right now. we're learning more about the bay area air force major killed in a suicide attack in afghanistan. adrianna vorderbruggen leaves behind her wife and young son in san rafael. as her family mourns, fellow military members are remembering her as a fighter. vorderbruggen 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 now are calling her the face of equality, both in the military and in the dangers of war. >> her death in some ways signifies that women and lesbians and gays are truly people, and we do have the same risk out there. >> in a statement vorderbruggen's widow leather lamb says adrianna was the light of their lives, calling her a hero. of course, never more so than

now. the attack that killed her is the deadliest attack in years for the u.s. military in afghanistan. five other americans also were killed. >> very tragic. it is possible that an ugly dispute among neighbors is going to be settled surrounding the behavior of a boy with autism that one side believes went unchecked for too long by his parents. a sunnyvale family is seeking monetary dangers. they claim the boy's aggressiveness amounted to a nuisance because his parents let it go on for so long. they also say they feared for the safety of their own children. in september the judge called for mediation. previous efforts have not been successful. today the sides are supposed to hold another hearing. new details now on a nightclub shooting that we first brought to you as breaking news monday morning. detectives now have two suspects in custody. the shooting wounded four people in a parking lot at the popular club caliente in san diego.

investigators are not releasing anymore information about the suspects or what happened but they will later today. they say the injuries to the four victims are all non-life-threatening. a suspected drunk driver is in custody for a deadly rampage in south san jose. investigators say 19-year-old carlos villalobos hit several parked cars monday night near center and singleton roads. police say he ran a red light, broad-sided a voeks bag again bug. the man driving that vw died. villalobos was arrested for felony drunk driving, hit-and-run and two prior warrants. with christmas now less than 48 hours away, thieves are getting brazen. police tell us grab-and-run robberies are on the rise especially in walnut creek. take a look at this video from the apple store in the downtown area. a man rushed in and just stole phones off the display. it happened yesterday. just a few blocks away, someone else 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. not good. >> being on foot or being on a bicycle is the only way you'll catch them. >> as a result police are increasing foot, bike and motor bike patrols to catch the criminals and also using more undercover officers. so crime over the holidays, yes. crabs, not so much. there's still no break for those wanting local crab for their holiday. the season is further delayed. it's already postponed past christmas because of unsafe levels of toxin brought on by an algae bloom. state biologists say local samples are still coming back with unsafe levels of that toxin. there's no immediate word when the local season might get under way. it was first set to start at the beginning of november. we should note that you can still get fresh crab in places like san francisco's fisherman's wharf. that crab is being flown in from

washington state. all the snow falling in the sierra is making a big difference in the past couple days, more than six billion gallons of water have poured into lake tahoe. since monday officials say the lake has gone up two inches. it was the lowest it had been because of the drought. it's the greatest source of water for our state. >> it's not just the rain water coming in, but the water from snowpack so critical. kari, we're over 100% of our average? >> yes, thank you el nino. it looks like the weather stays active as we go into the next 24 hours with another one moving in heading into early next week. we are tracking that next storm system which looks a lot colder than the one we had just yesterday. as we take a break in between, the tides are piling up, so there maybe coastal flooding, and that a concern today even as the weather stays dry.

our scattered showers start to roll in from the north later tonight. we'll see it move from north to south. meantime we'll have a break once again and some sunshine. highs reaching from the mid to upper 50s. san jose 56 degrees, burlingame 57. san francisco, 56 degrees. mid to upper 50s in the north bay as well as the east bay, 56 in brentwood and san ramon also at 56 degrees. it gets a lot colder as we head into the next few days especially during the morning hours behind that next cold front. i'll detail that and what to expect heading in to christmas. that's coming up in a few minutes. lu let's check in with mike for an update on the slowdowns. >> we rarely get to say it, during december, we can see traffic flow improving after an earlier crash cleared from west 580. we'll show you the map.

speeds going from orange to yellow. i leave the crash there, just to note that's why it causes problems. the south bay the other unexpected slow spot. that sticks around northbound 101 from story, tullie, past the scene of a crash at oakland road. that bit of distraction at the critical point causes a backup, making it tougher to improve. you saw it turn from red to orange approaching the scene. green chiclets indicate speeds at the limit. ap prosing the bay bridge toll plaza, the metering lights are on. i do want to show you the san mateo bridge looks green, but no problems. we saw the camera shaking for a while. maybe the wind has calmed down temporarily. gusts of wind might shake the camera. the high-rise is a concern. we'll send it back to you. another concern, mike, is making sure everyone has presents this kras mass. if you can donate, it's not too

late. one very popular center in san jose still very short on toys. today is the last day to give at sacred heart community service. they need 1,000 toys to give to the less fortunate, especially teenagers. the center is open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. located near first street. the line is winding around the block, all the people looking for presents. >> hopefully people turn out. 6:40 right now. coming up, planes, trains, automobiles, millions traveling this holiday season. we'll explain the new reason driving the end-of-the-year rush. got a tip for nbc's investigative unit? call 1-888-996-tips or e-mail theunit@nbcbayarea.com. nbc bay area, we investigate. [ dog barks ]

[ bark ] there it is! [ gasps ] oh no! look, the sky's awake! ♪ that. was. epic! [ bark ]

an executive order on gay marriages. =vo= this comes on the heels of the firestorm over clerk kim davis. she refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. governor matt bevin's order says the licenses no longer need e kim davis refused to issue marriage licenses to sem sex couples. now the governor's order say the licenses no longer need the county clerk's name. the judge jailed davis after she refused to issue licenses to gay couples because she says that violated her religious beliefs. 28 years later, almost three

decades after being sent to prison, a colorado man finally 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 week a judge overturned his rape conviction when doubts arrows about the victim's testimony. the judge also cited new evidence that macon vince a jury to acquit moses el who has proclaimed his innocence ever since the beginning. moses el says it's his spirituality that kept him going all these years. >> i feel great. kind of lost for words. i feel really great. 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. a fremont man accused of supporting a terrorist organization overseas will remain behind bars.

yesterday a judge denied bail to 22-year-old adam schaafy. the fbi saying he was planning to join an al qaeda affiliated group in syria. the fbi says they have recorded telephone conversations between he and his friends 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 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. >> schaafy, by the way, pleaded not guilty. he'll remain in federal custody while his attorney appealed the bail ruling. a followup now. richmond police have launched an internal investigation into why it took so long to learn about a pipe bomb photo. the suspect threatened a local mosque, apparently posted

pictures to his facebook page. an investigation by the "contra costa times" found it took rich month police 11 days to learn of it, despite the 55-year-old william selly was already under investigation. police in calaveras county reached out to them with a warning that he might be dangerous. he was arrested on sunday after finding an explosive device in his richmond home. the charges are making death threats and possessing a pipe bomb. there's a hate crime enhancing those charges. >> oh, my god! wow! >> you think that might catch you off guard? from a windy bay area to a blustery southern california. the wind in parts of inland empire and mojave so strong it ripped off the roofs of buildings, almost like a tornado. no one was hurt, but gusts also did toss around big rigs onto their side. you see video there. the winds will die down just in

time for christmas. now to a miracle in the sierra. this is damage left behind after a boulder slammed right into the side of a pickup truck. the driver amazingly walked away without a scratch. but he didn't have much room for error. this happened yesterday afternoon on highway 50. the man says he was on his way to lake tahoe when that huge rock, at least five feet high and seven feet long, smashed into his truck. chp officers say the difference here between life and death could 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 might have happened. >> definitely appreciate what i've got going for me. keeping everything in perspective. >> the rock slide did end up causing big delays through the rest of the evening. drivers didn't move at all for hours until crews could complete an avalanche control. closer to home, the storm coupled with the high winds brought down several trees at

the sonoma horse park in petaluma. one horse was killed. the facility has moved its horses into a different area and a professional service will work to remove the fallen trees. in alameda, this surveillance video on the right side of your screen, you saw the car just pass by, seconds later a huge ficus tree comes crashing down. wow. happening now, gearing up for record holiday travel as we take a live look at san francisco international airport. still windy out there. break in the rain there, our camera shaking in the wind. experts say this will be the first time ever when the number of travelers will top 100 million across the country. that's nearly one of every three u.s. residents taking the the air, road or rail. big factors in the increase, the economic recovery and the drop in gas prices. did you know gas is at a seven-year low. maybe not here in the bay area, but the rest of the country. 91 people estimated to be driving this week, the highest number on record and warmer-than-normal weather is

making it easier to get around. this could be the busiest holiday season ever. it's moments like this i'm grateful to be working. lucky my family is coming to me. >> aren't you grateful to be spending time with your good friends at nbc bay area. >> my mother made it in yesterday. she said it was a rocky flight. we'll look at the delays as your family comes in today and what they'll have to deal with. let's get a look inside at san jose. you'll see we have clear conditions to start the day. this will be the best day of the travel weather. hitting the road, catching a flight or driving over to the sierra. a little break in between active weather heading into tomorrow. let's look at the flights, what's happening now. we just got an update. san francisco, nothing going on there. also, as we take a closer look at oakland and san jose, no delays at this point. if you're traveling out east, laguardia as well as jfk has

some delays there. look at the time. 105-minute delay. in philly some delays. call if you have some family coming in from the east coast. now in the bay area, it is cool. after seeing wet weather the past couple days, now we have scattered showers that will be returning as we go into tonight. here is the timeline by tomorrow morning. at 6:30, we'll start to see heavy rain moving in. it moves from north to south with several waves passing as we go through the day on christmas eve. cold air rushing in will allow for snow levels to drop. we may even have some snow on the east bay hills and maybe mt. hamilton will have snow as well. the rain forecast brings in an additional half inch of rain for most of us. it's still snowing in the sierra. hazardous travel there. tire chains may be a requirement as we head into tomorrow, with another round of heavy snow

coming down. kirkwood, twin bridges and squaw valley, about 2 inches of snow. that's just one round. we had three feet of snow in 24 hours heading into tuesday. as we look at the outlook for the next three days, rain tomorrow and i dries out on friday. the high temperatures will only be in the low 50s. your family out east is telling you how warm it is? tell them to come to california. the weekend forecast will be chilly. it will feel like the holidays. highs in the low 50s throughout the weekends. another round of rain on sunday. the morning temperatures will be very cold, dipping below freezing for most of our valleys down into the upper 20s to lower 30s. let's get an update on the morning commute now with mike. >> kari, rare statement but we have recovery for one of your major congestion spots. this is north 101. look how well it's moving through san jose. over the last five minutes, dramatic img provement.

we still have a crash that was north of here. looks like the activity has cleared from the shoulder. the south bay commute looks beautiful. an easy drive. recovery almost complete for the westbound 580 approach toward the dublin interchange. no problem, no drama after the earlier crash at the interchange itself. we have recovery. because traffic flow is so light this week before christmas, as we approach christmas eve, tomorrow, a slowdown approaching the san mateo bridge and the toll plaza. that's pretty mild. it did pick up pretty quickly over the last couple minutes. we have a backup at the bay bridge toll plaza because the metering lights are ochblt watch those bridges and the san rafael bridge, you might get caught with those gusts of wind. how about a cheery story in honor of the holidays? you lose your way outside your home? it turns out you can waddle back. in this case just in time for christmas for one lucky and be loved duck. the duck we're talking about is juanita. that's the name the staff gave

her as a duckling at the bellow gardens assisted living facility in san rafael. she became a pet and companion to the seniors who lived there. in september she flew the coop. a nearby neighbor unwittingly took her to a wild care center. the facility couldn't get juanita back because technically a duck is wildlife. now bellow gardens has a permit for her to return. the reunion is set for later today. they say this time she's not going to fall through the quacks. >> the jokes just keep on coming. you're the gift that keeps on giving, sam. >> coming up at 6:53, the mystery is solved. the story behind a strange light seen shooting across the california sky last night. plus get a mayday call and silence. the troubling details about the moments before a small plane crashed into a bay area canyon killing the pilot on board. =sam/2shot= any minute now -

crews will try to reach the wreckage of a small plane in the hills near castro valley - and recover the body of the pilot on b any minute now crews will try to wreak kreach the wreckag small plane crash. >> chuck coppola has more from

oakland international airport. >> reporter: kira, the plane's owner and pilot is identified as 60-year-old john sacco, a board member with california's occupational safety and health standards administration who was flying a single engine piper pa-32 when air traffic controllers say it lost half its speed, down to about 45 miles per hour after the pilot reported engine problems. the plane was spotted in the east bay hills near castro valley. firefighters found one body at the scene. two firefighters were injured in the search in very steep hills. the weather was also very bad in that area shortly before noon. that may have contributed to the crash. the plane took off from lincoln in plaser county. live at oakland international, chuck coppola, "today in the bay." new details now. all lanes of south 880 in oakland back open after crews were forced to shut down several lanes overnight for emergency

road work. just before 6:30 last night, three cracks startsed to develop in a concrete slab of the freeway. it happened between broadway and oak street in oakland. crews poured cement overnight and reopened the highway about 2:00 this morning. a mystery has been solved in the skies over northern california. a bright fireball that lit up social media and the sky. >> thank you for not trying to link that to "star wars." >> i was in the process of trying to fix it. >> a mysterious streak lit up the skies from las vegas all the way to sacramento, and it had a lot of folks asking what was that? the defense department now has an answer. debris from a russian rocket launched on monday that re-entered the atmosphere above arizona. it's not clear if that debris burned upon reentry or if it may have touched down. it came back in arizona. can you imagine if you were in the grand canyon last night, but to see that with a backdrop --

>> martians. it's martians. matt damon maybe came in. >> yes, with his plants. plenty of water for plants to grow. we've been getting rain the last three or four days. everything is beautiful in green. there's another round of rain that will be moving in. today will take a break. it's cool to start. highs today in the mid 50s. breezy wind as well. the rain starts late tonight and moves from north to south heading in to christmas eve. >> mike, you're watching the road. it's been very light this week. >> big crashes causing big backups. all recovered. look at the bay bridge toll plaza, we almost never see this. maybe a couple times a year. we should see the metering lights turning off soon. wind advisory across the span and the san mateo bridge camera shaking at emeryville. over here, the san mateo bridge, the high-rise you may get caught with a gust or two. i'm show yoing you the live

shots because almost every sensor is green right now. >> weird to see cars actually moving. >> midday at the shopping malls, watch out. >> enjoy it while it lasts. we'll be back in 25. good morning. war of words. more fallout over donald trump's use of a derogatory term to describe hillary clinton's loss to barack obama in 2008. he is doubling down, blaming the media for misunderstanding. and now she is firing back. >> i don't know that you have any boundaries at all. there's bigotry, his bluster, his bullying has become his campaign. while trump's fellow republicans try to stay out of the fray. near miss. a drone carrying a television camera crashes down in the tracks of a champion skier. what he is saying about the incident. poco y que ocurre, una luz what was it? mysterious light streaks across sospechosa recorre los cielos the sky from las vegas to california.