swelling. >> ahead of the storm system moving in for the weekend. we'll be watching a risk of rip currents. temperatures will be warmer, reaching into the mid 60s in spots. right now as you head out, it's 42 in concord, 43 in livermore. morgan hill and santa rosa still in the upper 30s. it will be a nice day as we officially welcome in winter. i'll talk about that storm system coming in as we head over to mike. a lighter commute this week. >> definitely, been welcoming you in since after thanksgiving. really hitting light this week. smooth flow of traffic for your freeways. let me talk about, first of all, the bay bridge. light activity approaching the toll plaza. tuesday the heavy traffic day. metering lights turned off just before 3:00. the freeways are just fine. you have a bunch of activity on a major surface street. breaking news we're covering in the south bay. san jose police surrounding stephens creek toyota reportedly

in search of a gunman. "today in the bay's" kris sanchez arrived on the scene and has the latest on the details of the manhunt under way right now. >> reporter: good morning laura and sam. you see a heavy police presence out here. we have san jose pd and santa clara is also on the scene because they're on the other side of stephens creek. about 2:17, three suspects appeared to be in a fight. two of them fired at two other men, and a witness was a santa clara police officer. he immediately called for backup. one suspect managed to dash away into a warehouse there, toyota, stevens creek, the part behind the showroom where that suspect is believed to be holed up. the officer we spoke with, lieutenant paul joseph says the canine bee-lined into that warehouse. >> we are now searching that lot and searching the warehouse on the lot with the use of our canines to try to find that third person. the third subject dropped a

pistol as he was running into the lot. we're trying to fig kbrur out what is role is in this event. >> reporter: back here the search continues for that suspect who is believed to be armed possibly, though he did drop bullets and did drop a weapon here at the scene. officers did detain two other suspects. one of them had to be taken out of the police car and restrained with very restrictive device because he was trying to kick out the windows of one of the patrol cars. he has been questioned. neither of the suspects who are in custody have been cooperative. they're offering no details. officers say they'll remain on the scene until they get the third suspect or until they know for sure he has left the area. if you live in the area of stevens creek and kiley, make sure your windows and doors are locked. there is no shelter in place at this point. make sure to make it hard for somebody to get in. traffic impacts here, eastbound

stevens creek is going to be affected between kiley and lieu pena. also kiley is closed completely between stevens creek and albany. we got that information to mike. hopefully he can get that on a map for you. kris sanchez, "today in the bay." the hunt continuing this morning for the driver of the truck who slammed that big rig into a berlin christmas market on monday night killing a dozen people. as the search continues here in the u.s. authorities are beefing up security ahead of a busy travel weekend. "today in the bay's" edward lawrence joins us live from washington with details on terror concerns here in america. edward, what are you hearing? >> reporter: sam and laura, it's important to note first that there is no credible threat against the united states at all. in fact, police say that they want to take no chances. a special nypd police team patrols times square.

shoppers holding bags at another area in the city mingle with officers holding assault rifles. the same scene in philadelphia. >> we don't want to alarm people unnecessarily, but we'll be out there. >> i'm not going to let it steal my christmas joy. >> reporter: in chicago at a christmas market similar to the one attacked yesterday outside berlin, germany, shoppers san jose they won't be scared out of living, the same feeling for angela benson at a christmas marked in washington, d.c. >> you have to go on. we can't stop living and we should be aware of what's around us. >> reporter: last november the state department issued a warning for americans traveling overseas highlighting the potential of a truck attack. >> we wanted americans to be vigilant if they were going to travel over the holiday season. >> reporter: isis claimed responsibility for the attack outside of berlin that killed 12 people. >> we've got to rely on law enforcement and intelligence services to utilize intelligence to try to identify and mitigate these attackers before they can bring harm to innocent civilians. there's no easy answer here.

>> reporter: edward lawrence, nbc news, washington. new this morning, the dramatic rescue of one of two drivers in a fiery head-on crash in the north bay. an nbc bay area photographer captured this video just moments after the crash. it happened a little after midnight near fairfield on peabody road near travis air force base. a man driving ahead of the crash noticed it in his rear view mirror and actually turned back around. he said he was only able to pum one driver from his car. bob redell will join us with a live report in about 25 minutes. a deadly confrontation in vallejo. this morning a search for two suspects continues. police are looking for two people connected to a deadly shooting at a pawnshop yesterday afternoon. a man along with his dog was killed and he has been identified. that shooting happened about 3:00 in the afternoon.

the suspects are still on the run. >> the only description we have are two males wearing dark colored hooded sweatshirts, one armed with a handgun. >> this man is trying to make a living, running a pawn business and doing something for community positive. >> as we talk about the pawnshop, people who work inside the store say there are a lot of surveillance videos. pleasanton police are asking for help from 234i7b who might a witnessed an armed robbery in the parking lot of the stoneridge mall. police say two men approached a woman near her car, one pulled out a gun. they took off in what may have been an older green honda civic. anyone with information should contact pleasanton police. happening today, the man accused of causing $100,000 worth of damage at a north bay catholic school is scheduled to appear in court. deputies say andrew faulkner smashed doors, shattered windows

and damaged numerous items inside the offices of cardinal newman high school. flights arrived at the scene as the vandal attack was still happening monday night. cardinal newman students still attended classes yesterday. investigators do not believe the suspect had any previous connection to the school. an online petition calling for a temporary halt of fire inspections is going to be delivered to oakland city hall this morning. all of this stemming from the recent warehouse fire. that petition requests the stop of unsolicited inspections of artist buildings. people in oakland claim eviction notices are appearing at several warehouses and underground spots. at last check, the petition had more than 10,000 signatures. good wednesday morning. it is 5:07 as you head out. still chilly out there. heaters still on. it will be cool for the start of the day, but warming up nicely this afternoon. it's now 47 degrees in oakland an san francisco. half moon bay 53 degrees. 38 degrees in morgan hill.

the high today reaching into the upper 50s to lower 60s. actually warmer than normal in many spots. napa 61 droes, livermore 63 and 65 today in santa cruz. whether you plan on traveling or staying here for the holiday weekend, i've got you covered coming up in the microclimate forecast. as we head over to mike, checking on the street closures in the south bay. >> freeways moving very well, all around the bay. only a little slowing out of the altamont. that's typical any day. looking toward the san jose-santa clara border, she said there's a closure eastbound stevens creek from lupina to kaley. on the other side of the roadway there's the bmw, the mini. down toward the chrysler dodge dealership there. these two roadways right here are closed for that police activity. the search continues for the suspect. the good news as far as the morning goes is the starbucks at

the mall farther to the south, that sounds like everything is clear getting to that shopping center off saratoga. the rest of the bay, the tri-valley, minimal slowing for 580 out of the altamont pass. >> a really busy area. thanks, mike. coming to grips with a tragedy yesterday, a series of explosions rock a town in mexico killing dozens, injuring even more. the investigation now under way to find out how that explosion happened. back at home, we will look at record numbers on the dow and hello jarvis. we'll take a look at that as well. >> surf is up. the big swell heading to half moon bay and what this could mean for the titans of mavericks competition. - hi, it's me. [imitates fanfare]

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- good thing we've got a really catchy theme song. hit it! - ♪ grocery outlet bargain market ♪ - ♪ bargain market ... now it's stuck in my head. the toyota tahoe report shows we will have snow moving in to the sierra on friday as well as saturday. squaw valley, 89 trails open at this point with 17 inches of

snow at the base. we are looking at some additional snow over the next couple of days. quite a bit in some spots, possibly over two feet of snow. we'll detail that coming up in the microclimate forecast. >> the south bay freeways move well, we have the police activity affecting a stretch of roadway down in santa clara, san jose area. no delays toward the bay bridge. i have a new issue for the tri-valley. it's not that cool. this morning people in mexico are waking up to this sobering reality. a massive chain reaction explosion that led to the deaths of 29 people at a fireworks market. that's stunning video here. captures the moment that a massive cloud of smoke comes up from that market. explosions filling the sky yesterday. that explosion happened about 20 miles north of mexico's capital. the fireworks market was especially packed with holiday shoppers at the moment. they were buying fireworks for a traditional mexican holiday.

state health officials say in addition to the dead, at least 72 other people are being treated for injuries. investigators are trying to track down what sparked the first fireball. there's a big rush going on to buy new guns. sales are speaking across california. it's happening in part because of new laws going into effect january 1st. 15 stores we called were sold out of popular ar models. next year selling certain guns will be banned part of sweeping gun control legislation signed in july, spurred by mass shootings like the one in san bernardino. because of a ten-day background check, today is the last day you can buy those guns. sales have skyrocketed. >> when governor brown signed it, we went crazy. it slowed down a little bit. then it spiked. now i'm getting calls left and right. >> background checks for people trying to buy a gun are up, 21% compared to last year.

the state supreme court speeding up the appeals process for death row inmates on hold. voters approved proposition 66 last month. it requires the state supreme court to rule on death penalty appeals within five months of sentencing. the court temporarily blocked that measure. the suit says the reform would disrupt the court, cost more money and limit the ability to amount proper appeals. uber will sit down with the california dmv and figure out how to keep its new self-driving cars on the street legally. a bit of a turn-around for uber. >> yes. uber has been insisting itself driving cars you've seen on the streets of san francisco do not need a special permit the way ought mated cars from google or ford do. uber insists because there are not one but two drivers up front ready to take control, their new cars are more like self-driving teslas which don't need permits. california absolutely does not

see it that way and says uber has to take its cars off the streets. the "san francisco business times" reports uber will sit down with the dmv this afternoon to see if the company can reach a deal. critics point out when the dmv says you've got to do something, you do it. when the dmv says uber has to do something, they have a meeting. the white house is concerned about self-driving cars taking drivers jobs. a number of experts have warned automation is going to be disruptive. here is the white house's report. the white house this morning suggests a number of temporary solutions, among them education. teach americans how to make robots so at least we can create jobs in robotics. invest in robotics and ai. transmission americans workers out of jobs. let's get to your news before the bell. landon dowdy is live at cnbc world headquarters. good morning, landon. >> reporter: good morning to you. if at first you don't succeed,

try, try again. the dow will attempt to hit the psychological 20,000 mark again today after coming within 13 points yesterday. the dow closing at a record high, the 17th time that's happened since the election. you want to look for economic data today on the housing market. the dow rising 91 points to 19,974. the nasdaq up 26 to 5,483. also a record close. back over to you. >> facebook ceo mark zuckerberg has posted videos to his personal facebook page, showing off his home personal assistant. a computer he coded himself to help around the house, set the temperature, open the door, even make toast as well. sam and laura, see if you are recognize whose voice jarvis is. >> jarvis can play all of our favorite music. play us some good nickel back songs. >> i'm sorry, mark. i'm afraid i can't do that. there are no good nickel back songs. >> good. that was actually a test.

how about just play songs that our whole family lights. ♪ the itsy bitsy spider climbed up the water spout ♪ >> that's morgan free man, right. >> jarvis of course named after the ironman jarvis. >> could this be something that could come to all of our homes? >> it's already coming. amazon echo sold out. >> it's interesting for facebook, something that they could market? >> absolutely. if they can do it, google can do it. >> people get a glimpse into his life, too. >> as if morgan freeman's voice would ever be confused for anyone else's in the world. the voice of god. >> big swells right now heading to half moon bay. that's good news for mavericks and surfers. that area could be hit with 20-foot waves. organizers of titans of mavericks put out their potential swell alert. that means conditions could be good enough for the famous ser

of competition. they're not ready to say the competition is on quite yet. >> the thrill you get on those big waves. >> can you imagine, if they do that on christmas day, that would be cool. everyone sitting at home watching it live on the internet, right? >> at least the rain deer would be out. >> this is also indicative of the fact that we're about to see a storm coming through oochs. >> we have a lot of changes on the way from warming up from the cold weather to some rain moving into the bay area in time for the holiday weekend. we'll talk about all that. all of our microclimates showing temperatures warmer than we've had the past few mornings. at least it's not freezing. 43 degrees. still cold in the tri-valley. 42 degrees in the peninsula and south bay. north bay, 38 degrees and 48 degrees in san francisco. as you head out this morning, still a heavier jacket needed. if you plan on traveling, let's point out some of the problem spots. we have snow moving through minneapolis. as of now, it doesn't look to

cause too many problems. actually as we go into friday and saturday, the big travel problem spot will be right here in the bay area as another storm system moves in. we're also tracking some rain moving from the south toward los angeles. that will not affect us. we're turning our attention to this long swath of moisture moving across the pacific. that will be here in time for the busy travel day weekend on friday. now, we start to see the heavy rain moving in early friday morning. the timeline has moved up a little bit as the storm is set up. it will be moving throughout the bay area all day long. gusty winds. we take a break on saturday. late christmas day there will be another round of rain moving in that continues into monday morning. so as far as how much rain we could get across the region, we're looking at anywhere from half an inch to an inch and a quarter. some of the heavier rain just to the east of us. and snowfall totals look to be

pretty impressive with this storm system, especially compared to the last. there could be anywhere from a foot and a half to two feet of snow in some parts of the sierra and also extending up towards mt. shasta. if you're traveling around lake tahoe, it will be gusty with snow coming down starting tomorrow and moving into friday as well. and for the travel down to monterey, it looks pretty wet for thursday into friday. we'll keep an eye on that. let's head over to mike now for the tri-valley commuters. >> i think i might know why it's not quite as cool today. my reasons are not scientific. looking at an easy drive over here. what's going on in the tri-valley, southbound 680 at el costa boulevard, reports of a refrigerator in the snow lane. obviously not plugged in so it might prevent some of the chilling. probably not. stay over to the left until they can clear that. we'll let you know if chp needs to do anything more than a quick slowdown. a smooth flow of traffic, easy

drive for 580. there is debris reported around livermore avenue. there were no earlier crashes, but somebody hit something, caused a flat tire earlier. giving you a shout there. there's a few folks coming out of the altamont pass. that's the only mild slowing we have for that area. no delays for the mass transit system. our bay bridge toll plaza shot, a mild backup for cash lanes. we should have a mild commute. metering lights probably turned off by 9:00. it is 5:22. coming up, disturbing details in the killing of a former reality star found buried in a shallow grave. the information investigators are revealing about her death and the person they believe is responsible. the body of a former reality

show contestant has pretty chilling story to tell you about out of southern california. the body of a former reality show contestant has been found. investigators say they found the body of lisa marie naegle in a shallow grave. she was last seen leaving a party in torns early sunday morning. the suspect, jackie jerome rogers went to the party with her but says he left without her. >> there's a family that's grieving too night and we have to be sensitive to that. while we understand the intense media interest and the public's interest, we have a responsibility to lisa's family and to the criminal case. >> naegle was a contestant on the reality show "bridalplasty" in 2010. real estate heir robert durs

is due back in court today. during the hearing defense attorneys and prosecutors will be arguing whether a newly released interrogation interview in which he talks about using meth and cutting up a body can be used in his murder trial. the 73-year-old faces charges for the 2000 murder of his friend susan berman. he's pleaded not guilty. durst was the subject of "the jinx" which examine pd his alleged ties to berman's murder along with another murder back in 2001. >> 5:26 right now. volkswagen is planning to buy back more vehicles. you may recall vw admitted to using software that duped air pollution tests. right now there are an estimated 80,000 of these cars on the road. as part of a settlement, volkswagen will buy back about 20,000 of those vehicles. the company plans to recall and repair the rest. the buyback and repair will cost

volkswagen about a billion dollars. parents, listen up this morning, we have a massive stroller recall to tell you about. nearly 30,000 lightweight strollers are being pulled off store shelves. the recall involves gb orbit lightweight strollers. the stroller can fold unexpectedly causing injuries, and a gap in the folding side hinge can pinch you when you try to unfold it. consumers should contact area child for a free replacement. breaking news we've been following in the south bay going on right now. a busy part of the roadway, a very popular roadway, stevens creek boulevard is shut down as police try to track down a suspected gunman. we're live at the scene with the details. >> jumping into action. we hear from a bystander who risked his life to save another person in this fiery wreck. he watched the whole thing happened in his rear view mirror. up next in a live report. san francisco ice police commission will meet later today discuss use of force policy, how

the incoming chief could play a role in making this a reality. ad lib live picture-- san

francisco =sam/4shot= it is 5:30 on the dot on your wednesday morning. a live look outside, the transamerica building and the city of san francisco waking up to the first day of winter officially speaking. we've been talking about the fact that it felt like winter. thank you for joining us. i'm sam brock. >> a little warmup just in time for winter. >> that's right. i think we'll all welcome it. no complaining from either side. >> we have a lot of people coming in to visit for the holid holiday, and we will have warmer weather at least for 24 hours

before it starts to cool down again. let's take a live look outside right now. it's 43 in livermore, 47 in oakland and san francisco and 42 degrees now at napa. we will still have some poor air quality today. in the north bay it will be the worst. another spare-the-air alert. no wood burning again today. we'll talk about the warmup and rain coming in. a storm coming in for the holiday weekend in a few minutes. mike is talking about something chilling on the roadways. >> that's right. in addition to the temperatures which are still cold today -- not like yesterday. but you need your jacket. looking at a refrigerator in the slow lane. that's reported northbound 680. it's northbound at el costa. i saw a lot more slowing for a couple minutes. may have been a traffic break likely to remove it from the roadway. it should be better. the bay bridge toll plaza, traditionally we see the

metering lights turn on. this time off the right ap etch pro. we'll track the lighter commute. back to you. we are following breaking news in the south bay on this wednesday morning. san jose police continue to surround stevens creek toyota in search of a gunman. >> "today in the bay's" kris sanchez joining us live from the scene with details on that manhunt that is still under way right now. kris, good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you both in the last hour san jose police brought a canine that bee-lined into the warehouse behind the showroom at stephens creek and kylee. according to san jose police, as the suspect fled into that building, he dropped a handgun and ammunition. they believe it could be the same weapon a santa clara police officer saw the suspect fire at two other men in this area during some sort of fight around 2:00 this morning. there is no evacuation order for the neighborhood around where we are, stephens creek and kylee. if you live around here, lock your doors and windows just to be safe. >> we don't know exactly where he is. we think we have him contained

within this block that we have shut down. so we're going to search that thoroughly and we won't leave until we're satisfied that we've located him or he's not in the block. >> reporter: now, the two other men involved in that fight are detained, but they're not answering questions. in fact, they're not being very cooperative. one of them had to be restrained after trying to kick out the windows of a santa clara pd patrol car. the search for the third suspect will affect traffic in the area of stevens creek and kylee. i passed along that information to mike. he'll track that part of the story for you. in san jose, kris sanchez, "today in the bay." now a chaotic fiery scene in solano county. hearing directly from a witness who risked his life to save someone trapped inside one of those cars. >> "today in the bay's" bob redell live many from the scene where it unfolded. >> reporter: unfortunately that person was not able to save other people in a different car.

we spoke with fairfield police who tell us two people were burned to death in a head-on collision that took place about a quarter mile down the road. a third person has been taken to the hospital. if you want to take a lack at your tv screen, you can see how horrific this crash was. both sedans smashed into each other and burst into flames. here on peabody road in fairfield, if you're not familiar, this is a semi rural road near the border with vacaville and the solano state prison. we heard from the driver who happened to see the accident in his rear view mirror. he turned around to help out while his girlfriend called 911. he ran over to the cars, both already on fire, reached into one and helped the driver get out while flames enveloped his vehicle. >> i seen two cars head-on. i parked, i had my girlfriend call 911, i tried to pull one of the guys out.

they were both on fire. i didn't know what to do. tried to pull one of the guys out. i pulled them out, and then he was helping himself, too, he was trying as hard -- >> reporter: you can hear that man who was able to rescue one person struggling to explain how difficult it was, the fact that he was not able to rescue the other people in the second vehicle that caught fire. both people burned it up, as i mentioned. the person he rescued as i mentioned has been taken to the hospital. we are speaking with fairfield police this morning. they say it's not clear which vehicle might have veered over the center lane causing that head-on collision. they will be looking into whether or not alcohol played a role in this crash that happened a little after 12:20 this morning. as far as peabody road is concerned, they expect this to be shut down while they investigate until around 10:00 this morning. reporting live in fairfield, bob redell, "today in the bay." >> thanks for the latest there,

bob. it's 5:35 right now. also new this morning, authorities in the south bay looking for the driver of a car who struck and injured a toddler late last night in east san jose. it happened on row hampton avenue and vancouver court about two blocks from story road. the chp says a man and his young grandson were out walking when someone in a silver car drove by and struck the boy. that driver kept on going. a responding officer says the boy regained consciousness before being transported to the hospital. so far there's no update on the boy's condition. san francisco trying to shape a new course right now, a day after the city announced a new police chief, san francisco's police commission is set to get together to discuss the current use of force policy. "today in the bay's" pete suratos joining us from city hall with the details. we know this topic is at the top of the priority list for the new chief. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, sam. for incoming police chief bill scott, that's going to be one of his top priorities, exactly just

evaluating the city's use of force policies that haven't been updated in decades. we'll hear more of the same tonight as the police commission discusses their policy they want to push forward with. the police chief will have to deal with the issue, as far as getting the police union and police commission on the same page, a lot of discussion in the past year following the high profile deadly officer involved shootings around the city including mario woods and alex nieto. as far as the potential new policy being put forward by the commission, the focus is around deescalation techniques rather than deadly force. they want to restrict officers fromf shooting into moving cars. after decades of work with lapd, most recently honing the post of dechity chief with that department. he'll have to rely on that experience heavily in his new post. >> what worked for me was a chief that made me believe he was supportive of me getting the

job done by giving me what i needed to get the job done. >> chief scott does not start this position until the end of january. no word if he'll be at tonight's meeting. we know the police commission meeting at city hall is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. pete suratos for "today in the bay." >> thank you very much, pete. it's 5:38. public defender plans to release individual yes of an arrest in july that went too far. cell phone video shot at the time shows b.a.r.t. police officers detaining michael smith. krit tilks call it excessive force. officers claim smith kicked an officer, bit another and spit at a third. a jury acquitted him on. the city's public defender will present body cam video today. a followup now, two contra costa county firefighters accused of picking a fight with police officers are facing more charges. all this happened back in october. we reported on it.

this is outside the walnut creek marriott during the fright's ball. when police officers arrived, police say the firefighters identified as andrew desmond and lack taif yus johnson were belligerent and drunk along with their dates. when they refused to leave the hotel, a fight broke out with the police officers. the two firefighters are facing battery and assault charges related to public intoxication. new details right now and perhaps new hope for hundreds of low income residents at a palo alto mobile home park facing closure. according to the "mercury news," the housing authority has voted to buy the park from the owners. the owners filed to close the site four years ago. we should find out how much it's going to sell for after the housing authority submits the offer to the owners. hardly a pleasant holiday season, residents at the reserve

have received eviction notices. tenants say the owners have been providing notice via registered mail so they've had to stand in line during the holiday rush to receive an envelope they'd rather not open. community groups are pushing to get representers some sort of compensati compensation. good wednesday morning. it is 5:40. as you head out, all clear skies. still very chilly as we've seen the temperatures dipping into the lower 40s, even some upper 30s in the valleys. right now san francisco looking good. 47 degrees, 47 also in oakland. san jose 42 degrees and 43 in livermore. morgan hill and santa rosa in the upper 30s. highs today in the 60s. this will be the warmest day of the week. i'll talk about that and an incoming storm in about ten minutes. as we head over to mike, he's telling us where to avoid some spots in the south bay. >> that's right. light traffic overall for the freeways, but in san jose, sclera, that border, that's

where kris sanchez continues to follow the search going on at stevens creek boulevard. the closure, a couple of blocks for either of those roadways. bmw toward toyota and down toward chrysler plries plim mot. easy drive toward the bay bridge, but the metering lights are on. back to you. >> thank you very much, mike. 5:41. coming up, the dangers your christmas tree can pose. what bay area firefighters say you need to know to avoid a christmas tragedy. meanwhile, on fire, the stock market. we're close to 20,000. we opened at new records. we'll talk about it in business and tech. a sense of security robbed for people living in a south bay neighborhood. >> quite a few houses being broken into in our neighborhoods. probably around nine as we speak.

>> we'll talk about the steps some folks are taking to protect themselves. that's next. you're watching "today in the bay."

the time is 5:44 on this first day of winter. weekend we're getting ready for a big holiday with temperatures on christmas eve starting out at 40 degrees and mostly cloudy skies. we will catch a break in the rain. still cool, though, only 52 degrees for the high, and christmas day for the bay and inland areas, a cold morning. 36 degrees to start and increase in clouds as we go through the day. i'll have a look at the complete microclimate forecast in about five minutes. we're looking at a couple of slower spots. one of them the bay bridge toll plaza where the metering lights are on. i notice a different backup pattern there. we'll talk about that as well as the tri-valley where we have one disabled vehicle. that may be an issue for some folks on 580. we'll point that out. >> thank you very much, kari and mike. it's 5:45. we know the name of the postal truck driver who was killed when

his truck overturned on interstate 680. we brought you this on "today in the bay" on the moneday. he apparently struck an abandoned ford minivan on the shoulder which caused his truck to overturn. kumar later died at a hospital. >> the body of the assassinated russian ambassador to turkey is back home in russia. ♪ >> andre car love's remains arrived in moscow last night. his wife and his mother accompanied that body on a plane from turkey. the ambassador, of course, was shot dead on monday in front of stunned onlookers at an exhibition in ankara. it came after days of protests by turks angry over moscow's support for the syrian president. in north carolina lawmakers are expected to repeal the state's controversial bathroom law today, a law that requires

transgender people to use restrooms that correspond with the sex on their birth certificate. entertainers canceled the events, ncaa and nba pulled major sporting events in protest of the law. it's considered so controversial because it opens the door to discrimination against many people, not just the transgendered community. it was orgal na li passed to nullify a charlotte city ordinance that required businesses to allow transgender people to use the bathroom of their choice. back at home, people living in a san jose neighborhood are on edge after a string of robberies. the coy neighborhood near valley fair mall has been hit hard in the last two weeks. as many as nine homes have been robbed. neighbors say they've been robbed of their sense of security as well. >> it's frustrating. it makes you a little angry. but also it's kind of sad because pretty soon you start suspecting everybody. if you see somebody you don't know, you sort of day, what are they doing here? >> people are posting signs to warn other neighbors.

they're also alerting people on a community message board, and some tell us they're installing surveillance cameras. >> you talk about warnings. firefighters in san francisco want you to enjoy the holidays, but also would like to remind you it does not take too long for things to go dangerously wrong. >> you're looking at a christmas tree safety demonstration put on by firefighters. they say a tree that's not properly watered and cared for can turn the inside of a home instantly into a death trap, and that at least 250 house fires every year are caused by christmas trees. the dow will once again open very close to 20,000. perhaps this is the day the index finally crosses that magic number. >> we've been watching this either way. scott mcgrew, we're on a run. >> seventh straight week of wins. we start the day at new records on both the dow industrials and the nasdaq. that's on the record as well. 17th record for the dow since the election. there you see the number,

19,974. now, as we watch the run-up to 20,000, there's an irony here. the stock market is doing well. but the money managers at calpers are bearish. they're worried about all the money they invest in the market won't return as much as they want. calpers is retirement system for local, county and state workers. here is why it matters to you even if you're not a government worker. if calpers thinks it will get less money from the stock market, it has to increase the money from somewhere else to meet pensions. there are only two other places to find the money. one is the workers themselves. two is you, the taxpayer. this pie chart just cost you money. i will point out these are pretend numbers. i wanted to make it easy so i could show you the relationship. this is a real problem and it's going to cost you. sam and laura, i was talking

about jahal a couple days ago, hired by a chicago-based venture capital firm. despite the fact he's facing a year in jail related to domestic violence. i questioned the woman who hired him trying to understand why she hired him. obviously i also sought out mr. jahal's attorney for a statement. i got a response, ever done on real journalism. report the facts before you report anything, donate your add revenue form a false story. that's mr. cha hall's statement about our story about him. >> he was convicted of multiple charges here. >> he was found guilty of violating his probation after allegedly hitting a second woman. the probation is related to an admission of guilt in a first domestic abuse case. >> all right. thank you for that update. let's head outside right now, winter astronomically speaking begins today.

we know while you were sleeping, the winter sole stas occurred. that's when the earth's axis and the northern hemisphere which we're in are tilted furrest away from the sun. that means today is the shortest day of the year. the bay area is expected to get about nine hours of sunlight total today. >> that's not going to work out for me because i have a list of things to do. >> some of that you'll be doing in the dark. >> your christmas tree hopefully lighting um your house. 2:44 is when this may happen. we may be the only people in the bay area, and our colleagues, that were awake. >> we were all up and tracking everything for you. we get this day started, it looks good. it's not as cold. it will be warmer this afternoon and nice dry weather. but there's a lot of changes in this forecast. let's get a look now as you can see what to expect as you step out the door, lower 40s in the peninsula and the south bay and

the tri-valley, 43 degrees, all clear skies. visibility is good, too. upper 30s for parts of the north bay. that's where temperatures have been the coolest. speaking of cool temperatures. this is what the rest of the country is dealing with. at least there's not single digits and subzero temperatures. hey, it's getting a little milder. there's not as many snowstorms going on farther towards the west -- towards the east rather, around minneapolis, you do have some snow. but the bigger travel problems will actually be right here in the bay area as we go into the weekend. there's an area of low pressure rolling up from southern california that will not affect us. the next storm system is moving out of the pacific and will be here on friday. until then we will have some dry weather on friday. that storm moves in with gusty winds and heavy rain. saturday we take a break. another round of rain moving in late christmas day into early monday and, of course, that will also be a busy travel day. as far as how much rain we can

see across the state, the heaviest rain to the north and east of us. we're looking at anywhere from an inch and a half to an inch and a quarter. snowfall will be quite heavy for the sierra. much heavier for the next snowstorm. potential for two feet of snow in spots. that includes farther to the north around mt. shasta. here we're looking at cooler temperatures and rain for the weekend. we'll keep an eye on that. we'll head to mike taking us to the tri-valley. >> we did have the disabled vehicle. it want to show you the speed sensors here, green all over the bay as we've seen all week. a very light volume of traffic. disabled vehicle at grant line road. it should be off to the shoulder. mild slowing on the approach and not much past that. an easy drive toward the rest of the dublin interchange and over towards the 680 interchange as well with no slowing south through pleasanton. we want to avoid san jose, santa

clara stevens creek. a manhunt continues for a man seen firing shots. light commute right here, the little first burst for 101, typical this time and lighter than we often see. over here approaching the bay bridge. the slowdown, we'll end with the shot here and show you the toll plaza. this last shot shows the backup, the metering lights are on. that's the only delay getting towards san francisco. back to you. thank you very much, mike. still ahead, artists are sending a message to oakland city leaders. the troubles that artists living in warehouses or underground spots say they're now facing in the aftermath of the ghost ship warehouse fire. first happening now, as kari was mentioning, she's tracking our next storm set to hit just before the holiday weekend. you can take her forecast with you with a free nbc bay area app. a peninsula mom and golden state warriors dancing star on the arena floor with the club's

dance team. see the video we posted overnight. we'll be back here in two minutes. officers has already prompted

policy changes at over nbc bay area's on going investigation into the misuse of public school officers has prompted policy changes at more than 30 schools. >> now the obama administration is pushing for those very same changes nationwide before

president-elect trump moves into the white house next month. investigative reporter bigad shaban has more. >> guys, good morning. the obama administration in one of its final abilities of power is trying to teach a lesson to the country's more than 95,000 public schools. in letters, the department of education and the department of justice urged educators to stop overrelying on school police officers saying unnecessary arrests and improper involvement in routine school discipline matters can have a nelgive impact on students. 47 school districts in the bay area regularly have officers on campus. we discovered more than 40% failed to define the duties of those officers. we contacted each one and learned 15 school districts still don't plan on changing their policies despite the new recommendations from washington. president-elect trump recently announced betsy devos as his pick for secretary of education. she wouldn't comment on our

story but is known for supporting more local control for schools. guys, back to you. >> bigad, thank you very much. if you have a tip for our investigative unit, call 1-888-996-tips or send us an e-mail to the unit at nbcbayarea.com. >> a followup this morning on the flint water investigation. four more officials are now charged in connection with the water crisis. two michigan state emergency managers and two flint city executives were charged yesterday. they all say felony charges that carry a penalty of 20 yoors behind bars. the michigan attorney general says the four failed to protect people in flint from health hazards due to lead contaminated water. right now at 6:00, breaking news out of the south bay. >> some movement in a standoff and manhunt at stevens creek and kiley. we'll let you know what we know

from police about a suspect who dropped a gun as he fled. plus, a man who witnessed a fiery crash in solano county that looked horrible. he noticed this when he was driving home. rushes home and helps out managing to pull one of the victims from the wreckage. dramatic new video just into our newsroom this morning. the search is on for two people wanted in connection with a deadly shooting at a bay area pawnshop. the evidence police are looking at as they try to crack the case. "today in the bay" continues right now. good wednesday morning to you. thanks so much for joining us. i'm laura garcia-cannon. >> i'm sam brock. all calm this morning. we do have a storm coming our way in a couple days. >> in a couple days, but that's also when a lot of people will be taking to a flight or the roads to meet up with some family for the holiday weekend. now as you head out the door, it's nice and quiet. getting on the road for work. it is 44 degrees in the tri-valley. 41 in the south bay,