area. a live look outside as we get a view of san francisco. we are tracking the next storm that may impact your holiday travel. i'll have a look at the timeline coming up. >> you made it to thursday morning. thanks for joining us. i'm laura garcia-cannon. >> this week rushing right on by as we are only a few days away from the christmas holiday. at 6:00, we saw the beautiful pictures, nice and clear. one more day. >> one more calm day. it's also fairly chilly out there. as you step out, you need to bundle up and we'll have a lot of sunshine helping to warm things up later on today. actually above normal for this time of year, but it is chilly. right now in the tri-valley, it's 38 degrees. 4824 the peninsula. south bay 42, 48 in san francisco and below freezing in the north bay. also some patchy fog. that may cause some problems. here is a look at rain over southern california that will not be our storm sis 12e78, as

we look farther off to the north, there will be another one moving in. so this may slow down your travel plans. i'll talk about that coming up in a few minutes. mike is checking in on the activity at the bay bridge. >> we don't have a lot of activity elsewhere around the bay. very easy drive. a little slowing for 101 throughout san jose. much lighter than typical. the bay bridge toll plaza, we have metering lights on. we'll end with the live look because the lanes are all filled in. it took about ten minutes for the lanes to fill in after the metering lights were turned on. i see flashing lights, but it's an oversized load. the flashing lights to let folks know be careful around the truck. it should make its way through the toll plaza. i'll be watching the truck. >> hopefully it does or it could clog things up. 6:01. new this morning, there was, until recently, a jaguar plowed

into the side of that car. the driver smashed through the front of a thrift store in the east bay. this is a live look at the damage left behind this morning. it happened a little after 1:00 in the morning at a store on east 14th street in san leandro. that's not far from the bayfair mall. investigators san jose whoever was inside of that car took off before officers could arrive. witnesses report seeing a group of young people running from the scene. "today in the bay's" bob redell will join us with a live report in 30 minutes to explain what investigators are looking into now as they try to figure out what happened. >> 6:02 right now. the search is on for a hit-and-run driver involved in a deadly accident in the peninsula on tuesday night, the crosswalk of el camino real and ludman lane. that's where we find "today in the bay's" pete suratos. have people voiced concerns about this intersection before? >> reporter: actually i spoke to a woman at this nearby intersection, she said people

fly up and down this intersection. the crosswalk is where the man was hit last night. here are the details from the san mateo county sheriff's office. they say a 30-year-old man was hit and there was an soouf that hit him. when authorities showed up, they say he was lying in the roadway. they took him to the hospital. cars are flying up and down this road all the time. as they're saddened by the news. they're saying that the lack of lighting in the area, that they're not shocked by it. >> this is one of the worst intersections around. i'm not sure if it's the lighting or what it is. but nobody sees you. >> this is actually a very dangerous intersection. they need to do something about this. it happened more than once. >> now, authorities are still looking for the driver in this hit-and-run accident. they're saying that driver was

driving a small silver or light-colored soouf similar to a toyota rav4. there is visible damage following this accident. of course, this is still an ongoing investigation. if you have any information to help track down the driver, contact the sheriff's office. live in millbrae, pete suratos for "today in the bay." a south bay man accused of assaulting his neighbor with a baseball bat has turned himself in. morgan hill police say mark weber beat his neighbor with a bat earlier this month. the victim's family says weber had a problem with their dog barking and that's what started it. the victim was treated for possible life-threatening injuries. weber meantime could face many charges including attempted murder. investigators in sonoma county say they found no credibility to a threat made by a student that they should shoot and kill people at his forestville high school. the student is still in trouble and is in juvenile hall. authorities say it started with a note written by the boy left

in the offices of the high school on tuesday. he's faced with charges of making threats. the christmas market in berlin is back 0e7 after monday's deadly truck attack. the barricades are now removed and the gates are back open. people were seen wandering between empty stands where a dozen people died and dozens of others were hurt. they left candles. a manhunt is under way for this man, anis amri who police suspect was behind the wheel. police say the tunisian man is believed to be armed and dangerous and has ties to islamic extremists. he was facing deportation prior to the attack. police are looking at some of the refugee areas that he passed through. a $100,000 reward is being offered for information leading to his whereabouts. a patient thief in the east bay managed to walk away with more than $200,000 of jewelry. concord police say that man waited inside the sears in the

sunny val mall until it closed and then made his move. the man in this surveillance video is holding a bag filled with 127 stolen rings. police say the thief may have been waiting in a storage locker or storage room in the back of the store. we talked about this earlier this week, a measure to repeal north carolina's so-called bathroom bill, has failed. that bim requires -- the law requires transgender people to use bathroom corresponding to the sex on their birth certificate. >> the issue gained a lot of attention in the bay area. "today in the bay's" edward lawrence joins us live in washington to explain why the repeal effort actually failed. good morning, edward. >> good morning, sam and laura. there was a deal in place that just fell apart, and the vote wasn't even close. the north carolina senate voted 16-32 to not repeal that bathroom law, to turn down the

bill that would repeal the so-called bathroom law. the house in north carolina didn't even take up the bill, and the special session adjourned. there was a lot of protest associated with it. the sticking point was a provision that was in the bill that would ban other cities in the state of north carolina from passing their own version of the bathroom bill. now north carolina lost millions of dollars related to this problem. north carolina has seen the ncaa pull out of seven championships that they were going to hold in the state, canceled concerts. also the nba decided not to hold an all-star game that was going to be held in charlotte. now, the center for american progress estimates north carolina lost about $88 million because of the bans and boy cots. reporting live in washington, edward lawrence, back to you. >> thank you very much, edward. it is 6:07 right now. the new year will mean steeper fines for commuters caught illegally parking their cars in b.a.r.t. parking lots.

right now it's a $35 fine for anyone parking in a daily spot without paying. january 2nd it goes up to $55. if you get caught parking in a space that requires a permit, $75 will be your fee up from the current $40. for repeat offenders, five or more citations in the same year will cost an additional $100. the new fines were approved in february. good thursday morning. it is 6:08. as you head out, it is chilly. we are only at 34 degrees now in fairfield, 31 in napa. some spots below freezing. we're dealing with some fog also in parts of the north bay. so freezing temperatures and fog. that may create some icy spots on the roadways. elsewhere it's well above freezing, oakland 47 degrees. 43 in palo alto and san jose. 42 degrees now. it's nice, cool and quiet now. we're tracking a couple of storm systems across the region. one as you head down to l.a. and over toward vegas.

there is some rain. and we will have another weather system moving in as we go into tomorrow. so plan accordingly with extra time to get to where you're going. we'll talk more about that coming up in about ten minutes. mike is tracking those flashing lights on the bay bridge. >> kari, we saw an oversized truck going through the area. it made it through the toll plaza. i've been tracking it as best i can. i haven't seen any problems or heard of issues across the bay bridge. as we look at your map, it's actually not bad getting through that backup, whether you're an oversized truck or standard sized car. just a backup off the maze. no delay except for the toll plaza itself. this is a light holiday week commute. we continue to see no delays, except slowing north 101 at 680. as we look at your south bay drive times, 101 and 85 where they split in san jose to where they meet in mountain view, just 20 minutes. these are the speeds we typically see at 4:30 when we

start our show. back to you. up next, new developments in the recent shooting outside a very popular bay area bowling alley. a newly released sketch of the man police are looking for. getting ready for rain in the bay area and a lot of snow in the see heir rah. the steps to take if you're heading into the mountains over the holiday weekend. if you're driving in the city, you'll see none of the uber self-driving cars. i'll tell you about it in business and tech when "today in the bay" continues.

good morning. it is 6:13. here is a look at the tahoe report for squaw valley and alpine meadows. snowing tomorrow, heavy snow along with whiteout conditions. we'll see the snow coming down for most of the day on friday and early on saturday. chilly temperatures, too. here is a look at what one computer model is showing as far as how much snow you can see across the sierra. possibly two feet of snow. we'll detail that and what the bay area can expect in about five minutes. a lot more going on on your maps than mine, mild slowing through the tri-valley, light volume of traffic around the bay. the eastshore freeway, just 18 minutes from highway 4 to the bay bridge. that's a great drive.

mike, thank you very much. to your point, generally speaking, a very light flow of traffic as we look at the golden gate bridge live. now, just past the toll plaza the bridge gets so busy during the day with sightseers coming around, parking over the next few days is going to be tighter. starting tomorrow and going through january 2nd, the lots on either side of the bridge will be restricted to parking between 11:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. we should say they will have restricted parking, that is to reduce backups that spill out into regular traffic. almost 6:15 right now. police released a sketch of the man who opened fire in the parking lot of a popular bay ar area bowling alley. he's described at 5'6", average built hispanic man. the shooting happened friday night at bell mateo bowl in san

mateo. the shooter firing several times into a crowded parking lot and hitting a man. that man actually recovered. pretty frightening moments captured on a central california bus. take a look. the man on the right. an electronic cigarette exploded in his pocket. all caught on camera. -- the man only suffered minor injuries, burns to his hands and his thigh. one thing you will not see out on the road this morning. self-driving ubers. the company pulled the cars off the streets of san francisco after meeting with the dmv. scott mcgrew has been following this since the start. the dmv pulled the registration permits for the cars. that was enough to convince them not to put them on the streets. that's not the first time. department says uber lacks the proper permits. uber argued it didn't neat those

permits. it does make one wonder why uber didn't get the permits in the first place. we do know once you have a self-driving permits, you have to report. uber started itself driving test in pittsburgh, pennsylvania, using fords. that test is still under way. why pittsburgh? probably because that's where you find carnegie-mellon university. uber snatched professors and researchers to work at uber. peter teal wheel continues to e his power with the trump administration. new reports say guiding the nasa policy to include rocket launches. thiel's latest company is involved in border secure. the electronic privacy information center says the palo alto company supplies computer

power. someone has to run the computers and keep track of illegal immigrants. there are two concerns this morning. one is thiel has not separated his business from his position in the trump administration. to be fair, neither has trump. if you were to build a muslim database, this would be the sort of technology that you would use. so we're going to continue to watch the involvement with the administration. >> because the conversation will certainly continue. thank you very much scott. we go now to southern california where we're getting ready for another round of rain in the bay area. an evening storm already brought very heavy rains to parts of so cal. the wet weather caused flooding in some parts last night. certainly slowed down the already grinding even commute. the rain also hit last-minute christmas shoppers. the parking lot of a shopping center in el cajon was, as you see, flooded. >> didn't stop the shoppers from going out there.

got to head to the slopes? the rain heading to the bay area expected to bring a lot of snow to the sierra just in time for the christmas holiday. if you're planning to head to the snow, the chp and caltrans has tips to stay safe. first, get the chains, try to practice installing them. make sure you're dressed appropriately, bring blankets, pack extra food, clothing, in case you get stuck in traffic. finally keep that gas tank full because of it. you don't get great mileage when it's that cold outside. you want to make sure you're covered if there are accidents or traffic backups. you could be sit and idling. laura, you and i know this. bring cash with you. if you have problems with the chains you can also use a little cash. there are chain installers waiting patiently. >> they're there. and boy, is it helpful. >> i have a friend here who is

from florida and she wants to go to heavenly. she's like, what are tire chains? oh, my goodness girl, we have to ta talk. >> not a florida thing, that's for sure. >> you've always got to be ready. >> we know it's going to take a lot of time to get there. if you are traveling locally or farther across the region, we are going to talk about that. i'll give you a heads up of what to expect. here is a live look across the north bay across the golden gate bridge in san francisco, looking good early this morning. the earlier you can travel, the better. it's 43 degrees right now in san francisco. heading up to 59 degrees today. it's 34 in fairfield. we do have freezing temperatures with spots in the north bay, and it's very cold as you head out. so layer up. it will be up to 61 degrees today in san jose and morgan hill. oakland and san francisco, 59 degrees. a nice and mild afternoon.

we showed you the storm system affecting southern california. it's also moving into vegas as well as new mexico and arizona. that's moving off to the east and will not affect the bay area, but some pretty soggy conditions if you're traveling farther to the south. if you're going to the north, rain starting to move into the' sattal and portland. you see the rain moving from north to south. we start to see the clouds increasing later today. by 6:00 in the morning, pretty good coverage. there may be pockets of heavy rain at times. still waves coming in and out of the bay area all through out the day. it look pretty wet. we won't see the rain ending until early saturday morning on christmas eve. rainfall totals anywhere from a quarter inch to .75 inch, maybe over an inch in spots like ukiah and heavy snow for the sierra. the possibility of at least a foot of snow, maybe even 1.5

feet, up to 2 feet in some of the higher elevations. we'll talk mosh about that coming up. let's start with a little south bay slowing with mike. >> very little. you mentioned the chains. kari mentioned the chains from the sierra and her friend from florida not knowing about that. we have chains here because we don't have snow tires. the chain helps for that short period when we have to get to the summit. a little slowing for the south bay. i was watching slowing. i watched it long enough that i stared it down. it cleared. it did clear over the last couple minutes. that's how light the volume of traffic is here. we'll show you the rest of the bay. we're getting toward the bay bridge. the only thing on the map that we worry about is fog in the north bay. nothing of note from chp. the bay bridge metering lights are on. the san mateo bridge, we end with a nice easy drive to the peninsula. coming up next, something a lot of parents worry about when your child gets sick, should you use antibiotics.

>> we'll break down a new study that could help decide how to treat children. millions of americans getting ready to travel before the holiday weekend. we'll take you to one of the busiest airports to show what to expect before you take off. once i heard i was going to be a park ranger, i got really excited. gabe's obviously really sick. and there's a lot that he isn't able to do, and make-a-wish stepped in. we had to climb up the mountain to get the injured hiker.

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get closer to christmas. ==laura/2shot== it's expected to be a record year for the number of americ . the holiday travel rush is under way as we get closer to

christmas. >> it is expected to be a record year for the number of americans heading out of town. >> "today in the bay's" chris pallone from atlanta, the largest airport in the country, to show us what travellers can expect heading into the holiday weekend. chris? >> reporter: hi, sam and laura. we're expecting that there's going to be 103 million americans according to aaa heading out on a trip of more than 50 miles away from home. of course, the vast majority will be driving. aaa says about 93 million people will drive, an increase of 1.5% over last year. if you think you're going to find some relief at the airport, probably not. they are estimating that this week 6 million people will fly through american airports. that's up anywhere from 2.5% to 3.5%. the skies could be much more corroded than they were last year. now, locally at san francisco international, they were

estimating that from the period of thanksgiving through new year's day they were going to see more than 6.5 million passengers going through there. that's an increase of more than 5.5%. you're seeing a lot of traffic out at sfo as well. what's driving this? mostly the economy. aaa says gas prices remain relatively low, higher than last year but down from two years ago. there's more consumer confidence growing as the unemployment rate comes down, so people are feeling free to finally head out and do some holiday visiting. if you're heading out on the roads or to the airports, the best advice we can always give is to pack a little patients. live in atlanta, i'm chris pallone, sam and laura, back to you. >> have a nice holiday yourself, chris. 6:26. in medical news this morning, a lot of parents worry about whether their shield should take antibiotics when they get sick and how long they should be on the medication. a new study may have answers for

us on ear inex-ifs. ear infections are the number one reason children are prescribed antibiotics. researchers wanted to see if reducing the length of time that the child gets antibiotics would be a safe way to cut down on their use. they looked at kids under the age of 2 with ear infections. half are given ten days, half five days. some children in the shorter trial failed to get better. the study had to stop early so they could get the full dose. some doctors say they're not surprised. >> whenever we try to shorten it, i find more often than not the ear infection bounces back. >> that's why they say to finish the dose your doctor gives you. experts say there are key ways to know if your child needs a i antibiot antibiotics, if they are have frequent infections, a fever higher than 102.2 and a bulging

eardrum. a man found wandering on the roof of a bay area preschool a couple hours ago. what neighbors say he did just before a bizarre string of events. >> also new overnight, a car crashes into an east bay thrift store. now police are searching for the people responsible. what witnesses saw in the moments after the crash. >> reporter: women in the south bay, we have photos you have to see if you've taken a taxi cab, a driver arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting a passenger. taking a live look outside...

downtown san jose. all calm right now, but we're good thursday morning. 6:30. a live look outside downtown san jose. all calm right now. but we're expecting another rain storm to move into the bay area tomorrow. better go and enjoy christmas in the park. thanks so much for joining us. i'm laura garcia-cannon. >> i'm sam brock. lots of changes in the works here. yesterday it was gorgeous. today a cooler version. >> a little cooler in some spots. i don't think you'll really mind considering the sun will be shining and you know there will be a storm tomorrow. we'll have you covered from all angles as you tune in tomorrow morning. below freezing in parts of the north bay and very close in morgan hill, at 36 degrees. 42 in san jose and 47 as you step out the door in oakland. today's forecast, it will be a nice one. up to 60 degrees in the peninsula and the tri-valley and

59 degrees in san francisco, clouds moving into the north bay later on this afternoon. we'll talk more about that. as we head over to mike, tracking what's happening now on the roadways. >> that's right. we have lights in move, like you see on many houses around the bay. we have these green chiclets, good stuff. traffic flow looks great. a reminder, this is 6:32 in the morning. no slowing for the tri-valley. barely in for the bay bridge toll plaza approach. we have a nice easy drive coming down the eastshore freeway. only 20 minutes. pretty much at speed through richmond until you get to the berkeley curve. the bay bridge toll plaza has the metering lights on. filling in just back to west grant. you can even see the fast track lanes moving. that means a lighter flow of traffic. this is a treat at the bay bridge if that's where you have to travel. back to you. >> got to look incremental. thank you very much, mike. the search right now is on for the person or maybe people who were inside a jaguar that you see right there that smashed into the front of a thrift store

in the east bay early this morning. this is new video just into our newsroom that shows the scene earlier this morning. it happened about 1:20 in the morning at a store on east 14th street in san leandro. "today in the bay's" bob redell live from the scene to show the damage left behind. he brings us up to speed on the investigation. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, sam. chp still trying to figure out what was going on inside that jaguar as it was coming down east 14th street at 162nd, and then presumably lost control. as you can see, drove right into the front of the thrifttown thrift store. this is an office that appears to be connected with the store. as you come up here and take a look. you can see the damage inside. it was quite significant, especially in the back area where it went into a false wall. did not go into the actual store itself. since this happened just before 1:30 this morning, it's fortunate no one was inside at

the time. this is what it looked like when the car was inside. you can see it appears to be a mid to newer model dark colored jaguar. according to a witness who talked to law enforcement, they said that they saw some young people fleeing the car after this accident. law enforcement still looking for the driver and one of the passengers, assuming there's at least two people in there. they also -- law enforcement was also trying to get in touch with the registered owner. that's an indication that this car might have been stolen. reporting live in san leandro, bob redell, "today in the bay." >> more to come, bob. thank you very much. in this morning, the discovery of an abandon ed van on a san francisco beach. police filled us in on the details. here is video we just got into our newsroom. that's the suspect arrested from the roof of a day care center. you see him eventually coming down that ladder there. this started about 4:00 in the morning when authorities say

they found a minivan in the sand off the great highway. police ran the plates, found the van owner was wanted for felony parole violation. that's when a homeowner nearby reported a break-in attempt. the man who called police describes what happened next. >> turn on the lights, open up the door to the atrium where the ladder leads up to the roof, and i get on top of the roof and i look over to the day care next door and he's on that roof. >> officers got the man to climb down from the roof with the ladder. police have not indicated why the suspect previously violated parole or what kind of charges he might now be facing. 6:35. a new direction for san francisco's embattled police department. last night the police commission gave final approval to new use of force policies. the new rules ban the use of carotid artery restraents which many argue can quickly turn into a choke hold. it also bans officers from firing at moving vehicles despite continued resistance

from the police union. the new policies come after more than a year of calls for change from a frustrated and concerned community. >> i think it has some common sense language that the officers wanted to see to protect them in the event they have to do something to protect the public. i think ultimately there's something in here for everyone. >> we reached out to police union officials after last it in's vote but have not heard back. a warning in the south bay after a woman says she was sexually assaulted by this taxi driver. it happened in campbell. police say there could be more victims. >> "today in the bay's" kris sanchez joins us live from downtown campbell to explain what led up to the incident and how police were able to track that suspect down. >> reporter: good morning, sam and laura. it appears that suspect often drives around down taun areas, campbell, downtown san jose. it was one passenger who told police that he sexually assaulted her as she was unconscious.

campbell police say that suspect is 30 yard julio sanchez of san jose. it was on the night of saturday, october 29th he allegedly picked up a woman in downtown campbell after an evening out. police say she passed out in the back of his cab and only came to as she was at sanchez's home and he was sexually assaulting her. that woman escaped and called police and they started investigating immediately. sanchez was later arrested last week in the central valley. he never returned to his san jose home. police say any woman who has taken a tcab should take a look at these pictures closely. >> while we hope there aren't anymore victims of assault out there, we do believe that there's a likelihood that there are other people who have encountered mr. sanchez and we're looking to speak with them. >> sanchez's cab is a gray four dr doosh ford, it's branded

eltaxi.com which is a domain sales site, not a website for the taxi cab company. we called the number associated with the cab. the person who answered hung up on us. we know it wasn't schule i don't sanchez because he's still in jail. his bail is set at $600,000. if you want to see those pictures, show them to your friends, go to nbcbayarea.com or find me on twitter. i've put them up there as well. kris sanchez, "today in the bay." 6:38 right now. new this morning, a bay area good will branch is reportedly facing a sexual harassment suit filed by the equal employment opportunity commission. according to the "east bay times," the suit claims a former supervisor at the good will in oakland harassed disabled female janitors on the night shift. the claims go back several years and the eeoc says the resolution with good will never materialized. good will tells the "east bay times" it's taking the

allegations seriously but the suit caught the non-profit off guard. happening today, the voters may have spoken in mountain view about rent control and evictions, but the battle is far from over. tomorrow voter approved measure v is slated to take effect in mountain view which would roll back rents and limit evictions. today, a landlord-backed temporary restraining order is scheduled to be taken up in court. representers groups claim some city council members are worried about the legality of measure v and they've asked the city attorney not to oppose the restraining order. while the fate of the measure is expected to play out in court, rent control advocates are organizing a rally and march today in civic center plaza. paying big bucks for quarter in the rainy season, water and sewage bills are jumping from $800 to $1500. we're told it could go higher. last night neighbors were pushing back claiming they're being penalized despite

conservation. the water agency is faced with a need to recover financial losses after four years of drought which translates to rate hikes for residents. >> it's ridiculous. you wouldn't do it in your own household. >> i know we have to save, i just don't trust them after these last two bills. >> reporter: because you've been saving. >> i've been saving. >> as neighbors there continue to fight the board on this is e issue, another rate hike is expected to kick in come january. good morning. it is 6:40. as you head out, it is very chilly. if you plan to travel, today is the best day to do it. this is what we'll be dealing with. tomorrow, i-5 will be wet and windy. heavy snow going through the sierra. low visibility on highway 50 through tahoe. highway 101 to l.a. will be rainy. the rain clears out for christmas eve. i'll detail all of this in about ten minutes.

up next, the search continuing for a driver that struck and toddler in the south bay and kept driving. we're now learning the reason the toddler ran out into the street. we'll be right back.

the time is 6:43. as we start out with clear skies, a live look at san jose, chilly temperatures and in los gatos it will be 46 degrees at 9:00.

the average high temperature 58. going above that today with highs in the low 60s. i'll talk about an incoming storm coming up in about five minutes. >> look at that. look at these numbers. bay bridge, only 15 minutes. the backup starts about west grand avenue. san mateo bridge getting better. that burst of traffic moving better. minor delays for the tri-valley. nothing surprising. well, surprisingly light. back to you. >> thanks so much, kari and mike. it's 6:44. a developing story in japan. a fast-moving fire in central japan has ripped through 140 buildings. it's been burning now for seven hours. firefighters consider it still out of control. it started at a chinese restaurant. strong winds helped fuel the flames. so far no one has been seriously injured. at 6:44, the search continues for a driver that struck a toddler. we're learning more information about what happened. police say the 3-year-old boy was walking in the alum rock neighborhood tuesday night with

his grandparents and family dog. the dog ran out into the street. the boy chased after it. that is when he was hit by a silver sedan. the driver in that sedan didn't stop. police say the boy suffered head injuries and was conscious at the time. we're waiting for more information on his condition. 6:45 right now. california state regulators are rejecting a proposal to execute inmates on death row using four different drugs or the gas chamber. the department of corrections came up with a plan after pressure from the courts and a shortage of drugs. regulators san jose the proposal doesn't meet requirements. 750 people have on death row, but california has not executed anyone in a decade. >> there has been another twist now in a dramatic case involving b.a.r.t. police officers who are accused of using excessive force while arresting a man and his pregnant girlfriend. san francisco's public defender released this video of michael smith's arrest back in july.

it happened at the 'em kbark darrow b.a.r.t. station. you see officers responding to reports originally of an armed robbery and they confronted smith. turns out he wasn't armed. officers say smith attacked them. smith's girlfriend says the officers were being arrested with him and with her. >> until my boyfriend said i was pregnant, he still had his knee in my back. i was just hurtful, hurtful about my pregnancy and stuff like that because i lost my baby afterwards. >> heartbreaking for her there. ultimately a jury acquitted smith on battery charges and deadlocked on three other misdemeanor charges. the public defender is calling for all charges to be dropped. 6:46. alan thicke death scertificate has been released. he died of a rap toured aorta. he was buried two days ago with several cast members in

attendance. hundreds of people at risk of being evicted from a mobile home park on the peninsula will be allowed to stay. a judge ruled in favor of the park yesterday. the case was brought to court after residents say the money offered for relocation was not enough. needless to say, residents are pleased with the judge's order. >> i think that's good. >> why? >> because at least we can stay here and there's no more low-cost housing in palo alto. >> the city of palo alto says they tried to provide as much relocation assistance as possible. the recent storms are not the only things delivering more water to the south bay. the state department of water resources is raising next year's projected water allocations for a number of cities. it will mean an additional 25,000 feet of water to the santa clara county water district that equals more water for 50,000 homes. water officials say the state could continue to raise the

allocation next year as well. >> there are calls on social media for passengers to boycott delta air lines. >> others suspect the issue behind the boycott is part of a publicity stunt. >> delta would be the victim in that case. a group of muslim men claim they were asked to leave a delta flight in london because they were speaking arabic and that's what launched the outrage against delta. however, those same men often post videos to youtube showing ways they try to disrupt flights. you see one here in which a video they claim to have smuggled a person on a flight in a suitcase. delta says 20 separate passengers voiced their concern. when you look at their other youtube videos they've made, there are a number of videos in which they glib rattly try to call attention to themselves. they label it as a prank calling it an arabic on a plane experiment as if there's a bomb. delta says it appears the

customer were seeking to disrupt the cabin with provocative behavior. this type of conduct not welcome on any delta flight. taking a look at the markets this morning, the dow is down mildly. normally we couldn't care that much. hey, we're trying to get to 20k. 19,913. twitter continues to sink as well. sam and laura, this is a new ad for target. do you know who the woman is there in the center? do you have any guesses? >> i've got to get a better look. >> we're zooming in, zooming in. i will let you off the hook. that is main musk, elon musk's mom. she's been a model for years and years. she was a finalist in the miss south africa contest. >> i think we would have recognized elon musk, but not necessarily. >> we should have looked closer at the elves. a couple of familiar faces coming back to the "today" show

to co-anchor. >> katy couric co-anchoring the week of january 2nd, meredith vieira the week of january 9th. matt lauer's 20th anniversary on the today and the plm's 65th anniversary as a broadcast. >> a lot of fun. that's a great crew. >> those two ladies have had great chemistry with matt. >> genuinely nice, both on air and off. >> didn't you interview meredith vieira? >> sure. been back to interview katie and matt. >> like this good crew here. >> a good rain in the next 24 hours. how about that? if you or looking forward to it, we've got a lot of it for tomorrow. to not, maybe you want to get some things done today. here is a look outside right now. it's 38 degrees in the tri-valley. very cold as you get up and get

out the doors. freezing in the north bay. we've had patchy fog. that may deposit ice on the roadways and the bridges and also your car. allow extra time to get up, get out the door and get to work. in the peninsula, it will reach up to 60 degrees today. a very nice afternoon once again. a lot more comfortable. then tomorrow, we're tracking the next storm system moving in. if you're traveling toward l.a. or towards vegas, if yu have travel plans across the southwest, there's a lot of rain coming down there. that's not the storm system that will impact us here. we're looking for they are to the north where there's rain moving into seattle and portland. this will be ditching to the south and will be approaching the bay area by early tomorrow morning. we'll start to see the clouds moving in today with some showers by early tomorrow morning. throughout the morning commute there will be batches of heavy rain. it will just be pretty much off and on all through out the morning and early afternoon.

even the evening commute will be slowed down by some showers moving through, some gusty winds and much of that tapering off by early saturday morning. a look at how much rain we can see. not all that impressive. but a pretty good soaking. up to .25 inch in spots like livermore, possibly close to .50 inch in san jose and .75 in the north bay, up to an inch in ukiah. quite a bit of snow coming down from mt. shasta through the sierra and even down to mammoth lake. a possibility of about a foot of snow and even higher for some of those higher elevations above 7,000 feet. the snow will be wrapping up in tahoe on saturday. if you're heading to monterey, rain tomorrow once again. it will be clearing on christmas eve and christmas day. clouds moving in late. the seven-day forecast shows highs in the 50s over the next several days in san francisco.

a slow warmup in those temperatures. mike has a note about the evening commute. >> that's right, kari. the morning commute, there's not much of one. remember, folks, people hit the roadways midday and the even commutes have been tough. soeks zipping around town. the morning continues a light drive. midday and afternoons you're going to see the commute spots start to kick in a little heavier as folks head around the town. over here looking at the tri-valley. no major problems. there is a crash involving a motorcycle east around the eden canyon area. we hear there may be a traffic break. that's eastbound heading toward the dublin interchange out of castro valley. san mateo bridge, mild slowing at the toll plaza. a live shot there, we'll show you the traffic flow, just bilds up. the burst we saw about 20 minutes ago has eased up. no delays for mass transit. in the north bay where there is fog in patches, san rafael looks great. back to you. >> thanks, mike. the top local headlines

we're following this thursday morning. that includes this scene in the east bay where a car plous into a building overnight, at least the person inside that jaguar plowed the car there. when officers arrived, there was no one inside. witnesses say they saw something very specific right after the crash. we'll tell you coming up. we're already putting together our coverage plan as the next pacific storm moves into the bay area. you can track the system on our free nbc bay area app. people furious over a piece of video that is going viral. a woman berating hispanic shoppers at a mall in kentucky. we'll be back in two minutes. before you head out the door -

here are the top stories n good thursday morning to you. 6:57. before you head out the door, here are the top stories on nbc bay area. new this morning, a driver in a jaguar smashes through the front of a thrift store in the east bay. this happened at a store on east 14th street in san leandro. there you see the car lodged inside the business. investigators say whoever was in the car took off before officers arrived. witnesses report seeing a group of young people running from the scene. >> a fatal hit-and-run in millbrae has neighbors very concerned saying it was only a matter of time. it happened tuesday night in a crosswalk on el camino real and ludman lane. a man in his 30th killed after he was hit by a small silver or light-colored suv.

the driver did not stop. people living there tell us the crosswalk is dangerous. the san mateo county sheriff's office hope witnesses come for barred to help find the driver. developing in the south bay, a taxi driver is behind bars. deputies say julio sanchez picked up a woman, drove her to his home and sexually assaulted her. sanchez was arrested last week 120 miles away in madeira. investigators say there could be more victims. live pictures from dublin. mike talking about the fact that the commute has been more hospitable this morning. also, another spare the dare alert today. leave the cars at home if you can. >> thank you for your christmas dheer. better get the umbrellas out. >> tomorrow. >> tomorrow. today will still be dry, tomorrow we'll start to see the rain moving in from north to

south. it's cold this morning as you head out. so bundle up. it will be a warmer afternoon. >> happy to report light traffic out there. >> yes. take the extra time you might have and get windshield wipers and maybe some chains heading toward the sierra. be prepared. the speed sensors are mostly green. slowing over toward the san mateo bridge off the hayward side. look how light it is, highway 37, just slow around the island there. i want to show you the bay bridge toll plaza. i know i tell you it's not that bad. but it isn't. look. the lanes to the left, the ones closest to us, those are cash lanes. very light right now. the fast track lanes, those will last the longest. that's the pattern because folks don't bring cash and they have to use their transponders. bring cash, it will save you time. >> fast track not as fast in that case. we have something cool to report this morning. two stalwarts for the "today" show are returning. >> katy couric and meredith

vieira will return to the "today" show as savannah gaugtry is on maternity leave. we'll be back in half an hour. >> see you then. good morning. breaking news. police in riot gear carrying out raids in germany overnight, officials desperate to find a tunisian man named as a suspect in that truck attack on a christmas market. the 24-year-old known to authorities before the massacre. so how did he elude the poli? christmas blizzard. heavy snow and ice set to make a mess of the holiday weekend for millions. this morning the storm's potential impact on your travel plans. feeling better? a helicopter takes queen