yet in the fire fight there. near hurricane force winds could escalate the already out of control flames. we're going to bring you live team coverage throughout the morning. first want to get the chance to say good morning to you. thanks for joining us, i'm laura garcia. >> and i'm marcus washington. you can see the intensity in that fire just looking at those videos right there. >> today those winds are expected to increase. >> that's going to be the problem as we go through the day and reaching extremely critical fire conditions in southern california. here we are going to have some breezy winds picking up in the hills and our high temperatures warming up as well. this is well above normal, we should only be in the upper 50s, we will be hitting the low 70s today in the south bay, upper 60s for the east bay and the peninsula up to 68 degrees in palo alto, san francisco also fairly warm up to 65 in the outer sunset and 70 today in napa. so more on this and also an update on the wind forecast for southern california coming up. mike has an update on the crash

in the tri-valley. >> that's right. we had some slowing as a result of something there, we were talking about how it was counter to what the report of the crash was. we will take you with mostly green sensors over to where we find a little bit of a change. no problem for castro valley coming off of 680, either, it is west to 84, we talked about the slowing over towards isabelle. the crash that was in the opposite direction has not showed any slowing. this looks like this is simply because of that volume of traffic coming off of 580. 84 starts to see the early slowing. no problems out of the altamonte. no problems coming down the east shore freeway or out of the maze. a smooth approach to the backup that we do see at the bay bridge toll plaza. our live camera shows us the lanes over off to that right approach, including lanes coming off of lane 14 but it will stay closed indefinitely. we are going to get back to those southern california wildfires in just a moment but first we want to talk about a story many people in the bay area are talking about today. here is a live look at some of

our busiest bridges. this morning there is a proposal to build a new bridge to cross san francisco bay. >> the hope is that the new bridge will relieve some of the congestion for commuters. "today in the bay's" pete suratos live at the san mateo bridge this morning with some of the details of this plan. it would change the whole scenery of the bay area, pete. >> reporter: good morning, laura and marcus, yes, it would change the scenery but i want to point out it's really a lot of talk by point but it's getting a renewed push because senator dianne feinstein says there needs to be a new bridge to relieve some of the traffic congestion we see around the bay area. this idea that she's pushing for would be called the southern crossing, at least that's what caltrans and senator diane dpien stein would call it. it would involve the bridge you see behind me. she would like to see a bridge between the san mateo bridge and bay bridge serving as a connecting between those areas. the way this would be funded is through regional measure 3.

if that sounds familiar that will be voted on in june of next year. that's essentially going to raise tolls at all the bridges around the bay area. that money would be used for transportation projects like the southern crossing that senator feinstein is pushing for. the bottom line is her concern is traffic congestion, she feels this would alleviate traffic in san francisco and the east bay, but this specific topic was brought up during a caltrans meeting last night, there were a number of proposals there regarding traffic congestion. our crews talked with experts who say they are not so convinced this would fix the traffic problem that we see every day here in the bay area. >> it stores a lot of cars but they will still have to go through the heavy traffic on the peninsula or on 880 on the other side. >> reporter: now, another proposal we heard last night involved adding carpool lanes, express lanes, to 101. we see that between 380 to the whipple road area in redwood city. of course, if you are a solo

driver you would pay to use those two lanes for carpool drivers or buses or folks with three or more people in their car, this he would use it just like any other carpool lane. that bridge proposal was just a lot of talk at this point it would be a multi-billion dollar project. it could be some time before we see that, but when it comes to those carpool lanes, the additional carpool lanes on 101 they could begin construction on that as early as may of 2019. we are live in san mateo, pete suratos for "today in the bay." >> interesting concept. >> thanks, pete. it's 5:04. back to the breaking news coverage of the wildfires raging in southern california. today will be crucial in that fire fight as near hurricane force winds hit that region. live look now at the thomas fire. look at the glow there, the thing has been burning all night with very low containment right now. >> continuing to spread. now, we want to show you a map of where those four main fires are burning around los angeles. we're hearing more homes burned in just the past couple hours.

authorities issued at least one new evacuation order overnight. thousands have already been forced out of their homes. we checked last night with those numbers with cal fire. >> the skirball fire was burned 470 acres, it's 5% contained, the creek fire has burned over 12,000 acres it as well is 5% contained, the rye fire over by i-5, 7,000 acres and it is 10% contained. but the largest fire, is still the thomas fire burning in ventura county. 90,000 acres now at just 5% containment. the national weather service has issued its strongest possible warning for wildfire conditions today, it's called that purple flag warning. >> those wids could make for a rapid unpredictable spread of that fire. we want to bring in meteorologist kari hall, something we have not seen before or many of us have seen before that, purple warning. >> it's the first time and it's issued by the santa anna wildfire threat index agency, they are the ones who issue the red flag warnings and things like that, tracking the critical

flag warnings -- critical fire warnings, but we are looking now at the drought monitor. this will be updated today. so we will see if we will have that amount of drought in southern california increase to a different level, but we are also looking at some very dry conditions as of now. strong winds, here is a look at the sustained wind forecast throughout the day blowing those winds offshore. we know that as it kind of funnels throughout the valleys as well over those wildfires it could create some quickly spreading wildfire conditions. so looking at very low humidity and this will continue throughout today with near hurricane force winds. we're monitoring all of this as the day depose along. and our team coverage continues as well. i want to bring in "today in the bay's" gina kim live in ventura this morning with a closer look at how crews are trying to fight these vicious flames. good morning, gina. >> reporter: good morning, laura and unfortunately i have more bad news to share with you this morning.

the national weather service you alluded to this a little while ago is now saying to expect, quote, extremely critical fire weather conditions once again today meaning that four days into this kind of devastation we just can't seem to catch a break. the 50 to 80 mile an hour gusts that drove the flames across southern california this week returned this morning. when it's this bad, fire officials say, there's practically nothing they can do. >> now the bill challenge of course is the winds are back up, a lot of the area of this fire is in steep and inaccessible areas, inaccessible terrain that hasn't burned in decades if not longer. >> reporter: the latest fire created a wall of flames along the 405 freeway just as the morning commute got under way yesterday. it shut down the freeway near ucla for hours making the already notorious traffic conditions even worse. it damaged or destroyed some 11 structures, including at least four homes in bel-air, home to

l's millionaires and celebrities. the biggest of the four fires burning in southern california is the thomas fire in ventura county which now threatens to grow into santa barbara county, home to i think maar wineries and universities. in all more than 100,000 acres have burned, some 200,000 people remain evacuated and 200 homes or buildings have been damaged or destroyed. >> devastated. it's overwhelming. >> like everyone else we just no he that some day it will be -- it will be restored. >> reporter: today we will see summerlike conditions returning with single-digit humidity and near 80 degree temperatures. combined with the wine country fires we had in northern california back in october this is now sharing up to be one of the worst fire seasons ever recorded in the state's history. live in ventura, jinak kim, back to you. >> thank you watch. jodi hernandez is in

southern california for us, she continues to post new videos on her facebook page including live reports. this is some of the video that she took in ojai. you can follow her. >> at 5:09 we continue to follow breaking news out of the west bank where there have been clashes between israeli troops and palestinians. this is a live look from bethlehem this morning, you see guards on stand by. this is coming just after a day after president trump said the united states will officially recognize jerusalem as the capital of israel. experts expected pictures like these following the president's announcement. we've been watching this morning as hundreds of people took to the streets in protest. moments ago security forces were seen shooting tear gas and smoke grenades into the crowd. so far we are not getting any reports if there have been any injuries so far. we will keep watching this story unfold throughout the morning. back here in the bay area live now to oakland where city workers are preparing to strike

for a third straight day. thousands of non-emergency workers are pushing for higher wages and improved working conditions. mayor libby schaaf says that the strike is unlawful since both sides are actively negotiating and there is no impasse. this morning a coyote is on the loose in san francisco. animal control says someone spot this had animal in soma yesterday specifically near moscone. this is the moscone center south. we are looking at those photos. officials say that it is not unusual at this time of year, saying young coyotes often look to explore new territories. they say that the animal may go to golden gate park or some other space area in the city. officials are asking people to keep their dogs on leashes and their pets indoors at night. right now at 5:10 as you get ready to head out you do have to bundle up. look at how cold these temperatures are right now in the south bay. 40 degrees and 37 degrees in the

tri-valley, 33 degrees in the north bay. so another morning with freezing temperatures and frost, but as we look at our highs it's going to warm up into the upper 60s to lower 70s. with he will break that down for san jose, a look at the temperature trend coming up in a few minutes. mike was telling me it's a clear commute right now. >> clear and cool like the forecast, kari. looking at a smooth drive, these green sensors show you all you need to know. a little bit of slowing out of the altamonte corridor, nothing major and nothing unexpected. travel times coming down through the pleasanton area for 680 south as well as off the castro valley y in toward hayward, all these are moving at speed. that's a great flow of traffic for the east bay. the north bay no slowing, not even for 37. you are at speed getting out of vallejo all the way over toward novato. a great flow as well. pete just reported from off the san mateo bridge, let's show you that bridge from the camera here facing west, that's your commute. very light and so the peninsula also experiences no delays. coming up, a troubling time

behind the scenes, a man facing charges in morgan hill over what he allegedly did to two minors during his dance production at a south bay high school. we're live with a search for more victims in morning. on a lighter note, we will tell you about a silicon valley singing competition when "today in the bay" continues.

good thursday morning. right now 5:14. you walk out the door and you want to run back in again and get a heavier coat. as we take a live look outside, downtown san jose christmas in

the park all set up. it's a great event to check out. it opens at 9:00 this morning but it will openly be at 49 degrees but warming up quickly today. we will talk about more warm air in the forecast at least064mf1 o afternoon hours that'sno carries a theater tech here and also as

a substitute teacher last school year. now, the suspect is 36-year-old kevin cole. he was arrested on friday on several counts of molesting or annoying a child under the age of 18. cole was hired by the south valley dance arts to work on the lights and the sounds for their production of the nutcracker here at the theater, not with costume changes, but two young dancers say he touched intimate areas of their bodies as they were changing for their production on friday night. this is video from two years ago of the south valley dance art's nutcracker performance. you can see it is pretty elaborate affair there. at friday's production those two young dancers say he put his hands on their intimate areas during the costume changes. according to morgan hill police the production manager of the show and several parents told him to stop immediately. morgan hill police say kevin cole has worked with other dance companies in addition to south valley dance arts, he also worked with south valley ballet,

hip hop craze, music in motion and charter school of morgue.hill. now we've learned also with the school district. the director of music in motion says she remembers cole working on one of their productions back in 2016. >> i have parents everywhere so none of the kids would have ever been in a situation where they would have been with him. >> reporter: morgan hill police want parents to talk with their kids if they do theater, if they have dance experience here in the south county, ask them if they know kevin cole. you can see here there is a poster now, a blue poster that's covering up the nutcracker posters and this says safe zone. that is what somebody wants the children to know, that this is a safe zone for them, but do talk to your kids. you can go to nbcbayarea.com or my facebook or twitter page if you want to take another look at the suspect's picture and see his employment history. in morgan hill, kris sanchez, "today in the bay."

>> that's a lot of dance groups to work with. surprisingly they would let him work with -- a male work with new girls changing. >> silicon valley very competitive place as we all know. just yesterday we were telling you about the race to be the best place to work. >> this morning competition of an entirely different kind. scott mcgrew joins us now. >> an acapella competition, singing. the fifth annual silicon valley acapella called tech-apella takes place today. this started as a group of singing programmers at google but those employees moved over to facebook and then it was on. it was a battle for the absolute best. teams today include air bn beats and googapella. the latest numbers out of the south bay show there are very few houses for sale. they say there are half as many houses for sale compared to a year ago. now with very supply price has gone up.

the median price of a home in santa clara is $1,125,000 one expert told the mercury news homeowners are lining up like they are in front of an apple store. the value of a bitcoin hit $14,000 a day after it hit both $13,000 and then earlier than that it was at $12,000. so we've seen this huge jump in the value of this virtual currency. what's going on? well, regular people, the moms and pops are getting in on the action. there is a san francisco company called coin base that makes it easy to buy bitcoin or a portion of bitcoin, put it on your credit card, your debit card. more and more people are chasing the same number of bit coins so the price goes up. this is very much like the dot-com bubble, back in the '90s only rich people had stockel brokers but then we saw the creation of e-trade and all of a sudden anybody could buy. you remember this. >> i just bought stock. you just saw me buy stock.

no big deal. i mean, you know, if i can do it, you can do it. whoa. >> i am is that little baby. >> oh, my gosh, he was on tv all the time. and it was interesting in that time living on silicon valley when you would hear a tip about something -- you could just buy it. >> if it's easy to buy people will, that's why we're seeing that price go up and up and up. a major surprise for metro riders in germany. ♪ >> okay. how cool is that? u2 front man bono with the edge put on a short concert surprising passengers in berlin. it was actually a promotional event for the group's new album

and i would say it was a fit. >> jimmy fallon does that a lot kind of under cover in new york. >> u2 and berlin did a -- at the metro. >> riding on the metro. perfect. all right. so standing out there, getting ready to get on the train this morning it is cold. oh, my goodness, you really have to make sure you wear some layers and here is a look at what you're feeling right now as you get ready to head out the door, maybe you will have a surprise concert once you get there. here is a look at the seven-day forecast coming up at the bottom of the screen. 36 degrees in morgan hill, santa rosa now at 33 degrees, it's a cold start but it will be warming up as we go through the day. up to 68 degrees in downtown san jose, oakland 64 degrees and for the peninsula, daly city and also down to palo alto some mid to upper 60s there. mission district 65 and we will be up to 67 today in sonoma. we still have this blocking pattern that keeps any rain from

moving into the bay area, really haven't seen much in the way of any clouds so it stays sunny and san francisco will keep those temperatures in the mid to upper 60s for the next couple of days, just a touch cooler once we get a change in the wind towards the weekend. inland areas nothing changing here, a very dry december to start. as we head over to mike an update on the bay bridge. >> we are looking over here, most of the bay shows green sensors, a little slowing through pleasanton and the altamonte corridor. there is a crash eastbound 92 el camino. we see no slowing, the transition from what i understand is open but i will track that since that is one of the only incidents on the chp blotter. a smooth drive over toward the bay bridge. the east shore freeway 15 minutes from highway 4 to the slowing we see with our live camera we spy these folks in the cash lanes including coming off of 880 and lane 14 which is still closed but that's over on

the right approach. the rest of the fast track lanes are great. coming up, keeping your family safe behind the wheel. new this morning the vehicles being ranked the safest in 2018. top safety picks for 2018.

morning the insurance institute for highway safety is out with its top safety picks for 2018. the head of the agency says that

the results of its crash tests are good news for all of us. this year 62 vehicles earned the institute's top safety pick award. 15 earned the highest award despite tougher criteria requiring better head lights and enhanced passenger side protection. vehicles go through a number of crash tests to show that they can protect everyone in the crash -- in the car. >> most drivers when they buy a car they think that their passenger is going to be protected as well as they are. so our new test is to try to achieve that. >> hyundai and subaru are companies with the most awards, the insurance institute says it's pleased with how well manufacturers are prioritizing safety. a reminder for you, riding on bart will cost you more in the new year. nearly 3% increase takes effect on january 1st. minimum fair will increase to $2 for adults, $1 for youth and 75 cents for seniors. blue ticket users will increase to $2.50. officials say their goal is to

get people to buy more clipper cards. our breaking news coverage of the southern california wildfires continues. this morning a wall of flames as you see right there surrounding most of southern california. we are live at firefighters rush to save those homes and lives as hurricane force winds move in. bart underground here in the south bay, the impact of the decision today could have on people in downtown san jose. breaking right now... wind-fuel

flames continues spreading across parts of southern califoia breaking right now, wind fuel flames continue spreading across parts of southern california. take a look right there, more than 200,000 people have been evacuated from their homes and today could be a major test for firefighters as they may have the battle those flames near hurricane force winds. we have live team coverage throughout the morning. good morning, thank you for joining us, i'm marcus washington. >> and i'm laura garcia. it's going to be a very tough fight for firefighters today. in our neck of the woods another cool start but looks like a nice finish by the afternoon. >> we walk out the door with temperatures in the upper 30s across much of the bay area. right now in livermore 37 degrees, santa rosa one degree above freezing so you may have some frost to deal with. also for the south county as the temperatures have been really chilly to start out. as we check out palo alto heading out to school today only 39 degrees at 9:00 and then as the day goes along it warms up

quickly. make sure you dress the kids in layers. i will talk more about what's ahead in the weekend forecast in seven minutes. mike was telling me about the babup at the bay bridge. >> this shot of the toll plaza, we had cash lanes filling in first. that looks like it will be the new pattern because lane 14 remains closed because of last weekend's deadly crash. the rest of the lanes fill in because the metering lights are turned on, it's the commute. thursday being a lighter flow. we see that only the slowing after the berkeley curve, west grand avenue is where things start to back up. no problems coming into the maze, a smooth drive through oakland and walnut creek an easy flow of traffic. we told you about an earlier crash on 84, there may be an earlier crash affecting is a little. we are checking with livermore

overnight. this is as thousands have already been forced to flee their homes. across so cal more than 200,000 people have been evacuated, more than 100,000 acres have already burned. some of the people living in ojai and ventura county are staying put. >> we caught up with some of the people doing what they can just to try to protect their own property. >> -- our roof and everywhere

around the property. oh, i'm scared, yeah, i'm scared. >> nbc bay area's jodi hernandez visited that area on wednesday, she says the town is stressed. the flames are now visible from even the downtown area. >> and it has been a get wrenching and terrifying couple of days for thousands of people up and down the southern california coast. >> including nbc's natalie morales, she's live in bel-air this morning where homes are still threatened this morning by that skirball fire. natalie, we listened in yesterday morning when you were speaking to our sister station knbc on the phone, with he heard the silence in the background, it sounded quite frightening, you were stuck in traffic as those flames were exploding near the getty center. >> reporter: yes, they were just exploding around there. that's the skirball fire and that fire threatened the homes here in this very wealthy neighborhood, the area of course of bel-air, one of the most famous neighborhoods in los angeles. this home where i'm standing is

one of the homes that suffered unfortunately some of the damage from that fire. now, there are still some hot spots here along the hillside. that fire really just erupted throughout the hillsides here, about 10,000 residents in this immediate area were evacuated but as you mentioned overall throughout los angeles this fire is one of four fires currently still a concern, especially as these winds are kicking up, we've been talking about the high winds and they're saying the threat today could be even worse, it could be at its worst today. so the concern still remains here. there are fire crews pretty much throughout the area, throughout this neighborhood, still canvassing the area, spraying down any hot spots, but this is certainly a situation where they're keeping a watchful eye once again today and especially watching what the winds do. >> most definitely. and it's so hard to see that destruction behind you. so reminiscent of the fires that hit our area, natalie. >> thank you, natalie. >> we will have continuing coverage coming up on the

"today" show this morning it starts at 7:00 right after "today in the bay." until then, stay with nbc bay area for instant coverage on the southern california wildfires. we will have that throughout the morning. 5:35. happening today we could learn more about what's next for bart's south bay expansion project. today they are expected to talk about building a tunnel under downtown san jose. bob redell is live in san jose with what else we could learn from today's meeting. bob? >> reporter: good morning. when bart's board of directors meets in a few hours they are expected to discuss how to connect the future berryessa bart station which as you can see is under construction behind me in san jose with the other bart stations planned for silicon valley. now, we've put this map up on the tv screen for you so you can get a better sense of what we're talking about. bart will be extending another six miles with stops at alum rock, downtown san jose, santa clara. when it goes downtown the tracks must tunnel underground. the question is should that tunnel be a single or double

bore. the valley transportation authority which is leading this project wants to do single bore, but according to the mercury news there are concerns about fire and safety. the paper reports that vta is now asking for another three months to finish its design for a 45-foot diameter single bore tunnel. that's an issue expected to be addressed in today's bart board meeting. the light rail agency has favored a single bore design, it would only take three years and two months to complete versus four years for the two by two -- two by two 20-foot tunnels and would be $50 million cheaper. the station extension into san jose and santa clara expected to be complete by 2026 at a cost of $4.7 billion. the new milpitas and berryessa bart stations scheduled to be opening up next june. reporting live in san jose, bob redell, "today in the bay." it is 5:36 right now. happening today, san francisco

police will hold a community meeting to answer questions about last week's deadly officer-involved shooting shooting. this as new details emerge about this investigation. sources tell nbc bay area the suspect was not armed. it happened last friday in the bay view neighborhood. we've showed it to you live on our midday newscast. a san francisco police officer shot and killed a man suspected of stealing a california lottery van assaulting the man driving it. this afternoon's meeting starts at 1:00 at san francisco community college. we are tracking new california laws. tell us about those. >> if you plan on taking a trip on a greyhound bus or any other commercial bus this year you will need to buckle up. that law is the first of its kind in the nation. it was inspired by this greyhound bus crash in san jose where two people were killed. it happened last year on highway 101 and highway 85 interchange. lack of reflection warning markers on the roadway was to blame. under the new law drivers and

passengers can be fined $20 for the first offense, $50 for a repeat offender. >> i remember that it was such a horrific accident. 5:38. 76 years ago america certainly changed forever. >> on december 7th, 1941 the japanese attacked pearl harbor in hawaii. that attack propelled the u.s. into world war ii, four u.s. battleships were sunk killing more than 2,300 americans. you are looking at some of that video from the attack. the bay area will honor the fallen today with an annual lighting of the beacon atop mt. diab diablo. this happens at 3:00. surviving veterans will be there as well as on the u.s.s. hornet in alameda. they will share their memories of that day. they altered the history of a lot of families in a lot of way. the rest of the bay not really altering your course on the freeway. smooth flow of traffic overall. a little more slowing over the east shore freeway coming through richmond approaching

golden gate field, and of course the lights on at the bay bridge. you have no i think brer impact to the travel times. a good flow down the east shore freeway and maze. a live shot at dublin, a live look out there, you see westbound looking good. the head lights were bunching up right around tassajara but looks like they have smoothed off. this is the north bay, southbound 101 the curves at ter ra linda, things are cold but the sham ra is not shivering. we have a blanket up there to keep it cold. a smooth drive down through novato as well. >> i still put that little blanket over my tree. i'm babying that thing. >> do you want frozen lemonade. >> i will make you lemon pie. >> really cold temperatures during the morning hours, that's the thing you have to do now this time of year and it's going to stay this way. cold mornings, but at least we do have the nice afternoons, that continues into the weekend as we look at saturday's forecast it's going to be in the

low to mid 60s from the coast to the bay, inland areas, upper 60s. i wouldn't be surprised if we had some 70s. then on sunday more of the same, it's still going to be really nice but of course we do have to start out with the 30s and 40s. if you're planning to head out this weekend here is one of the many events going on to celebrate the holidays, the napa lighted art festival, downtown napa, starts in the evening it's going to be at 59 degrees and look at how cold it gets as the evening goes along so you do have to wear a lot of layers to enjoy these events. there is in sausalito the lighted boat parade this on saturday evening as well, 57 degrees. cooling down with clear skies. we will be in the upper 40s later on that night. if you're going to monterey it's going to be a nice beach weekend. take a look at these highs into the low to mid 70s for both saturday and sunday. i think we will see a lot of sunshine and then if you're going hiking in muir woods mid 60s. mostly sunny skies, good weekend

for that. if you want warmer weather. maybe wine tasting in paso robles in the mid 70s, upper 70s by sunday and mostly clear skies. let me know what you're doing this weekend, follow me @karihallweather. i have the weekend forecast every morning right at about 5:38 and also 6:38, you may see it fee turatured right here. it's 5:41. coming up, first bart now caltrain, what's being done to prevent fare evasion. senator al franken will step on to the senate floor this morning, will he resign in we will take a look coming up when "today in the bay" continues.

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it's 5:44. as you get ready to head out it's another cold morning, yet we have some of the chilly temperatures during the early morning hours and shortly after sunrise. here is a live look outside in downtown san jose. christmas in the park all lit up. if you're going from evergreen to downtown san jose it's going to be in the low 40s to start out. we should be at 59 degrees but check that out, we will be at 67 today, very warm temperatures, and this continues in the forecast as we see more dry weather. we will talk about that coming up in a few minutes. as we speak the top number here may be getting bigger here, slowing through dublin, a crash over near santa rita, i have our live camera, i'm scanning the area, i will show you what i find coming up.

5:44 right now and fare evaders are not just a problem for bart and muni, caltrain sees its fair share. happening today they will discuss how to combat the issue. we are expecting to get an update on the agency's fare study. today's meeting is at 10:00 this morning in caltrain offices in san carlos. the fight to save net neutrality goes national. in palo alto grannies as old as # 6 years old joining in, i should say as young as 86. come on. the group raging gappees will protest at the verizon store in afternoon. the fcc is looking to scrap obama era rules that prevent service providers like verizon and at&t from blocking, slowing down or charging you ra extra for his or her websites. the fcc chairman wants to return the internet to a fee market he says. the president will likely come under fire from senator al franken this morning. >> franken will speak on the senate floor a few hours from

now, i can't wait to hear it. >> we expect franken will will announce he is resigning from the senate. we are not sure of that, but that's our best guess. we also expect franken will demand the same of donald trump. a total of seven women have said franken kissed them or otherwise treated them inappropriately more than 15 women have said the same of president trump. franken's spokesperson corrected a minnesota public radio report that said for sure franken was going to step down, saying they were only discussing it with family. so we don't know. what we do know is the senate opens at 7:00 our time, then there's usually some procedural stuff. so we will hear from franken sometime after 7:00. >> republican lawmakers say they are on the one yard line ready to ma i can a touchdown in tax cuts. their their words. both the house and senate have passed bills, now the two sides have to reconcile those differences in those tax cut bills. ideally before january 1st. the new tax year. >> this means the best christmas

gift we can give our constituents. the best holiday season greetings we can give our constituents is a faster growing economy that gives more wages, bigger paychecks and a simpler more fair tax system. >> ryan says the house will more quickly on reducing entitlements because he's concerned about the deficit. they will have entitlement reform. he says the tax bill that he's working on is something that is important, but remember, it adds a trillion dollars to the defic deficit. that's not me saying it, by the way, that's the non-partisan joint committee on taxation. so to sum this up the tax cut will add a trillion dollars to the deficit. ryan says he's worried about the deficit and will cut medicare and medicaid and welfare. there is a lot of republicans plate, potential government shutdown days away. at his cabinet meeting on wednesday president trump says they are discussing that and north korea. u.n. ambassador nikki haley hinting american athletes might

not attend the winter olympics in south korea due to the danger from the north. we take a look at what's going on in washington every day, we're always interested in your comments. you can reach me on twitter i'm @scottmcgrew. why don't you take a look at this one right now, this mama mountain lion and her eight month old kitten. you can't see the kitten just yet but take a look, it's coming, trust me. this is in sonoma county, normally we warn you about sightings such as this but celebrating this one. you can see the eyes in the background. >> here, kitty, kitty. >> no, kitty, kitty. >> the mom and cub survived the north bay wildfires. because they put up these new cameras because the old ones were destroyed by the fires they actually were able to capture them doing just fine. >> just so cuddly. >> cuddly, yeah. >> you don't want that in your

backyard. >> down, kitty, down. >> they have fur coats on, though. >> you will need one today. maybe not fur, but we are in the bay area. >> right. we are going to have to dress in layers this morning as you get ready to head out the door, going for that walk and also for the next several days, but i wanted to give you an update on the drought monitor. just came out a few minutes ago and let's take a look. we do have more of the state included in at least abnormally dry conditions and also a moderate drought. we know that it's been really dry in southern california and then as we get a closer look at what's happening in the bay area still not included and even abnormally dry conditions. we have had a little bit of rain last month, that helped us out and unfortunately we don't have any rain in the forecast. this is the same kind of setup that led us into the drought a few years ago. unfortunately once again no rain, we have a change in this pattern, kind of lined up along the pacific and it does not allow for any rain to move in.

hopefully we can get some rain in here by the end of the month but with these dry conditions also wide range in temperatures are cold works and warm afternoons we are 1 degree above freezing in santa rosa, san jose 40 degrees and 37 degrees in livermore. you can check out that seven-day forecast at the bottom of the screen. if you can believe it even though it's cold this morning it's actually ten degrees warmer now than it was yesterday morning in napa when you stepped out the door with high temperatures today much warmer, up to 70 degrees there. 68 degrees in san jose and in san francisco expect a high of 65 degrees. a live look outside right now in san jose, standing in front of the closet like what do i wear today? we already talked about this. layers, coat, maybe even the gloves. as the day goes along and the temperatures warm up you will be taking off the outer layers, you still need long sleeves and pants for the afternoon even with all of that sunshine. as you're heading out the door in the tri-valley getting ready for school, well, our temperatures will only be in the mid 30s, but look at where we go

as the day goes along, temperatures in the low 60s, san francisco up to 65 degrees today, even warmer tomorrow and we hold it study over the next few days. inland areas into the upper 60s throughout early next week. mike, you have an update on how it looks. >> looks pretty good except i will check the tri-valley. we have a few things going on for the tri-valley, nothing for the peninsula or south bay. nothing but speed limit for the most part. we are starting to see speeds dip a tad bit and this is the focus of your commute coming down 680 as well as 880. hayward just a light build over there. we will move over toward the tri-valley. we have a couple of things going on, a disabled vehicle just reported around stoneridge in the commute direction south 680 still moves and building through pleasanton. we will track that and i will go et more detail. i do have word there may be a closure for a, po of isabelle just off of 84 because of a crash on city streets, we are checking with livermore pd for more detail. i want to take a live look off of 580, that's where i did show you last night the traffic was

slowing down a tad bit by the tassajara off ramp. quickly from the roadway. the bay bridge toll plaza does have the backup because the metering lights are on. coming up a health warning for any woman taking birth control, more on the increased risk for breast cancer. >> at 5:52 first happening now general electric planning to cut 12,000 jobs from its power division. company says it's responding to dwindling demand for fossil fuel power plants. the cuts should save ge a billion dollars in 2018. shares are up this morning. new songs from jimmy hendrix will be released soon. the new album "both sides of the sky" will continue ten songs that have never been released. hendrix died at 1970 at the young age of 27. you )ve heard us talkab

at 5:55, welcome back to you. you've heard us talking about the chilly weather, you have to take some precautions at my house, i had to cover up my lemon tree out there. kari joining us again in a few minutes to tell us how long we have to get the blankets out for

our plants. 5:55, happening today, two men charged in the deadly ghost ship fire will be back in court. testimony for the preliminary hearing started yesterday. in total prosecutors are expected to call about two dozen witnesses. a man who was inside the ghost ship on the night of the fire shared his experiences yesterday. he said that he jumped out of a second story window to escape that fire. he wasn't able to recall where specific items were placed in the warehouse or who had ordered them put there. prosecutors say the two men were charged in this case and allowed to -- they actually allowed and encouraged tenants to use nonconventional building material in the warehouse. 36 people were killed in that fire last december. a judge will eventually decide if there is enough evidence to take this case to trial. 5:56. important health news this morning for millions of women who take birth control pills. a new study find the pills could increase the risk to for breast cancer. doctors had hoped that new forms of birth control using fewer hormones might be safer.

researchers with the new england journal of medicine followed 2 million women and found their breast cancer risk jumped by 20%. after ten years that risk grew to 38%. the increase might seem like a lot but overall the risk of developing breast cancer is still considered relatively low and researchers say obesity raises your odds more than birth control. >> millions of women are on hormonal contraceptives, it just means that each person really needs to look critically at their reason for taking it. >> the study also found it's not just pills that increase cancer risk, but any contraception that uses hormones. doctors say the study doesn't mean women should automatically stop taking birth control, but they should discuss the risk with their doctor. a follow-up this morning a week from today we will find out if sacramento will get a major league soccer expansion franchise. the sacramento mayor and executives from sacramento fc

made their pitch in new york yesterday and they had plenty of suppor support. >> you hear them chanting there. come on back. now, the group they were all smiles as you saw as they returned to sacramento international airport last night. fans made the trip to new york as well. take a look there, to help with the crucial pitch. the mayor says he likes sacramento's chances but they are going to have to do a lot of work over the next week to improve the city's bid. >> we made a great presentation, it was received well. we have some more work to do. we have a great bid, but we're going to work in the days ahead to make a great bid even stronger. >> now, the mayor was not specific about the leads for those improvements. sacramento is up against nashvil nashville, cincinnati and detroit for the bid. only two cities will be awarded expansion teams.

lyft is offering self driving car trips in boston. they are conducting a pilot program in the city's sea port district. cars will have humans behind the wheel for now who can take control if necessary. lyft is also working to deploy self driving taxis in san francisco and has agreements to develop vehicles for google's wamo. a new study finds alexa owners are buying more stuff. data shows amazon's echo device is helping sales, underscoring the potential as a major marketing tool. echo owners buying of items like diapers went up by 13% in the third quarter. amazon is actually testing a service to let customers order items from brands alexa app and pick them up in the store. 6:00 right now. winds creating major problems for firefighters in southern california. we are live on the ground with dangerous conditions and the ongoing fire fight. plus reducing traffic in the bay area. the new bridge idea officials

are looking into as they try to ease that commute. and we are off to another cold start in the bay area with temperatures in the 30s in some spots. grab the gloves. meteorologist kari hall tracking the chilly conditions "today in the bay" continues right now. i literally dug through the closet set, here is a left one, here is another left one. you have to do what you can do. good morning, thanks for joining us, i'm laura garcia. >> and i'm marcus washington. you will have to get those gloves out because it is cold out there. >> you may find people or see people wearing those nonmatching gloves. >> it's stylish, right? >> you can set a new style trend here in the bay area. why not? because we don't have to get them out all that often, do we? it's still been very cold as we take a live look outside in san jose, christmas in the park that gets you in the mood for the holidays and as you head out for school this morning just another whole week of school left. we have temperatures starting out in the upper 30s at 7:00 and then it warms up