a very good christmas morning to you. i'm laura garcia. >> i eechl marcus washington. as we begin your christmas morning, thank you for being with us as we open it with you. >> it's going to be a great start this morning. a lot of people have to work this morning, so we are going to get you started. it's cold outside, again. as we go through the day, it's going to make it a little warmer than yesterday. look at that. we are back in the upper 30s n. north bay. 43 degrees in oakland and 42 in san jose. as we go into the afternoon, it is going to reach the mid to upper 50s. still clouds lingering overhead. talk about when the skies clear and what's ahead for the rest of the week. that's coming up in a few minutes. >> thank you very much, kari. at 6:00, we are following breaking news. major back ups along interstate 880 and hayward southbound lanes after a crash involving chp officers.

we have been bringing this story since we came on air at 4:30 this morning. investigate continues. anser hassan is live. any updates on the officers involved and what happened in this crash? >> reporter: good morning, laura. still no update on the condition of those two officers. i spoke with chp a short while ago. they did confirm the two officers are in the hospital. as you look behind me, this is a patrol car involved in the crash. you can see how hard the back of the patrol car was hit. investigators have been on scene since midnight. chp says the collision happened sometime after 11:30 a.m. last night. this is 880 southbound near winton avenue across from the mall in hayward. chp says two officers were injured. again, we don't know how bad their injuries are at this time. we do know that the driver of the other car that hit them was also taken to the hospital. if you are planning on driving through the area, know that

traffic is already a mess. all of southbound 880 through hayward is shut down because of this investigation. all five lanes of traffic are being diverted to a single lane exit "a" street causing huge delays. we are expecting an update around 9:00 a.m. as far as southbound 880 to highway 92, that is expected to be closed for at least several more hours. anser hassan, "today in the bay." >> thank you for the latest there. stay with nbc bay area for continuing coverage of the breaking news story. we'll bring live reports as we learn more throughout the morning. developing in san francisco, forced from their homes, at least four people are looking for another place to stay this christmas morning after an overnight fire that quickly spread. that fire broke out just around 1:30 this morning near prospect and virginia avenue. the crew at the scene spoke with san francisco fire this morning.

they were told three homes were impacted with the fire starting in the front of one of those homes, this is before spreading to two others. this is what people living around the fire said. >> i heard a bang and there was an explosion. i saw an explosion. you know, flames, so, it was very sudden. that's what i saw. >> i heard her freaking out, then i didn't know what was going on. she said look outside and, yeah, it was up in flames. >> the good news here, none of the people were hurt while trying to get out of their homes. there's no clear sign of what started the fire. fire investigators in the south bay trying to figure out what caused a christmas eve house fire. it started in a garage, then spread to the rest of the home. it was a block from san jose's hillview airport. the owner was home at the time, but he is okay.

firefighters say one bedroom was destroyed as well as the garage. the homeowner lived there for 40 years. developing this morning, another attack on the tracks. a group of teenagers attacked a bart rider over the weekend. this time they were able to track them down. this happened saturday evening on a richmond bound train. the attack happened on a train arriving at the north bay station. police say about a dozen teenagers took that victim's phone. bart police were able to catch several of them. we spoke with one bart rider who says everyone needs to be aware of their surroundings. >> beef up security and people need to be more cautious. >> reporter: had you heard of these things before? >> i heard a few things about bart in the past, but they still need to be more cautious. >> the victim wasn't able to identify the teen who took his phone and police weren't able to find it.

there have been similar situations at bart over the past year. new video to show you this morning. troops in afghanistan, celebrating. u.s. troops stationed at the air force base celebrated christmas. they spoke about their holidays. >> i miss my family. i normally would be at home with them in texas celebrating christmas shortly. but, it is an honor to serve. >> being here not just the united states but we have made a lot of progress with our afghan partners. they have turned the corner. we will be here for a while and seeing progress from them in terms of them taking over their own mission and doing what they need. >> this is good. i'm a corn bread dressing fan

and this is corn bread. it's good. >> can't go wrong with pie. that is the largest military base in afghanistan. wish the troops well there. happening now, dozens of volunteers are helping the salvation army prepare meals to serve 4,000 people. >> imagine working in that kitchen this morning. it's got to be busy. pete suratos is live at the salvation army central kitchen. a lot going on. the buzz is happening behind you there, pete. >> reporter: yes, yes. good morning to you, laura and marcus. a lot happening. when you think about it, these folks got here around 5:00 a.m. to pack 4,000 meals. before opening their christmas presents, they are doing this. i want to show you guys, the folks working hard, donna is working hard, putting together those meals. what is it like? >> so fulfilling. so much fun. >> reporter: i bet. >> the best place to be right now. >> reporter: what's in there? what do you have there? >> baked ham, pineapple, sweet

potatoes and mixed vegetables. >> reporter: i'll let you get back to work. we are going to talk to executive chef anthony. thanks for joining us. merry christmas to you. >> merry christmas to you. >> reporter: talk about the craft for this. we are talking 4500 meals. when did you start doing this? >> we started bringing stuff in last week. we started preparing the yams and hams this week. there was a group of volunteer that is come in every year and help. this couldn't be done without volunteers. >> reporter: these volunteers, we are talking 40 volunteers, backing 1,000 meals an hour, then where? >> down the street and distributed by more volunteers throughout san francisco to those who can't leave their homes today. >> reporter: that community, we are talking seniors, folks that are home bound. this is a big deal for them when they get the meals on christmas day.

>> reporter: more than the meals, greetings, merry christmas, human touch that is involved in it. some of these people won't see anybody but those who deliver the meals to them. >> reporter: we were talking a bit about this off camera. you have been out to the sights. what is it like when grow there and talk to them on christmas day and hand them that meal? >> everybody is very thankful for the meal and not only that, the love and energy that goes into making these. >> reporter: now, you must be exhausted from doing this? >> yes. it gets tiring, but we have a lot of great volunteers that help us, great staff. we come and do this. this is my tenth year doing this. i love doing it every year. >> reporter: how does it feel this year? what it is like every year when you do this? >> like this year, we seem to have more people than last year. i like it.

my thoughts on these people coming here years and years. great to see them. >> reporter: any special moments that jump out to you when you deliver the meals? >> when people come up to you and thank you and give you a sincere thanks and tell you they probably wouldn't have had a meal today if it wasn't for our efforts. that makes it. >> reporter: you are doing good work, chef. i'm sure they are going to enjoy that meal. >> thank you. >> reporter: have a merry christmas. >> merry christmas. >> reporter: they are going to be here until 7:00 a.m. packing up the meals. like i said, 4500 meals. 40 people in here putting together all those meals, 1,000 meals per hour, giving them to folks about 7:30 a.m. we will be here and do a quick ride along with them later today. >> oh, pete, i have done that before. to deliver the meals and see the look on people's faces is so

rewarding. you are going to enjoy it. thank you. >> reporter: definitely. >> talking with the chef who is so busy. that's part of it, that giving spirit. >> yeah. as they head out this morning, they will need to wear a nice warm coat. bundle up. as we look at christmas in the park at 6:10, getting ready this morning maybe you'll be heading out here later today. it will be a nice one with the temperatures reaching the mid-60s. there will be mostly cloudy skies and hold temperatures down a few degrees. looking at san francisco, it will be 48 degrees starting out at 8:00. mostly cloudy skies and breezy winds and seeing the high temperature there, reaching the mid-50s. i'll have a look at palo alto's temperature trend in three minutes. >> thank you. 6:10 right now. coming up next on "today in the bay" on this christmas day, the tale of a little girl and a stray dog that will surely melt your heart. >> she told me, cause you can talk to dogs in your brain.

she told me if mom stayed in the truck she would come to me. >> is she a dog whisperer? find out what happens next when we return on this christmas morning. you are watching "today in the bay."

right now at 6:13, pretty quiet out there as we take a live look outside. this is 101 moving through palo alto and it's all clear and cool

this morning. we will start to see more clouds moving in. we'll be at 43 degrees at 8:00. noontime temperature, 55 and 57 later today. nice cool start to the week, then we will be warming up, but staying dry. more on that coming up in five minutes. >> thank you very much, kari. things certainly not moving along. 880 southbound. you can see investigators still in the middle of the interstate after a chp cruiser was involved in a crash. another car rear ended it sending two chp officers to the hospital including the driver of the other car. anser hassan is on the scene gathering information for us. as the investigation continues, all the cars, traffic on the roadway are being let out of and back on to the freeway as a big stretch is shut down. 6:14 right now. if you are to base it on the number of views on our website,

this next story would be far and away the most popular bay area proud story of 2017. >> something you have to see. hundreds of thousands of viewers captivated by garvin thomas' story of a 6-year-old dog whisperer. take a look. >> reporter: there is only so much life experience one can really gain by the age of 6. >> out riding bikes. >> reporter: when it's the right experience experience, as megan showed the adults in her life, including her mom, karen, it can make all the difference. >> she taught me a huge lesson that day. >> reporter: the story begins in the fields and orchards of hollister, where last winter, people began spotting a stray dog. the hollister animal lost and found was on the case. they learned the dog escaped two days after being adopted and clearly had no interest in going back. >> she was in what we call fight

or flight mode. >> reporter: deanna and her experienced rescue team tried and tried and failed for two months to catch the dog. >> i have done animal rescue, but traps and baiting with smelly foods was not working. the only way to get her to earn, to be able to earn her trust is get someone she might remember. >> reporter: which is where megan comes in. you see, megan and her mom foster and train rescue dogs in their morgan hill home. 75, in just the past year alone. >> we have done therapy dogs and trained other dogs. she has retrained several puppies. >> reporter: one of those dogs, it turns out, was daisy, the hollister stray. it was only in their home a few weeks. >> her bond with megan was uncanning. >> reporter: which is why they

drove to hollister to see what they could do and saw daisy sitting in a field. karen started shooting video and wasn't the one who told megan what to do next. megan said that was daisy. >> she told me, you can talk to dogs in your brain, she told me if mom stayed in the struck she would come to me and i believed it. >> reporter: out megan went. laid down in the middle of the field and waited. >> i didn't have a plan. i just started doing. i used all my experience with the dogs. >> reporter: daisy was cautious at first, but then, this dog, who had run from every well meaning adult, looking to help her, finally surrendered to the charm of a 6-year-old dog whisperer. >> good girl. i am so proud of my kid. i was just amazed. i could not believe my eyes. >> there's no way to watch that

and not cry. >> the best foster dog i ever had. >> reporter: megan and daisy have had fun catching up since then, but won't be staying together. they want to keep rescuing other dogs, so they found a new home for daisy. they will be in touch, though. some bonds, clearly are never meant to be broken. in hollister, garvin thomas, nbc bay area news. >> good bond there. hey, 49ers bonded with their new quarterback, jimmy g. shining out, completing 21 of 30 passes with two touchdowns. >> it's awesome. things are going good right now. there's a buzz in the air, you can feel it as soon as you walk in the stadium. the crowd going nuts, just in

pregame. it's exciting. i mean, it's, i don't know, it's a nice thing to be part of. >> yeah, he's been leading the way. fans are saying the same thing about him, they are loving this winning streak. 49ers ended upbeating jacksonville jaguars 44-33. >> first time we saw a score like that in nfl history. 44-33. a big christmas gift for the 49ers fans. >> absolutely. you may be opening up your 49ers jersey this morning as a christmas gift. it is going to be a nice day. also, taking the kids out to test out their new ride. san francisco, all clear. it is cool. unfortunately, we are going to still have this unhealthy air quality lingering across the bay area. south bay and north bay, getting the worst of it with unhealthy air for sensitive groups. if you have breathing problems, limit your time outside. no wood burning. this makes it worse. as we get a look at what it

feels like this morning, cool temperatures starting out with low 40s and 48 degrees now in san francisco. north bay, a chilly 38 degrees as you get ready to head out for work this morning. it's up to 57 in santa rosa and 57 in palo alto. san jose, 59 degrees. check out the forecast at the bottom of the screen. no rain, if you are heading to the hiking trails, spending time with family, going outside is going to be a nice one. once again, if you have breathing problems, hiking not the best idea. 53 degrees at 10:00 and very nice at 56 degrees. at 1:00 today, we will see these clouds overhead. it's been such a dry december. take a look at some of the numbers. in santa rosa, .08 inch. we are missing five inches of rain. it's going to take a lot to catch up with that. in oakland, .09 inch there. we are missing 2.75 inch.

in san jose, almost two inches of rain lacking. unfortunately, there is no rain in the forecast this week. a strong area of high pressure bloc blocks us from getting rain. it stays well to the north. the temperatures in san francisco, mid to upper 50s. inland areas, mid to upper 60s for the rest of the week. i'll have another quick look at the forecast coming up later. >> thanks so much, kari. next on "today in the bay," are kids already opening their presents? when it comes to gifting, is it better to give a lot or a little to children? what a new study says is good for your kids. the law says gift cards cannot expire, until some expire. i'll show you which cards might lose value in the next few weeks. i'm consumer investigator, chris chmura. nbc bay area responds, next.

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cards. nbc bay area responds to a lot of complaints about gift cards. >> and we anticipate more since people will give more than $25 billion in gift cards this year alone. chris chmura has a reminder not all cards in your stocking are created equally. >> our team have heard from 43 different people with gift card concerns. i want to talk about the bonuses stores are dishing out right now. they are actually pretty good, a decent deal, but there's an

important restriction. some stores are going to say, buy $100 gift card, get a $20 bonus. here is the thing, you get two cards with two sets of rules. the $100 gift card cannot expire. they prohibit cards from expiring on you. our $20 bonus card is a different story. it might expire, legally. technically, this is not a gift card. these bonus cards are promotional cards, so stores can apply expiration dates to them. fair warning, many of the bonus cards we are seeing are only good for a few weeks into the new year. if you are enticed into buying the card, read the fine print so you don't let the extra money expire. if you have a problem with the gift card, call 888-996-tips or www.nbcbayarea.com. merry christmas. >> merry christmas to you, too, chris. on this morning when many

kids are ripping open the presents, a study suggests fewer gifts are better. researchers at the university of toledo did a stud ndoy to see h kids play with toys. they were distracted when given 16 toys, but played more creatively with toys when they were given only 4. breaking news in the east bay. a crash involving chp officers. what we are learning about their conditions, coming up next. >> reporter: dozens of people are up bright and early in san francisco, packing up thousands of meals for a good cause. i'll tell you where they are heading after the break. you are watching "today in the bay." my wish was a clubhouse,

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taking a live look outside from right now, at 6:30 on christmas morning, taking a live look outside from downtown san jose, christmas in the park, all illuminated. we have been waiting for this day all yearlong and here we are. merry christmas to you, thanks for joining us, i'm laura garcia. >> i'm marcus washington. >> everybody out christmas cheer this morning. a lot of people getting ready to go to mass. kari has a look at the forecast for this christmas morning. >> it's another one you have to

bundle up. good morning. our temperatures start out in the upper 30s in the north bay. napa, 39 degrees. 43 in oakland and in san jose, 42 degrees. then look at the high temperatures today. we are back in the mid to upper 50s. there will be clouds rolling through, especially as we go through the day. it all clears out. unfortunately, there's not a lot of rain in this forecast. we'll talk about that and the weekend coming up in seven minutes. >> thank you very much, kari. 6:30, we are following breaking news this monday morning. major back ups along southbound interstate 880 and hayward after a crash involving chp officers. this is video from the scene. anser hassan has been live out there this morning, since we came on air at 4:30 this morning. do we know the conditions of the officers at all? there were two of them in that patrol car? >> reporter: yeah, laura, still no update on their condition.

i spoke with chp, they did confirm both officers are in the hospital with injuries. this is a patrol car that was hit in the crash. you can see how hard the back of the patrol car was hit. investigators have been out here since midnight. they say the collision happened some time after 11:30 p.m. last night. we are looking at 880 southbound and winton avenue. chp says both officers were injured. again, we don't know how bad their injuries are at this time. the driver of the other car that hit them was taken to the hospital. after driving through the area this morning, expect huge delays. all of southbound 880 through hayward is shut down because of this investigation. the five lanes of traffic being diverted to a single lane exit "a" street, causing gridlock through the area. we are expecting an update from chp around 9:00 a.m. they were hoping to have 880 open by 7:00

a.m. that's unlikely to happen. southbound 880 to highway 92, still closed. we'll keep you updated when that reopens on air and online. anser hassan, "today in the bay." >> we know you will keep following that story, thank you so much. developing in san francisco, forced from their homes, at least four people are looking for another place to stay this christmas morning after a fire overnight that quickly spread. the fire burned out around 1:30 this morning near prospect and virginia avenue. our crew was at the scene and spoke to san francisco fire. three homes were impacted with the fire starting in the front of one home before spreading to two others. here is what neighbors had to say. >> i heard a bang and there was an explosion. i saw an explosion. you know, flames. so, it was very sudden. that's what i saw. >> i heard her freaking out. then, i didn't know what was

going on, then she said look outside and yeah, it was up in flames. >> good news in all of this, none of the people were hurt trying to get out of their burning homes. still not clear how the fire started. developing this morning, investigators hope to learn more about a small plane crash in florida that killed five people. a 70-year-old lawyer and his daughters were among the dead. the group was trying to take a day trip christmas eve morning when their plane went down 50 miles southwest of orlando. visibility was less than a quarter mile at that time. it's going to be a white christmas in new england. crews spent yesterday preparing the roads. eight inches of snow is in the forecast. cape cod could see wind gusts of 60 miles an hour. it's the same storm system that brought snow to the midwest and the great lakes yesterday. >> there was a lot of holiday

cheer in the south bay. nbc bay area was there as six food trucks provided food for the homeless in st. james park in san jose. volunteers handed out warm clothing, blankets and toothbrushes for those in need. >> very gratifying to everybody here today. a lot of homeless people in san jose here. >> it's nice to see 4300 homeless in san jose, nice to see the help. they sleep outside on the street. >> so many people helping this time of year. dozens of volunteers helping the salvation army in san francisco serve meals to 4,000 people. >> imagine working in that kitchen this morning. pete suratos is live in the kitchen where the workers have been up earlier than us, pete. >> reporter: yes, they have been. they have been up here since

about 5:00 a.m. at the salvation army center in san francisco packing up more than 4500 or nearly 4500 meals. those meals are going to go to folks in need. we are talking seniors and folk that is are home bound. i want to show you what they are packing up. we have the yams here and the vegetables and the ham over there. that's going to comprise the meal as they pack up. the volunteers are doing a lot of work. 1300 pounds of ham and 960 pounds of vegetables. we are back here with lieutenant foley. that is a lot of ham and vegetables going to people this christmas day. >> it's a lot. there are a lot of people here, 4500 people that are going to get a lovely meal today. >> reporter: talk about the folks that are going to get these meals. we are talking communities that need them. >> people are going to receive this are seniors or home bound

individuals that may not have a lot of contact with others today. so, we have an army of volunteers, over 400 people that are going to deliver the meals in the next couple hours. it's a chance for human contact and a greeting on christmas day. >> reporter: we are showing viewers at home, how the meals are packaged. i talked to the executive chef in the last report. he mentioned, this is more than a meal for them. when they get the human contact on this special day, on christmas day, kind of seeing their reaction. it's really important. >> it is important. there's a lot of emotions that happen on this day, good and bad. sometimes people are forgotten. we are reminding the community, the salvation army hasn't forgotten. we are thankful for the volunteers. >> reporter: great work you are doing today, but other projects you have upcoming in the next year. >> you know, the salvation army has been in san francisco over

130 years. here in the bay area, we are helping this christmas over 5,000 people. we have been very active in the north bay fires as you might be aware. in southern california, we continue to serve. the salvation army needs have no season. we are here 365 days a year serving the community. all the support we can get helps us with our year round work. >> reporter: a lot of work you are doing with the meals. thank you so much. tim foley. good work being done. i was handed these numbers on my napkin of how many meals they put together. so far, 1,280 meals in the first hour. they have to hit that 4,424. we are going to a lot of people in need. >> all right. that's great to see. really, really is. thank you, pete. we are working on christmas as

well. some of us are looking forward to the weekend. >> it's new year's eve this weekend. >> oh, my. >> a lot of people making plans. if you are going to a party, it is going to be nice. let's look at those numbers. it will start in the 30s and 40s. look at the highs. up to 60 degrees for the coast. the bay 62 degrees and 65 degrees for the inland valleys. new year's eve, cool in the day and at night. more clouds moving in and highs up to 63 degrees. if you are going to heavenly this weekend, maybe you and the family will be watching the fireworks over lake tahoe. no snow, so no issues getting there. sunny throughout the weekend with mild temperatures. heading south, 75 in l.a. on friday and saturday, 71 degrees. just a touch cooler on sunday. still very nice.

keeping it closer to home, heading to the beach, 66 degrees in santa cruz on friday. saturday, 64 degrees and on sunday, look for a high of 62 degrees. we have a nice weekend ahead. let's talk about what we'll have in between. that's in the forecast, coming up in a few minutes. marcus and laura? >> thanks a lot, kari. coming up, the story changing u.s. veterans lives forever. >> did you give the right gift? a lot of questions we have this morning. the moment of truth as presents are open this morning. the top gifted items and requested items. the time is 6:39. you are watching "today in the bay" on this christmas morning.

good morning. merry christmas. right now, at 6:42, you head out the door to cool temperatures. if you are going out to christmas in the park, it's going to be nice and milder later on today. reaching the upper 50s and low 60s, a lot of clouds mixing in with the sun and as we go to tonight, back to 56 degrees at 7:00. we'll take a look ahead to what else to expect as the week goes along, coming up in five minutes. >> thank you, kari. 6:42 right now. we are continuing to keep our

eye on the breaking news we are following since we came on air this morning. on 880 southbound near winton, a police investigation continues this morning as the chp suv you see there was rear ended by the driver of another car. we know two officers were taken to the hospital. we don't know their condition, so far. we know the driver of the other car, as well, was taken to the hospital. the investigation continues out there. 880 southbound at winton, completely shut down. you see no cars going through this stretch of highway. they are being diverted off and back on the freeway. we have nbc bay area's anser hassan on the scene getting new information. a veteran is back in the u.s. legally for the first time. we documented hundreds of honorably discharged veterans deported over the years to their

native country after committing a crime. they are being deported even though they are able to be u.s. citizens. governor brown looked at that and granted clemency to three of them. senior investigator stephen stock joins us. >> reporter: with supporters at the mexican border holding signs of welcome, marco chavez walked into the u.s. and up to a stand full of microphones nearly unrecognized. after all, he had been gone from the u.s. nearly 15 years. only then did dozens of transit center swarm the honorably discharged marine. he told the crowd he was so thrilled to return to the u.s., he hadn't slept the night before. >> very excited. i was in disbelief. i believe it now. >> reporter: his parents brought

him to the u.s. as a 1-year-old. as he got older, he enlisted in the marines and discharged after serving four years. then he got in trouble with the law, serving ten months in prison on animal cruelty charges. >> i'll be with my family. wake up and hug them. >> reporter: nbc bay area traveled to tijuana, mexico to talk to veterans deported under the same u.s. policy. they had not been told about nor given the opportunity to become citizens while they served in the military. we documented 300 of these veterans living overseas. did the military drop the ball? >> yeah. >> reporter: assemblyman nathan fletcher could not believe it happened for decades. >> anyone willing to die for their country, should have a country willing to give them citizenship. >> reporter: jerry brown granted clemency to them, including

chavez. >> it's good to use it as an example to open the door for other veterans. >> fletcher, aclu and other human rights advocates are calling on congress to change the policy to allow them to return. there is a bill under consideration right now on capitol hill. so far, neither congress nor the administration are inclined to move that bill forward. if you have a story for our unit, call 888-996-tips or e-mail the unit at www.nbcbayarea.com. 6:46 right now. new this morning, millions of people opening gifts this year, maybe even right now. we have an idea of the top gifts of the year. clothing is once again the most popular gift this year according to the national retail federation. gift cards came in a close second and books a distant third. the most wanted holiday gift, a whopping 41% of you wanted gift cards, according to a wallet hub

survey. clothing and electronics are the runners ups there. consumers aren't afraid of making an exchange. 54% of all holiday gifts were exchanged or altered last year, according to data from gift now. consumer reports issuing a warning this holiday about kids and magnets. be careful, they brought up concerns in the past because they can be swallowed. now, there's legal restriction on strong magnets, banning them for children under the age of 14. consumer reports found many listings online didn't specify the age restriction or listed an age recommendation that is not consistent with that packaging. christmas morning has arrived. santa is back at the north pole after delivering all those presents. >> he was so busy. we have video of santa when he arrived in the area. >> norad detected santa arriving

san francisco as he flew by the golden gate bridge. >> a lot of fun there. look at those reindeer busy at work. norad track santa's journey every single year. they released this fattaootage showing santa passing the san francisco skyline. santa's elves are big fans of san francisco. when they can, they love to ride the cable cars. they get a lot of good ideas, inspiration for toys every year. san francisco is one of the last stops on santa's list across the continental u.s. every year. there are a lot of good boys and girls out there. >> waking up to smiles. the president and first lady spent their christmas eve talking to them about santa's journey. ryan, a 5-year-old boy's wish was for his grandmother to get out of the hospital. the president agreed that would

be better than any toy. the calls were routed to their mar-a-lago es kate in palm beach. that is where they are spending christmas. >> good to see. >> santa had clear skies in the area. >> we did that last night. we tracked santa and seeing the trip around the world. it's a lesson in world geography. it's a lot of fun. my 6-year-old was like, okay, now i'm ready to go to bed. also thumbs up on norad's part. as we check out the live look in san francisco, all clear skies this morning. it's going to be another day where we have to watch out for that unhealthy air quality. if you have breathing problems, it's not going to be a good day for you. no wood burning. everything we put in the atmosphere gets trapped here because we don't have a lot of moving air and we have high pressure moving in that's going to keep the air sinking. as we look at the temperature, starting out this morning, we

are in the mid-30s in fairfield. 39 in napa. o oakland 46. the high temperature for this afternoon, 59 degrees. you can check out that seven day forecast at the bottom of the screen. come over and take a look if you are making plans for the week. it's going to be a mild one. it starts cool today with mid to upper 50s. getting dressed this morning because we have those 30s and 40s, make sure you are wearing a hat. lots of layers. early on, you will take off the coat. start that way to keep you nice and warm. i saw a dude running yesterday with short sleeves and shorts on. if you can do that, it's going to be at 48 degrees in san jose and a slow warm up throughout the afternoon into the upper 50s. then you can make it a beach day. go out there and take your christmas pictures on the beach. going to half-moon bay, up to 59 degrees as we go into the rest of the day. looking ahead, unfortunately,

there's no rain in this forecast. we are going to see a strong area of high pressure setting up. it's going to keep it clear and also more cool mornings over the next several days. san francisco staying in the mid to upper 50s. inland up to 65 degrees by the end of the week. i'll have another look at the forecast coming up in seven minutes. >> we look forward to it. thank you, carry. next on "today in the bay," a quick look at the top stories, including all the action that's happening right now. salvation army and the kitchen in san francisco are preparing food to feed thousands of people today. it is all happening right there. pete suratos joins us live with a look at what's happening. first, also happening now this morning, sadly, at least 20 people have been killed in northern philippines after a passenger bus collided with a van taking people to a christmas mass at church. it happened in the early morning hours. it's not clear what caused that

crash. at home, a lot of cooking going on in san francisco. everyone is invited to join in the fun at 8:00. hundreds of people are volunteering on this christmas day. we'll be back here in two minutes. hope you stick around.

welcome back. before you head out the door, here are the top stories on today 6:54 right now on this christmas morning.

welcome back. before you head out the door, here are the top stories on "today in the bay." >> we are following breaking news. major back ups along southbound 880 in hayward after a crash involving chp officers overnight. look at that car. anser hassan is live along the freeway as he has been all morning long with a look at what happened. we are concerned about everyone's well being. >> reporter: that's right, laura. as of right now, no update on the condition of the two officers. i spoke with chp a short while ago. they did confirm both officers were taken to the hospital with injuries. if you look behind me, this is a patrol car involved in the accident. you can see how hard they were hit. this is 880 southbound in hayward. it happened sometime after 11:30 p.m. last night. chp says the two officers were injured. again, we don't know how bad their injuries are at the time. the driver of the other car was

taken to the hospital. if you are planning on driving through the area, expect huge delays. all of southbound 880 through hayward is shut down because of the investigation and it has been gridlocked all morning. chp says they were holding 880 open by 7:00 a.m. by the looks of it, that's not supposed to happen. we will continue to bring you updates live on air throughout the rest of the morning. live in hayward, anser hassan, "today in the bay." >> thank you very much. now to san francisco, at least four people are looking for another place to stay on this christmas morning after an overnight fire that spread quickly. a fire broke out around 1:30 near prospect and virginia avenue. we spoke with san francisco fire this morning. we are told three homes were impacted. the fire starting in the front of one of those homes before spreading to the others. it is not clear how that fire started. at 6:56, fire investigators

trying to figure out what caused a christmas eve house fire that started in a garage then spread to the rest of the home. it was on mendona avenue, a block away from the airport. the owner wasn't home at the time, but said to be okay. one bedroom was destroyed as well as the garage. the homeowner lived there 40 years. another attack on bart. a group of teenagers attacked a bart rider over the weekend. the police were able to arrest some of the attackers. a bart rider was attacked on the train just before it arrived at the north bay station. police say that a swarm of about a dozen teenagers took the victim's phone. the teams tried to get away. bart police were able to catch several of them. happening right now, volunteers are helping the salvation army prepare meals for thousands of people. >> such a great way to give.

pete suratos has been live at the salvation army's central kitchen. they serve up 4,000 meals, pete? >> reporter: yeah, they have a good amount of meals to go. they are making a lot of progress. these are the meals they are making. baked ham, mixed vegetables and fresh yams. as they put together the meals, here is the prep process. folks are putting them together for a good cause. we are talking 4500 meals distributed to seniors or folks that are home bound. really folks that are in need of that christmas day meal and to meet some of the folks. we were going to talk to a volunteer, but she left for the moment. so far, they have made 1200 meals and they will distribute them at 7:30 a.m. any message for viewers? >> merry christmas. we are about half way through. >> reporter: she is working so

hard this morning. all of them are. the meals are going out in a half hour. merry christmas to you guys in the news room. >> same to you. than thanks for coming in this morning, we appreciate it. for all the folks working hard out there. >> including kari hall. >> it's a cold morning. some people are heading out the door. we have seen light traffic around the bay area. it is looking good on this chilly morning. then the high temperatures reaching the mid-50s in san francisco. that's pretty much where we'll stay all week long. no rain in the forecast. i was hoping santa would bring some yesterday, but not happening right now. we'll hold out the hope for the new year. but, over the next several days, it's going to be much warmer than where we should be and also helping to keep us warm this morning, we have bourbon balls in the news room. >> that's going to be a good midday show. >> make sure you join. >> we'll be back in a half hour with local news updates.

thank you so much for joining us. really every day throughout the new year, have a blessed christmas. >> don't forget to join us at 11:00. as we say good-bye from "today in the bay" at christmas in the park. ♪ good morning. and merry christmas. breaking news, santa has just delivered all of his packages, as christians around the world celebrate one of the holiest days on the calendar. millions of children are waking up to hopes of that special something left under the tree. and we hope all is merry and bright where you are, as we celebrate this christmas morning today, monday, december 25th, 2017. ♪ >> from nbc news, this is "today," from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. good morning. welcome to "today." merry