a live look ode hi, there. it is the first day of 2018. let's look live for the first time this year at the bay bridge, looking very lovely, clear there. also clear in the south bay. thanks for joining us, i'm kris sanchez in for laura garcia. >> i'm marcus washington in with kari hall. happy new year. >> happy new year. >> it starts nice. we have rain in the forecast this week, but not today. we will continue on with sunshine. a live look outside at the bay bridge as you head out this morning. another spare the air alert day. no wood burning. for the coast, it will be unhealthy to be outside if you have breathing problems, inland,

east bay as well as the santa clara valley. the high temperatures reaching low to mid-60s. ift it's going to be a great one. we'll talk about what's ahead coming up. >> there you have it. 2018 welcome to the bay area kicking off the new year in style. fireworks lit up the night skies as the clock struck midnight. people from all across the globe came to the embarcadero to ring in the new year. >> they always do. we have residents and visitors that showed up early to get the best view. >> reporter: they brought blankets and snacks and came across from the state, country and grove to be here. >> chicago. >> sydney, australia. >> reporter: coming to watch the fireworks along the bay is a

yearly tradition for a family from modesto. >> i brought my son, who doesn't want to be on camera, my sister and fiance. >> reporter: she is decked out with glowing glasses and t-shirt. the group gets bigger and bigger. the family from chicago is bundled up, but not like the temperatures they have been dealing with at home. the group from australia, they have been traveling through california for weeks and wanted to ring in the new year here in san francisco. >> very excited. here we are. we are waiting for the fireworks. >> reporter: san francisco police mobilized hundreds of officers for the event. in an effort to keep the public informed, if there is an emergency, the city set up public address displays and telling people to sign up for alerts to their phones. >> way warmer than chicago. way warmer than new york with

the clean up that begins following the new year's eve celebration. more than a million people braved bone chilling temperatures to see the ball drop. there were cancellations of some events across the country. it felt like one below in new york. that's cold. >> the rest of the world rang in the new year from dubai, hong kong, new zealand and hungary. north korea put on an extravagant show. look at that colorful display in sydney. they are celebrating the passage of same-sex marriage. we have a slide show of all the celebrations on our website, www.nbcbayarea.com. it is 4:33. happening today, a new year means new laws. starting today, recreational marijuana is legal in california

and analysts predict it will be a multibillion dollar industry. the state says the agency has been working through the weekend to process state licenses. officials plan on issuing more licenses today for a working holiday for those folks. several marijuana businesses are expected to hold a ribbon cutting ceremony this morning. "today in the bay's", pete suratos is going to bring us a live report from berkeley coming up in the next half hour. other laws, employers can no longer ask you about your prior salary. bus passengers already required to use seatbelts when available. they can't be cited for parking at a broken meter. state minimum wage is $11 an hour. it will cost you more to use

vta. it increased by 25 cents, $2.25 a ride. it dropped to one dollar. they are offering free transfers to certain customers. the trains will run longer and more frequent between mountainview and winchester. coming up on "today in the bay," starting the year off on the right foot financially. we have tips that could help you with your new year's resolution. >> a live look outside in san rafael. mild start. kari is watching that forecast for us. you are watching "today in the bay." ♪ this little home of mine,

♪ i'm gonna let it shine. ♪ it's energy saving time, ♪ i'm gonna reduce mine. ♪ californians all align ♪ to let our great state shine. ♪ let it shine, ♪ the power's ours to let it shine! ♪ unplug chargers - go, ♪ devices go off-line. turn thermostats down low, ♪ led's shine mighty fine. ♪ small actions quickly grow, ♪ to let our great state shine. ♪ energy upgrade california, will let us shine. ♪

today )s the day for resolutions and while most people will be welcome back to "today in the bay." the first show of "today in the bay" of the new year. a lot of people starting with those new year's resolutions. a lot of people promising to get physically fit, but there are other ways to care for yourself this holiday season. >> we are talking financially. chris that has details. srk straight. >> reporter: workout more, eat less, quit smoking and/or drinking. the top resolutions for 2018 aren't that much different from years past and neither is the projected date breaking, sometime around the end of january. >> number one resolution, save more. >> reporter: he says breaking financial resolutions like saving more can be risky, especially if there's an

emergency. >> you want to have enough to cover six months worth of expenses in your emergency fund. >> reporter: setting aside 10% to 15% of your paycheck is the target for a retirement fund that is easier to hit with help from your employer. >> maximize the employer match and use those tax advantages on the retirement. >> reporter: another important resolution, mcbride also advocates getting out of debt in 2018, especially with interest rates rising. >> inflate yourself from further interest race increases and give yourself the opportunity to make head way on paying down that debt. >> reporter: paying down so 2019 will look even better than 2018. chris clackam nbc news. >> we want to know your resolution if you have one. maybe we'll put yours on tv so

you can put your money where your mouth is. >> big money. >> let's do that. also, we have gorgeous weather. >> meteorologist kari hall has a look at what's going on this first day of the year. >> you can't blame the weather for not being active today. bright and sunny. we start out cool. the mid-40s by 8:00 and we will see those high temperatures today back in the low 60s. we'll take a look ahead to rain in the forecast. that's coming up in a few minutes. the raiders head coach is fired. we'll show you what's next for the team after this losing year.

good morning to you, it is 4:33. happy 2018. we are looking live at the bay lights. spectacular view last night as we rang in this new year. >> right now, looking at the weather, it's beautiful out there. calm. >> clear, calm and that's the way we start out the new year. we are going to be watching out for rain chances. it looks pretty good as we go through the week. a lot of rain chances are drig up as we get closer. that's what we have to watch for. a live look in san francisco.

it is hazy out there. we haven't had a lot of fog. the air quality, over the next few days will be of concern as we will have unhealthy air quality in the north bay, the bay and the south and also the east bay, santa clara valley will have moderate air quality the next couple days and improving in time for the weekend. king tooid ide is back today. we will reach the highest at 9:13 this morning. ocean beach will have water levels a lot higher. the inner bay, we have the coastal flood advisories in effect for this morning and again tomorrow morning. the reason why we have the moon and the earth aligned just right to cause those tide levels to go way up and way down. that's what we call king tide. during this afternoon, into the evening, those tides will be coming down low and the bay will be almost dry out there, it looked muddy. that's what we'll be watching.

our temperature starting out on the cool side with upper 30s in the north bay. 38 degrees in morgan hill, san jose, 47 degrees with the high temperatures today reaching the low 60s. it's going to be another really nice day, above normal temperatures for the first day of january and 63 degrees will be the high in livermore. as you are getting started this morning, a lot of people are just getting in from partying last night. if you are on the way out the door, you need a coat, a warm jacket and light long sleeves for the rest of the day. if you are traveling today, here is a look at the high temperatures elsewhere across the country. it is going to be so cold, frigid temperatures for a lot of those areas off toward the east. only reaching up to 18 degrees in new york city today. as we look at the forecast, as we go through the week, we are going start to see a couple weather systems moving in. the first one brings in rain late on wednesday into thursday,

then another round of rain on friday. so, it looks like we do at least have a couple chances of rain in the forecast with some of our computer models putting out decent amounts. the highest we have seen for the season. over an inch of rain for parts of the north bay. the south bay may get up to a quarter inch of rain. we'll have rain up to an inch in parts of the coastal areas and san francisco. the rain starts to move in on wednesday. we'll see off and on shower chances throughout the weekend. for the inland areas, the temperatures will be warmest tomorrow and cooling down once those showers arrive. i'll continue to track that and i'll have another look at the forecast coming up in a few minutes. >> thanks, kari. 4:46. the raiders are looking for a new head coach in the new year. the head coach announced he will no longer be with the team.

this is after a loss yesterday. the raiders were considered a super bowl favorite. some reports surfaced this weekend that the silver and black were making a serious push to bring back john gruden. the 54-year-old last coached in 2008. >> he's been on the sidelines for a while. from one disappointing season to another, a live look at at&t park where the lights are nearly out. the san francisco giants had a 2017 they probably would rather forget. all the troubles on the field are easier to take when you put n them in perspective with the real-life challenges they face. "today in the bay's" garvin thomas shows us how he dedicated his life to sharing. >> reporter: the san francisco giants fan lucky enough to grab

a front row seat at at&t park. >> oh, boy. bases loaded. >> reporter: still sits one row behind david benzer, and has close to 40 years. >> it's been my passion to do this. >> reporter: he's been a cameraman more than half his life. behind the lens, next to the visitors dugout, his home away from home. >> being a camera man, out in the elements and feeling that emotion, one step from that white line. >> reporter: david's cool job, with all the cool friends he made along the way, meant everything to him, defined who we was, really. you can imagine how great it felt in 2010 to celebrate his first world series with the team. it didn't feel great for long, though. feeling ill, david went to the doctor the very next day. >> you have stage four cancer,

throat, tongue and lymph nodes. i said don't we do a test? he said, no, i see it everywhere. >> he did chemotherapy and radiation. >> i said to god, if you gave me a second chance, i'd make a difference. and i have. the whole thing is distracting all that fear that is manmade. >> reporter: from that promise has come this, the strikeout fear foundation. his cancer diagnosis was just as bad as the disease itself. the foundation money goes to

transforming hospital waiting rooms into more comfortable, hopefully less fearful places. their work has since touched the lives of close to 50,000 cancer patients. david is thankful to no longer be one of them and able to keep doing his job. he still loves the perch that lets him see everything on the field, it's just no longer everything to him. in san francisco, garvin thomas, nbc bay area news. >> channel something bad into something good. >> nothing like being able to do what you love doing. coming up on "today in the bay," ring in the new year on a high note. las vegas cab driver won't soon forget this. first, happening now, hundreds of cars are destroyed after an overnight parking garage fire in england. the car seemed to explode every couple seconds when the fire was at the peak.

it threatened horses but they are okay. an accident sparked all vehicles. read about a scary new year's eve. a man with guns and ammo inside his houston hotel room.

welcome back. as we ring in the new year here on "today in the bay," the time is 4:53. you are looking at live pictures in downtown san jose. a beautiful start to the new year. what happens when you go to vegas? a lot of people say what happens in vegas stays in vegas.

>> not always. the story you are about to see didn't stay in vegas. garvin thomas shows us, that is a very good thing. >> reporter: regardless how it may seem in movies and on tv, not all las vegas dreams come true at night and not all take place in a casino. some jackpots are hit in the middle of the day. and one, well, one recently happened right in pedro's cab. >> it was a gift from god. >> pedro has been driving a taxi in vegas for 18 years. it's helped him raise a family, he says, but changes in the industry have made it harder and harder, lately, to make ends meet. >> it's tough. it's very tough. you have too many taxis. it's very hard to make a living. >> reporter: which is why, when pedro picked up a passenger last

december, he was two months behind on his mortgage. a fact he'd not normally share with a fare, but this one was different. >> very friendly and tell him my problems. >> reporter: pedro had no idea how different this ride would be. >> i'm a firm believe what you put out you receive tenfold. >> reporter: his passenger, quincy, plays for the san jose earthquakes. pedro, originally from argentina and a soccer player his entire life, that would have been enough to make this run to the airport memorable. quincy was about to turn memorable into unforgettable. >> if there's a way to help someone, you need to find a way to do that. i let him know, i said i would like to help you get caught up on your mortgage.

quincy cut him a personal check on the spot. >> thanks to him, i appreciate his generosity. >> reporter: quincy is an athlete who thinks a lot about life after professional sports. he's already working hard to be a success in business, to have enough money, one day, that he can help others make their dreams come true. it's the reason he was in vegas that week, attending a marketing convention. >> there's so many people with great ideas and passion for what they love. >> reporter: quincy said, why wait for one day to do what you can do on this day? in las vegas, garvin thomas, nbc bay area news. >> wow. that is a new year's resolution. i know kids are still out of school, most of them, but school

districts in oklahoma are cutting class to save money and jobs. they are on a four-day school week down from the traditional five. they add an hour to each day to supplement the time that is lost. supporters say discipline is down, attendance is up. they say there is no evidence that the shorter week is helpful to students, though. it is an adjustment for parent's schedule, too. even though the kids like it, it's hard on the family. >> what kind of example do you think this is setting for your children going forward. >> it is kind of upsetting. that's not the way the world works. >> oklahoma faces a crippling budget crisis and teacher shortage. they say they saved nearly 200 grand last year on expensions like transportation, substitute teachers. for a state budget, that's not that much money. >> doesn't sound like it.

let's hope it works. coming up on "today in the bay" -- >> there's just a few people out there as we take a live look outside in fremont this morning. it's going to be hazy. our temperatures warming up to the low 60s. we'll talk about rain chances and king tide in the forecast, next. plus, a green new year. bay area pot shops opening up for the first time for recreational marijuana today.

good morning. 5:00 as we begin this new year here on "today in the bay." a live look outside in san francisco. hazy out there to start the morning. a beautiful way to ring in the new year. a lot of people were out celebrating last night. >> yeah. >> now they are sleeping. some are up with us. >> tell us why. maybe you are out early. maybe you are out late. good morning, i'm kris sanchez in for laura garcia. >> i'm marcus washington. kari is here with a look at the forecast. >> looks good today and the next several days looking forward to warm weather. you need a warm jacket as you head out. the temperatures, mostly in the low 40s. we have a couple upper 30s for those inland valleys and the tri-valley to the south county. as we look at the highs today, low 60s. i think it will be a good one to get out and take a nice long walk with the sunshine.