good thursday morning to you. 4:30 right now as we take a live look out at sfo. good way to wake up. you're either going to work or coming here. thank you for landing right here with us on "today in the bay." >> i'm here. >> another nice day? >> another nice day. it's going to be one of our last days of seeing these really hot much anticipated change in the form of some rain. before i get to that, let me get to your temperatures right out the door. 53 degrees right now in san francisco. 55 in oakland. 57 in hayward. and 58 in san jose. notice the 40s in the north bay. again today it is going to be mostly clear, especially into

the interior valleys. it will be very quick to warm. by 11:00 a.m. we'll be in the 70s. interior valleys will climb to the 90s. i'll break down those rain chances in just a bit. i know there's some slowing going into san francisco. >> a because of the pattern we're seeing into the city from yesterday. here's the bay bridge toll plays. >> with those cash lanes on either side of the fast track lanes. we almost see this at 4:30. it will kick in at 5:30 when the metering lights kick in. just like yesterday and continuing, we have transbay transit center, salesforce transit center is closed and that means the closure of fremont street. folks are slowing and backing up off the fremont exit for the westbound commute. you see it's slow coming off the skyway. we'll track that and i'll give you more information about how that affects your day. we'll talk more about the transit center but for now back to you guys. live look at capitol hill.

today's historic hearing gets under way in a little more than two hours. >> the senate judiciary committee will hear testimony from supreme court nominee brett kavanaugh and the palo aloe professor accusing him of sexual assault. christine blasey ford is one of five women who have come forward saying they were assaulted by kavanaugh. kavanaugh continues to say he's 100% innocent. the four accusers will not testify at today's hearing. senators on the committee still expect to hold a vote on kavanaugh tomorrow. president trump spoke yesterday saying he wants to hear the full story. >> i do want to hear what she says. maybe she'll say -- i can be convinced of anything. >> this is an unusual hearing on many levels, including how the questioning will be conducted. republicans are bringing in a veteran sex crimes attorney, rachel mitchell. >> you can watch the

congressional hearing live here. our coverage begins at this morning and we'll stream it online at nbcbayarea.com. get ready for gridlock again in san francisco today. the new salesforce transit center is expected to be closed for two weeks. two steel beams are cracked making the $2 billion transit hub unsafe. >> we have a look at the expensive shutdown. >> reporter: gridlock. the new salesforce transit center will be the new normal. while crews the transit, they won't reopen fremont street to the public until two cracked steel beams on the third floor . >> the beam basically supports the roof and spans -- it's

holding up the bridge over free metropolitan street. >> reporter: crews found a crack tuesday morning and a second crack during a second inspection. >> very scary. >> reporter: the closure means thousands of commuters are back at the temporary bus terminal facing longer trips on snarled streets. >> just get it fixed, get it done right so we can get back to normal, a more efficient service. >> reporter: engineers believe the problem is isolated to the fremont street structure but they don't know what caused the beams to crack. >> i'm going to get to the bottom of who knew what when and why did this happen. >> reporter: they plan to hold hearings about the structural failure. it's the second big failure. president first is when the transit center needed city bailout. >> the actual cost to operate it is more than it's bringing in rent. right now that's a white

elephant. >> thank you very much. so, we've been telling about thieves storming apple stores. >> they've been stealing cell phones, laptops, evenisorning s alleged thieves are in jail. now, this is video from over the weekend when those crooks hit an apple store in santa rosa. today the department of justice is expected to release more information about these arrests. several people were taken into custody in oakland on tuesday night. happening today, residents of hope village will begin relocating to an empty city-owned lot near the san jose airport. we've been following this story of hope village for weeks after the tent community was shut down because it was on state land. earlier this week, county supervisors approved a deal to lease the city-owned land. hope village will stay open as part of a six-month pilot program. a's fans dreaming of a wild card fan at coliseum are waking up with a lot of hope. >> if things fall just right, i.

only the yankees play today. if they lose, the a's would be one game behind with three to play. at this point all we know for sure is the teams face off, winner take all next wednesday. so, keep those fingers crossed as the a's advance. coming up next on "today in the bay," one of the largest online businesses is opening a physical presence in new york. look at amazon. new locations and what customers will get once inside. happy hour. not just for those who enjoy an adult beverage. a look at what starbucks is offering as it brings back its deal. you could generate your own energy,

at home. or to save energy, unplug unused appliances. do your thing, with energy upgrade california.

good morning. i'm eric chemi at cnbc. wall street is set to open slightly higher this morning after stocks sell yesterday. the markets turned lower after the fed raised interest rates for the third time this year. and looking to hike them again in december, three times next year. fed chair jay powell says the u.s. economy is strong and growth is healthy. bank stocks led the decline. today's watch list, unemployment, durable goods and second quarter gdp. the dow fell 106 points. the nasdaq slipping 17 to 7990. amazon is opening a physical story in new york city today

that will sell toys, home goods and other products that have at least a four-star rating on its website. customers will be able to try out echo speakers, kindle and other amazon devices. this is the company's latest push into the turf of rivals like target, which have been courting urban shoppers with new smaller format stores. mcdonald's says most of its burgers, including the quarter pounder and big mac, are free of artificial preservatives and flavors. they say the cost was minimal so menu prices will not be going up, but those pickles still contain artificial ingredients, so customers can request burgers without pickles. how many burgers are going to have, with or without pickles? >> i have about two a year, eric. >> oh, i have two a week, eric. >> do you really? >> yeah. i don't -- i had one yesterday actually, but i didn't have pickles. thanks, eric. >> what artificial things are you going to put in pickles? it's a cucumber in vinegar. yesterday we told you how to

score a free salad at wendy's. we're just givers. today we're helping you get a free coffee. starbucks bringing back its happy hour from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 closing. if you buy a grande or venti, you can get one for free. we know it's too much coffee for one person, so just drop it by our studios. at 3:00 p.m., that's a different kind of happy hour. we have our forecast. looking good? cooler? >> 3:00 p.m., that's nap time for us, right? right now, 55 degrees in oakland. 57 through hayward. today we'll get one last push into the 90s before we see a dramatic drop into some lower temperatures and rain chances up ahead. i'll break it down for you. stay with us. breaking it on down. san mateo be peninsula.

we'll -- i see something going on. that coming up. today in the bays

thursday -- one more day to go! welcome back as we take a live look this morning. this is san francisco. beautiful. yeah, pretty nice there. it's not as foggy.

let's get now, you know that tune. it's janet jackson. a lot of people were talking about how they didn't like it. this was at the bill graham civic center all night last night to raise money for children's hospital. tickets were $1,000 apiece. and the rock band metallica also performing. salesforce organizing its shows for dreamforce conference. every year, hoards, flocks of people come on out. what a treat for them. a buddy of mine went to the concert last night. >> beyon got to track down b. >> i'll get it to you. >> it's on saturday? >> saturday. >> you can call her b&a.

>> we'll leave the queen b. there's only one queen b and that's beyonce. th chance of rain saturday, but i've got it handled. 53 degrees, wind speeds at 13 miles an hour. we have a little fog. you can see we're seeing mostly lights but we have a nice layer there. that marine layer is hugging parts of the coastline and it's going to change as we head towards the midmorning. right now in san jose, 58 degrees. have ae shot of dublin. that's actually the -- in the oakland area. that's not dublin. now, 59 degrees right now. we are expecting a very warm afternoon. now, today is going to be one of our last warmer days into the interior valleys. the reason for that is because we still have that ridge of high pressure. i want you to notice the temperatures because this is all going to change. 88 degrees in napa. 87 for martinez.

93 for concord. we still keep upper 80s down in the south bay at 86 degrees. this is going to change as that ridge of high pressure falls apart and we get an upper low that approaches from the west. that's why we have already deployed our own storm ranger. on top of san bruno mountain, you can see it scanning. this is set up and ready to go as we start to track rain approaching the bay area. let's talk about that. today we have that ridge of high pressure. we have that fire danger increasing. unfortunately, once again as those valleys reach the 90s. we'll see some heat peaks today. as we head in towards friday and saturday and that upper low approaches from the west, we're going to see much cooler temperatures and rain chances. as we head towards saturday and surngs our rain chances will stick off to the north but we get a second system, another upper low that approaches as we head in towards monday and tuesday. that's going to bring a much better rain chance for the entire bay area. not just the north bay. we get a much more measurable

amount. the data can change back and forth as we see that system approach. the timing of this, the intensity and the precipitation amounts will change as we head in towards saturday to monday. i want to show you kind of an idea of what some of our models are starting to pick up. we're seeing about 0.10 of an inch. not significant in the south bay. heading in towards monday, you see we see an increase to about a quarter possibly or more for parts in the north bay. we'll keep an eye on week. spotty chance of showers for san francisco saturday. we have a better chance of rain towards monday but the spotty chances stay mainly to the north for saturday and sunday. approaching further down south as we head in towards monday and tuesday. i'm ready for some rain, though. i bet the commuters aren't. mike? >> we'll stick washer fluid into your windshield washer because you might need to see it on

monday. a couple of droplets on the way. a couple of spots slowing scattered southbound. i checked with caltrans and there's no scheduled closures or road crews. i'll check to make sure everything's okay. usually something this widespread is just a slower moving vehicle and those sensors are just waking up as well. i look to the south bay and along the east bay and tri-valley, a smooth, predictable pattern. on the peninsula, crew here north 101 just past sfo, looks like it cleared without any problems. in pacifica, highway 1 is still closed. this is the last day of that construction and closure because of that overhead bridge work they're replacing. that should be done today. we'll let you know if there are any hangups or problems through the area. pacifica has been well used to that for the last week. we're going to get used to this. the closure for the transit center and closure for fremont street because it's closed here and folks loop off the freeway and make the way around there. it shows a smoother drive but will slow d on the bridge its a

has cleared. the transit agencies, muni, san francisco, you'll will be affected. b.a.r.t. has no delays. 4:50 right now. the political turf war between the state of california and federal authorities may be costing lives. >> senior investigative reporter steven has been digging in for more than a month now. >> the battle revolves around a technology for tech aids but only been started to u to prevent local gun crime. it's called nibin run by the federal bureau of atf. our investigation found that none of california's state-run crime labs uses nibin, leaving huge gaps in crime data that could be costing lives or preventing crimes from being solved. we went to orange county to demonstrate one of the most obvious cases of this disparity.

here's an example of how inconsistent the current status quo is. if you got shot right here on this side of the street, any evidence in your shooting would go to the national nibin database. why? because santa ana police, located right behind me, uses the nibin system. walk across the street, just a block away, where orange county's crime lab is located and that evidence would go to an entirely different database that doesn't connect nor communicate with the national system. you see, the crime lab there in the distance. because orange county's nibin supporters say that means gunmen responsible for multiple shootings sometimes aren't getting caught because police in different departments simply don't know it's the same gun being used again and again and again. even so, a bill requiring departments here in california to use nibin failed in the legislature. to see more about why that happened and its consequences, watch our full story.

just go to nbcbayarea.com/investigations. i'm stephen stock, nbc bay area news. >> if you have a story for our investigative unit, give them a call, 888-996-tips or nbcbayarea.com/weinvestigate. coming up here on "today in the bay," a seal lashing out at a kayaker. we'll tell you what that seal attacked that kayaker with. almost seems like premeditated attack. you have to see that video. first happening now, making headlines across the world. china saying it does not interfere in other countries' internal affairs. this comg in upcoming november elections. san francisco woman who returned

a major appliance, welcome back. it's 4:55. nbc bay area responds to a woman who returned an appliance and said she never got a refund. >> erin kaufman bought a dryer from series in february. after a few days she decided to return it. she says sears picked it up and promised to refund her $700 but the money never game. so erin filed a disputeompa wh . sears indicated they refunded her. erin went back and forth with sears and her bank for more than three months and decided to contact us. we reached out to sears and agreed to investigate further. erin told us she then got her

$700 back. sears sent us a statement that said our top priority is the satisfaction of our members. our member services team resolved the situation by issuing a refund. returning big-ticket items like appliances can be tricky so we say keep all the original packaging until you with sure you want to keep it. also, save those receipts, including the delivery paperwork. have a consumer complaint, let us know, 888-996-tips or nbcbayarea.com/responds. a sassy seal in new zealand showed some kayaks who's boss. >> he slapped one with an octopus. take a second to watch this. >> an octopus on my boat! >> no way! >> you can see the seal there with the octopus under water wrangled it in his mouth, swinging it and, right there, hitting the kayaker, full force in the face. in is all caught on his gopro by

a sydney university student. that kayaker says he's all right and that seal slipped away. >> isn't that crazy, under the sea, just grabbed something, oh, it's an octopus. amazing. poor octopus, too. coming up here on "today in the bay" a quick look at the thursday forecast. >> we have to remember when we're on the water, we're in their home, right? 53 degrees in san francisco. i'm tracking rain chances. details coming up. and i'm tracking all these folks moving nicely. an easy drive for the bay shore freeway. we'll talk about what else i see. plus, the stage is set. supreme court nominee brett kavanaugh and dr. ford from palo alto facing the judiciary committee on capitol hill. we'll have a live report from washington and tell you how it's all going to play out schedulewise coming up next. a la

good morning and than welcome back to thursday morning. 5:00. taking a live look outside thee. already getting busy out there as folks are beginning thankheo day with us. i'm laura garcia. >> i'm marcus washington. mike will have a look at traffic in a moment but you said another warm day, not as hot as yesterday. >> not for interior valleys but not for the rest of the bay

area. we're starting 50s, some 40s up in the north bay. look at the marine layer. we're seeing fog hug the coastline. i'll break down how much cooler we're expected to get this weekend. let's send things over to mike. >> no major problems. folks traveling in the green zone. the blips for 280 are starting to clear. no overnight closures overnight. road crews, not a problem. coco county, a smoh