transamerica pyramid. good morning and thank you for joining us. i )m marcus washington. and i )m laura garcia. toss to weather. letting the live pictures talk...

breaking news: a fire engulfs a tire shop in oakley. we just got this video into our newsroom a few minutes ago. it )s burning near 7th and main street.

fire crews are on the scene right now trying to put out the flames. google maps lists the location as "saeed bro tires". but we )re working to confirm that. at this time, no other information is available. we are sending a crew to the scene, and will have a live report coming up at (5 a-m. developing now: hurricane michael is churning towards florida )s coast. overnight, the storm strengthened to a category 4 making it the strongest storm to hit the u-s this year. here )s a live look at panama city beach were the surf is already kicking up. ad-lib. we just checked in with kari hall and she says michael is packing sustained winds of up to (140 miles per hour and a storm surge of 8-12 feet.. nearly four million people are under hurricane warnings. many are already boarding up and packing up to get out of the area. emergency crews are moving in as conditions deteriorate. kari hall is tracking the storm and will have more coming up.

back here in the bay area -- a man is nearly beaten to death by a crowd of 6 people -- including 3 women in san francisco. it happened over the weekend outside a bar near bernal heights. some neighbors say the venue has a history of problems. today in the bay )s jean elle hs more on what happened. a key test today for a bay area

a key test today for a bay area man who received 289 million dollars after jurors agreed his cancer was caused by the weed killer "roundup." "dewayne lee johnson" has lymphoma. he worked as a groundskeeper for benicia schools. in august -- jurors agreed monsanto knew the active

chemical in roundup was toxic and did not warn users. today in san francisco -- monsanto will ask for the verdict to be tossed out or that award to be reduced. hoping to grow a new type of garden. a berkeley family forced to close it )s (127 year old plant nursery is asking the city council to let it get back in the growing business. this time by letting it sell cannabis plants and seeds. council members voting to direct staff to work on an ordinance that will allow the berkeley family to open the "cannabis nursery." it would be the first in the city and maybe in the entire country. if approved they family would sell seeds and small plants. the business would also educate people about cannabis. staff is expected to

come up with an ordinance in about a month. it will have to go back to council for a vote. some folks on the peninsula could soon see a hike in their water bills. today, the water district which serves los altos hills will discuss a proposed rate increase. more than 64-hundred customers may be charged about 4-dollars more. this is to raise 5-million dollars to fix bad pipes. the meeting is tonight at los altos hills town hall. happening today: students are ditching the bus to walk to the classroom. in san francisco, thousands of kids are expected to take part in the "international walk and roll to school day" this morning. mayor london breed and other city leaders will also participate. citywide, more than (90 schools and (13 thousand students are expected to participate. coming up on today in the bay... a warning before you make

a quick trip to an a-t-m not associated to your bank. a look at how much more it )s costing you to get your hands on your money. plus-- how walmart is planning to calculate your body )s reaction to shopping while you )re walking through te store.

thanks frank

coming up on today in the bay.. kari is tracking our bay area forecast and hurricane michael which is heading towards the florida panhandle. kari tease mike tease

downtown san jose sure - it )s early in the seaso. but suddenly the sharks looks like they )ve got their )mojo. ) they ruined the philadelphia flyers ) home opener last night .. winning 8-to-2. that )s not quite what everyone is talking about this morning... all the )talk ) is about this dramatic entrance - straight from the rafters.. by the flyers new mascot .. "gritty." it )s also kind of how "laura" makes "her" entrance into the newsroom each morning. but until now .. gritty has taken lots of verbal "body-checks" from fans who are not quite sold on him. from this clip .. it looks like they may finally be coming around...

ad lib toss to wx and traffic most of the slowing has cleared

a contra costa county family is desperate for answers after their loved one ended up dead... in a bay point canal.

25-year-old "kre )onna smith" disappeared while out for a walk in pittsburg on july 16th. her body was found four days later -- 11 miles away from her usual walking path. investigators say there was no sign of trauma ---- nor foul play. they also say this was (not a suicide. smith )s mother and her family have been passing out fliers every day -- they are convinced somebody killed her. the sheriff )s department declined to talk on camera and say it )s still an open investigation. to some state headlines now... today - the man accused of starting a huge wildfire in southern california goes to court. this is video of the )holy fir) at the cleveland national forest. 51-year-old "forrest gordon" clark faces multiple counts of arson. he )ll face a judge today. the fire burned more than 18- thousand acres and destroyed at least a dozen homes.

a new task force is being credited for taking guns from the hands of dozens of californians banned from having them. state attorney general xavier bacerra talked about the new task force yesterday in southern california. l-a county law enforcement agencies are working together .. to track down people who are not allowed to own guns. the problem is - that list runs into the thousands. bacerra is calling for more law enforcement agencies to team up .. to seize illegally owned weapons. he )s asking lawmakers to boost those resources. coming up on today in the bay - nbc bay area responds on how victims of disasters can get the most from their insurance companies. but first happening now. mortgage rates are at an (8 yer high. this time last year, the average rate on a 30 year fixed loan was just under (4 percent. now the average rate has topped (5 percent. the higher rates are expected to take some of the competition out of the buying market -- especially investors looking to flip or rent homes.

more news after the break. ad lib live cture - pifremont

many people who lost their homes in the north bay fires are dealing with mountains of insurance paperwork. if you )re ever in their shoes, after a disaster, consumer investigator chris chmura says you can hire someone to help....and possibly get a bigger payment.

this morning, a look back in time. israeli archaeologists are unveiling a (2-thousand- year-old inscription. it )s believed to be the first complete hebrew spelling of the word jerusalem. check it out. the stone is going on display at the israel museum in jerusalem starting today. it was discovered last year on the outskirts of jerusalem during excavations that uncovered a roman structure.

coming up on today in the bay a check of your forecast. kari tease mike tease plus-- we are following breaking news. a massive tire fire burning in contra costa county. you might be smelling it. a live report coming up. music log

good morning and thank you for joining us. i )m laura garcia. and i )m marcus washington. the commute is looking good...

breaking news in contra costa county. a tire shop goes up in flames throwing huge plumes of smoke into the air. today in the bay )s pete suratos is live in oakley. pete -- you just got on scene can you tell us anything? thanks pete