our stop story on this busy morning with a lot of breaking news. 3.4 earthquake shook up parts of the area near piedmont, this happened at 4:42. >> a lot of people feeling this stretching across the east bay down through the peninsula and parts of the south bay. so far, no reports of damage. >> and this was along the hayward fault this morning, right, kari? >> it was. it's been a while since we had any quakes along the hayward fault. we watched them very closely because the last major quake that we had on the hayward fault was back in 1800s. even with this weak one this morning jolted people out of bed, and we've only seen a few minor aftershocks in the later few minutes right after that happened, so overall, things are looking good, no major damage, but let us know what you felt and what you experienced, and we're also tracking this rain as it continues to move in, with some scattered light showers. it's starting to pick up as far as our winds and the coverage of the rain still mostly focused

along the north bay, but then as i zoom out, you can see how large the storm system is, the brunt of it expected to move into the bay area by this evening. we'll be tracking that and all the impacts with the flooding risk and the high winds and rain. more on that coming up in a few minutes. mike, you were saying there are some delays in the part of your commute? >> that's right, you're watching for the rain now and definitely continuing for your morning and even commutes for the next couple of days. kari is talking about those forecast notes as well. we see this on the richmond to san rafael bridge right now. rain may play a part for your mass transit in the future. right now, b.a.r.t. is recovering from the final system check delays they've had after that earthquake as well. we saw that right around the caldecott. no affect on the roadways and b.a.r.t. says there was no damage there either, in the final recovery as the delayed trains have now gotten back on time. the bay bridge toll plaza does have a backup. the toll plaza itself, but no problems for the maze. the rest of the bay looks really good, a lighter flow of traffic, but again, watch the speeds because of slick roads. back to you. >> thanks, mike. more breaking news, this

time in san francisco. we have a live look right now from the scene, where five people were injured after an early morning fire. we actually have video from that fire at its peak as well, it happened a little before 1:00 a.m. firefighters say two of the people injured are now in critical condition. the fire damage to buildings displacing about 20 people. pete suratos is there. he'll have a live report ahead at 5:30. now back to our microclimate weather alert. right now, a powerful storm is taking aim at the bay area. >> it's not just bringing rain, but the threat of flooding. "today in the bay's" bob redell live with a look at preparations that are under way in fremont. >> reporter: laura and marcus, the threat is so severe, the national weather service has declared a flash flood watch for the entire bay area, starting at 3:00 this afternoon, lasting until 11:00 tonight. some of the areas we want to keep an eye on are the alameda creek behind me, in niles canyon in the town of fremont. on the peninsula, and in the

south bay water managers will be keeping an eye on the llagas creek out of morgan hill, san francisco san francisquito river. the reservoir is at 24 capacity and even if today's storm dumps several inches of water, the water waves down from anderson are not at risk of flooding. the water district says more rain is what the region needs. >> next dry period could be around the corner, we could have more dry years ahead of us. >> reporter: weather models show this might be the last storm of january. the water district wants to see good rain totals so our region can catch up to the seasonal average. reporting live in fremont, bob redell, "today in the bay."

>> tough situation there. i know a lot of people are preparing for the worst, hoping for the best. thank you so much, bob. we want to help you continue that coverage of this storm there. send us your pictures of the rain, email us, the address is on your screen right there, or tag us on your favorite social media platform there, just make sure you tag us @nbcbayarea. if you get up for work early tomorrow or the storm wakes you up overnight we have you covered. "today in the bay" is starting at 4:00 a.m. tomorrow morning. 6:04 right now. new details are emerging about a deadly attack at a luxury hotel complex in nairobi, kenya. an american was killed, that victim's mother confirming to nbc news that the american victim was her son, jason spindler. the new york man joined the peace corps after the september 11th terror attacks. yesterday, gunmen blasted their way into the complex, killing at least 14 people. the islamic group al shabab is claiming responsibility for that attack. 6:04.

now to capitol hill, where today marks day 26 of the partial government shutdown, the longest in u.s. history. there is still no end in sight for hundreds of thousands of federal workers receiving no pay. soon, they are set to miss a second paycheck. lawmakers from the house bipartisan problem solvers caucus meet with the president today. but hopes are not high following yesterday's debacle, when the president bypassed democratic leaders and invited rank and file democrats to talk. all of them declined. >> this was supposed to be a bipartisan lunch, and the sheer fact not a single democrat was able to show up is pretty telling. >> well, i'll meet with him any time he wants. >> to mitigate the shutdown's impact, the white house has reportedly called back nearly 50,000 federal workers to resume functions including food inspections, overseeing airline safety and processing tax refunds, but they're going to do it without pay. in fact, the city of san jose wants to keep travelers moving through mineta international airport by paying tsa workers

paychecks. other tsa workers are just not getting paid. mayor sam liccardo says the city has a moral obligation to help the federal workers. at 2:00 this afternoon, the city will consider using aviation funds to offer short-term, no interest loans to tsa workers, air traffic controllers and customs agents. tsa's sick calls have gone from 3% to 14%, creating long wait times for travelers and potentially a security concern. >> the longer this goes, the more they're going to be struggling and if they have to choose, they're going to need to drive for uber in order to feed their families and we cannot put them in that position. >> san jose is so expensive to live, so i think it's incredible that the city helps out with that. >> the 500 centrfederal workersd repay the loans when they get their back pay. muni is working to reduce violent attacks on board buses and trains. according to "the san francisco examiner" the city is planning to keach deescalating tactics to

drivers. police officers already received similar training. sf mta data reports show assaults on operators peaked in 2015, there were nearly 800 of them then. 2017 that number dropped to more than 500 assaults on operators. right now at 6:07, as you get ready to head out, we are under a microclimate weather alert. keep checking in throughout the day for updates as the storm approaches. right now, scattered light showers, making things soggy on your way out the door. we're going to see heavier rain moving in, as this storm system approaches, bringing in some waves of heavy rain, and also some gusty winds. our rainfall may total up to one to four inches today. we will also as a result have an elevated flood risk, and our winds may gust up to 60 miles per hour for the coast and the hills. it will be a slight chance of thunderstorms as well and the surf could churn up to about 25 feet, as we time it out for you going hour by hour in the north bay, you'll start to see some of

the rain heavier downpours moving in a little bit earlier than the rest of the bay area. by 8:00, seeing some of that rolling through and for santa rosa over toward napa, it will be at around noon, and then we see the rest of the bay area picking up on some heavy rain in time for the evening commute, by 5:00 to 6:00, it's going to be gusty, widespread, heavy rain, and that will be off and on, even through the overnight hours, and gradually tapering off tomorrow. i'll continue to track this for you, with more updates and as we head over to mike, you're giving us a look at the bay bridge. >> that's right, a crash reported mid span. you see the incline is moving well. the bay bridge metering lights are on but traffic through the maze not a major problem. right here approaching treasure island you see lights stopping. we heard about a traffic break, they may have just released it. lights are headed back in toward treasure island, west 80 inside the tunnel, there was a minor crash, had to quickly run a traffic break to clear that. again, that will slow you down a bit more oakland in toward san francisco.

overall, that portion of the east bay, contra costa county approaching is looking great. the weather shows you the systems coming in off the coast, as kari is continuing to track that. the systems will continue to bring in more rain, but right now, the wetter, damper roadways are not a major problem. i'm focusing here on the tri valley, south 680 at 84, this crash is reportedly blocking part of one lane. another note came in from chp mentioning that there was a wrong-way driver reported going northbound on the southbound side where that crash was. i'll let you know, but so far, sounds like everything is under control now. back to you. >> thanks, mike. 6:09. forget the food court. some college students packing on the freshman 15, a whole different way. pizza vending machine. all new this hour, where it is and how it works. plus, on youtube, a ban on certain videos. i'll tell you all about it in business and tech. coming up at 6:25, an incredible sight. look at this, how this ice disk formed over a lake in the northeast. you're watching "today in the bay."

right now at 6:12, as we start out this morning, taking a live look outside in fremont. the camera is shaking around a bit as we look at 808 and roads may still be wet from earlier showers that moved through. we have a few hours to prepare for this storm. by noon, we start to see the rain moving in, and it just gets heavier as the day goes along. i'll be tracking that for you in

your microclimate, what you can expect, coming up in less than five minutes. and over here, dublin moves smoothly but these folks on 580 south toward sunol, i'm tracking a crash, a wrong-way driver reported. everybody is going the right direction toward the peninsula on the san mateo bridge. a happy wednesday to you. we'll watch to see if the brexit vote in britain affects our markets today. brexit is going about as poorly as it possibly could. netflix is up big. south bay's roku tripped over its own shoelaces yesterday when it permitted alex jones to open a channel on its set-top box. that decision lasts a few hours. roku then quickly pulled that off.

netflix rates and standard service go from $11 to $13. go to your settings and see what you're using. it depends whether you're using a phone, computer or tv, how you get here but mine is set for the $11 plan, standard hd. you want to change it to something cheaper, just click. redfin out with a new report that lists cities most likely to see housing prices slow, san francisco and san jose are on the list. median prices down 7.3% in december. keep in mind it doesn't necessarily mean prices are falling. it could mean fewer high priced houses are selling but many lower priced houses are. youtube banning the bird box challenge and any other stunts that put people in danger. you may have seen this people walking around or even driving around with blindfolds on. youtube says no more dangerous stunts.

the rules are a bit vague but youtube says "we prohibit challenges presenting a risk of serious danger or death, and pranks that make victims believe they're in serious physical danger, or cause children to experience severe emotional distress." people will always do dumb things, it's one of the reasons we have a job but to publicize it and encourage it seems like a mistake and seems like youtube is making a good decision here. >> right. >> so many people do things for views and likes, put themselves in danger. >> thank you very much. 6:15 right now. do you wish you had one of these in college? take a look. it's a pizza vending machine. it just debuted at ohio state. some would say the ohio state. with a few simple clicks a pizza is ready in four minutes, it's presliced, ten inch pie ready to eat with cheese or pepperoni. the machine is the third so far in the united states, all of them so far in ohio.

why is that? i don't know. good test market there at ohio state. >> when i think of pizza, i think of -- no, i don't think of ohio. >> you don't a? okay, italy or something? i didn't know where you were going. >> i was trying to figure that out, cleveland is not my pizza central. >> talk about the freshman 15 there. snuggling up in a blanket and pizza would be great. >> you don't want to deal with the mess that we'll have today especially this afternoon into the evening once the storm gets across the bay area. we start out with light rain, mostly across the peninsula and parts of the north bay. elsewhere it's a good time to get outside, head to work and get things done before you deal with the storm system that has a lot more energy, and some rain to bring to the bay area, as we go through the day. we can see the center of the storm and that's also when that gets closer, we'll bring in the highest winds and the heavier rain later on today. as we time it out, north bay

starts to see at least a few pockets of some heavy rain by 8:00 this morning, and then by 10:00 to 11:00 the north bay, while the rest of the bay sees scattered light showers. by the evening commute, we strart to see the intensity of the rain picking up, as well as how widespread the rain will be on the radar, by 6:00 to 7:00, we're getting all in on heavy rain and high winds that will be off and on through tonight and then gradually taper off, but there still will be rounds of showers into early tomorrow morning, and the potential of some gusty winds still lingering and some additional rainfall totals. so right now, we have a high wind warning in effect for the coast, as well as the hills. the areas that we're seeing in the darker shade, and then for the valleys we'll have a wind advisory, that means the winds will pick up to about 40 miles per hour at the coast and the hills could have some gusts up to 60 miles per hour. we also have a flash flood watch. that means that you need to make

sure that you are always aware of the weather situation, if you're near a creek or a stream, be mindful that it may rise quickly as we go throughout the day. you'll get those alerts on nbcbayarea.com as well as right here, and i'll also be giving you updates on social media, i'm kth kth i'm@karihallweather. by friday we see everything quieting down, the sun may peek out a bit. saturday is looking great but there will be a slight chance of rain on sunday, as we expect a lunar eclipse sunday night. i'll have more on that and mike, you were saying the roads are slick for some. >> they are slick for some, and you've talked about how much more rain is coming in, so definitely this morning and this evening. tomorrow morning and evening we'll be watching for the roadways and the big continues, just be prepared, folks. right now you see the damp roadways and once again we've seen all lanes fill in over at the bay bridge toll plaza. for a few minutes, just about

the 6:00 hour, as we turn the hour, we saw a lighter flow of traffic. you could see that for most of contra costa county moving nicely. the radar shows activity in the north bay so keep that in mind for novato in toward san rafael. no major problems but spots were a little bit of flooding is reported in through mill valley and a little bit of mud off the hillside around spencer for south 101. not a major concern. there's the build in concord and east froer she way. as we show a smooth flow of traffic green sensors all around. no major concerns and the earlier crashes throughout the south bay cleared up as we went through the area. i'm going to try to get a look at waze. no, it's not coming up here, that is an internal -- do we have waze up in the control guys, smack that computer and restart it just in time. waze is getting you on the roadway, did you have the time to wait for that computer map to come up. the big, long route out of the castro valley and dublin toward fremont takes but an hour. looking to a much short he route

the purple and the green route. use waze to help you map around the slowing, the crash 680 in sunol. that is the fastest way still. use nbc bay area wazers, the team revealed here, the team to join on your profile. back to you. >> thanks, mike. 6:20. still aheald on "today in the bay," another bay areacy set to raise the minimum wage. the unanimous decision last night and what happens now. i'm consumer investigator chris chmura. viewer tracks me down in person to ask for help. what we learned about an unusual home improvement loan, when "nbc bay area responds," next.

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13 children were found in the so- called )house of horrors ) in southern californ this week marks one year since 13 children were found in the so-called house of horrors in southern california. >> prosecutors say the children lived in a torture chamber, chained, abused and allowed to only shower once a year. they were also severely malnourished. lawyer for the children is appearing on the "today" show this morning and says that they want everyone to know one thing about them. >> they're just like everybody else. they may not have had the same upbringing, and may not have had the same opportunities when they were kids, but man, they're taking advantage of everything now, and they want people to know that. >> the parents pleaded not guilt to torture, chiltd abuse and

false imprisonment charges. watch the full story coming up on the "today" show at 7:00 a.m. >> good morning we met marcia joy in the summer in downtown walnut creek. door-to-door salesman sold her a new air conditioner and furnace close to 20 grand. the uncommon loan is paid by via her property tax bill at 6.75% interest. marcia didn't fully understand what she signed up for and wasn't getting answers from the contractor. she asked for our help. i did two things. first, i contacted the financing people. they gave marcia what she needed to pay off the debt and stop paying all of that interest. second, i called the contractor. now the company said its sales

people are trained to show buyers like marcia how their property tax bills increase with these loans. marcia's new ac was set to push up her taxes five grand a year for five years. she said the salesperson didn't fully explain that and she wanted the system removed. ultimately the contractor compromised and offered to reduce marcia's price by $2,000. marcia told me she was happy with that and plans to pay off her loan, which by the way is called a pace loan. that stands for property assessed cleaned energy financin financing. if you see p.a.c.e. in a contract, please press pause. figure out how much your property tax bill will go up and for how long. be comfortable with the numbers before you sign anything. if you have trouble with a contractor or financing, feel free to submit it on our

website, nbcbayarea.com/responds, or call us, 888-996-tips. >> always good advice there, chris. new video to show you there of a huge floating ice disk rotating in a river in maine. take a look at this. the alien looking disks ama s d spotted monday morning. it's going viral on social media and drawn comparison to an alien spacecraft, a carousel and the moon. the disk, which is formed by a water's current is estimated to be about 100 yards across. >> really interesting to see. 6:26 right now. we are tracking several big stories this morning. breaking news, 3.4 earthquake hitting the east bay. did you feel it? complete coverage coming up next. and we're watching the water, as we prepare for the biggest storm of the season so far. the concern around some creeks and the most updated storm track. plus, breaking news in san francisco, a big fire overnight, five people in the hospital, including a firefighter. what we know right now, a live

report from the scene. and registration problems, the glitch keeping some bay area college students from signing up for classes. you're watching "today in the bay." right now at 6:30--

live look at radar -- powered by storm ranger. we )re in a microclimate weather alert. right now at 6:30, a live look at the radar, powered by storm ranger. we are in a microclimate weather alert. take a look at that storm, headed to the bay area. good morning. thanks for joining us. i'm marcus washington. >> and i'm laura garcia. first there was shaking in the

east bay this morning. 3.4 earthquake centered in piedmont. it hit at 4:42. our seismograph captured that shaking. you can see it here. it was a strong enough one felt along the peninsula, in san francisco, even reports in san jose. >> absolutely, and a lot of people felt that. we had a tweet this morning, it says that that earthquake sounded like a bullet train, went under the house. i haven't gotten genuine goosebumps from a quake in a while but that one did. y kari, you have a lot going on. >> that happened at 4:42 this morning. lot of people were jolted out of bed. after that, we had a few minor aftershocks and it's been fairly quiet since then. we haven't had any major reports of damage, which is, of course, great news. let us know what you felt as that happened on the hayward quality earlier this morning. we'll continue to monitor to see if anything else happens throughout the rest of the morning as far as shaking. we are looking at rain falling

from the sky, most of it light as we track it on storm ranger, and this is the calm before the storm that will be here later on today. we are looking at some widespread rain, and once that swirl of the clouds that's well offshore starts to work its way into the bay area, the winds will pick up and the rain will get even heavier. i'll track more of that for you, just coming up in a few minutes, and mike, you are tracking a crash in the tri valley and b.a.r.t. >> that's right. b.a.r.t. has some delays. this all just cleared from the b.a.r.t. report now. they did a standard system check after an earthquake over there. it wasn't for from the orinda and oakland stations but no problems related to that quake. we're watching for the effect of the weather as it comes in, but so far, minor impact on the roadways. they are slippery in some spots so be careful and i'm tracking the tri valley crash that was causing a slowdown south 680 around highway 48 that got cleared from the chp report as well. we'll give you a closer look at the peninsula coming up. back to you. >> thanks, mike. some breaking news we are following overnight, a fire tears through a san francisco house. several people are hurt, even

more are left without a place to live. >> "today in the bay's" pete suratos is live at the scene, and pete, what can you tell us about this? >> reporter: good morning to you, marcus and laura. several people displaced, roughly more than 20 folks affected in the two buildings on liebig street and san jose, near liebig street and san jose avenues, in san francisco. we're listen liebig street. it is dark out here but that's one of the buildings that was affected. two buildings affected all together, and they're still trying to determine the cause. looks like the fire may have started in the garage area of the building you're looking at. let's show you guys some video from earlier this morning, when this all took place. here is information we're getting from san francisco fire. they're saying this fire started roughly just before 12:30 a.m., and was put out at about 1:40 a.m. as i mentioned, the fire did affect two residential buildings, one, the fire building that we showed you had nine people in it. the other building had about 11

people, so we're talking about 20 people all together that were displaced. now, the fire was difficult to put out, because there were plenty of contents, that's how crews are describing it, they had to work around it, not sure if this was a hoarding situation, but there is a lot of material in these homes that they had to work around in order to put out that fire, but crews were able to rescue several of the residents. one who was hiding behind a front door, and another person that was on the second floor. >> outstanding jobs by units on scene. engine 33 did a fantastic job. they got the occupant off of the second floor. conditions were black smoke puffing out of both floors. >> reporter: the heavy, black smoke coming mostly out of the garage area, what one of the crews told me here, not too long ago. other occupants that were located and rescued safely were in the backyard area, there were about six of them there, what fire crews are telling me. when it comes to injuries, five were sent to the hospital and

two are in critical condition at uc sf. in the group there were a child and firefighter who had minor injuries but appear to be okay. back out here live, the damage to the home on liebig street, the cause of that fire is still unknown, as it's still under investigation. we're live here in san francisco, pete suratos for "today in the bay." >> tragic situation there, pete, thank you so much. let's get back to our microclimate weather alert for you this morning. powerful storm hits the bay area. >> "today in the bay's" bob redell is live near the alameda creek in fremont, where there are some flood concerns there. bob? >> reporter: laura and marcus, there are a couple major concerns with this incoming storm, one is the heavy winds, and two the potential for flooding especially along waterways like the alameda creek behind me in fremont's niles canyon, the national weather service will put a flash flood watch for the entire bay area in effect between 3:00 and 11:00 today. up in the north bay, the people of mill valley residents are

getting ready for this major soaker, goodman's building supply tell us they've been selling a lot of things like sandbags, tarps, rain boots, batteries, flashlights, and downtown san anselmo, businesses are bracing for possible flooding from the san anselmo creek which cuts right through town, and runs right underneath the creekside pizza and tap room. >> so underneath here is a floor sink, we're 15 feet above the grade of the creek, but when the water comes up, the water will come up into these sinks down here. >> reporter: you know, we spoke with diver dave. he's out of sausalito. is he of course used to lots of water with his business being on the ocean, but his concern is his boat breaking loose in the rough winds. that's why he tells us he'll be sure to keep his vessel tied up tight. ror reporting live in fremont, bob redell, "today in the bay." >> thanks, bob. if you get up early for work or the storm wakes you up overnight, we've got you covered. "today in the bay" is starting at 4:00 a.m. tomorrow morning.

join us. 6:35 right now, and new this morning, city college of san francisco students are having trouble registering for classes. according to "the examiner" this is because of a software malfunction in a computer system. registration for the spring semester started in november, and ended on january 12th. however, the issues have prompted college officials to extend that deadline to february 4th. it is 6:36 right now. new this morning, fremont becoming the latest bay area city to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour in 2020. as "mercury news" reports the city council voted last night to approve that change. five other bay area cities including san francisco have already reached that $15 per hour threshold. nine more are set to hit the market this year. also new this morning, macy's closing a south bay location. the company is shutting down its downtown sunnyvale store within the next few months. as "the mercury news" reports the site located on west washington avenue between south murphy avenue and south taffy

street will be redeveloped as part of the city line sunnyvale project. it comes as many other stores closed because more people are shopping online. the sharks are on a big-time roll there. last night they beat the pittsburgh penguins at the shark tank 5-2. tomas hertl scored a hat trick and the sharks won their seventh in a row. keep it coming, mike. >> right. >> go for eight. >> we look at the golden gate bridge moving smoothly but look at the roadway, wet from the recent rain, that is one issue coming in around the bay. you'll find patches of wet roadways, not a major concern but watch the areas north of san rafael. we also have minor mudslides, a little bit of mud slipping down the roadside so the slow lane is blocked, south 101 headed toward spencer, you notice contra costa county with mild slowing. this is actually great for this time of day, again, slicker roadways. slow speeds for safety sake looking great on either side of the bay down into the silicon

valley, and a live look shows you palo alto, picking up a little bit of volume but no major problems, that's good stuff so far. be careful as the system continues to come in. >> that's right, the storm system hitting us very soon here in the bay area. looking forward to the weekend though, when we get a break. >> we are going to need a break this weekend, especially for saturday, but as we start out this morning, we are tracking some light rain for you, as you get ready to step out the door on storm ranger, and once again the brunt of the storm will be hitting us this afternoon into the evening hours, so we will have a lot more updates on that. by saturday, we're getting sunshine, a very nice day to enjoy outside, with highs for the coasts in the upper 50s and 62 degrees for the inland valleys. on sunday, though, rain chances will be back, mostly some scattered showers, not expecting a big storm, but this may change some of your sunday plans, and if you're planning to head out with me on saturday, i'll be at the women's march emceeing there in oakland at lake merritt. it starts at about 10:00 in the morning.

temperatures will be in the low 50s but i'll make sure we've got some sunshine throughout the day. and this is also the last weekend to check out the lantern light festival in pleasanton at the alame memeda county fairgr. it will be dry out there. if you are going to squaw valley it will be tough getting there. once they clear the roads on friday, we'll see some peeks of sunshine, highs in the mid-30s. saturday is looking great but headed back, you may run into a few issues as the snow returns. and then for the tri valley, some highs in the low 60s for saturday. that looks to be the day to get out there. it will be the warmest and every now and then we may see the sun peeking out. we'll talk about today as the storm approaches and what to expect, that's coming up in about three minutes. >> want to be mindful of all of that, kari, thank you. coming up on "today in the bay," breaking news, a quake hits the east bay, a 3.4, centered in piedmont. live report from the epicenter. the impact the coming storm is having on people in the camp fire burn scar zone.

and we'll take you to washington, where no progress on the shutdown, but another person running for president. let's take you out to new york city, and the big board on wall street, dow industrials gaining 100 points. you're watching "today in the bay."

we are in a microclimate weather alert, as we prepare for a strong afternoon storm, but right now, as we take a live look outside at 101 and san jose, the sun rises with some

cloudy skies, even some scattered rain. we have a few more hours to prepare for the heavy rain, by 11:00, we start to see it move in and it will be pretty much off and on with some gusty winds into the evening. we'll take a close look at storm ranger, that's tracking this storm, coming up in less than five minutes. and kari, no more delays reported on the b.a.r.t. system, that's good news, standard protocol after an earthquake, no damage reported. capitol corridor is delayed a bit into suisun but not because of weather related issues. breaking news mike was talking about, a 3.4 earthquake hits the east bay. you can see right here on our nbc bay area seismograph. >> it was centered near piedmont, hit at 4:42 this morning. "today in the bay's" kris sanchez joins us live at the epicenter there. kris, did you feel it? >> reporter: we didn't feel it. we were down in san jose, talking about the tsa situation. the government shutdown, we felt that earthquake or when we felt

it hit social media at least. we're not too far from the epicenter, and though that earthquake was downgraded just a little bit, certainly a lot of folks here told us they felt it. >> woke me up, yeah, woke my son up, too. >> reporter: that's tough. >> it was. >> i was in my van, i was putting air in it, all of a sudden the van started going like this. i thought, is that an earthquake? it was only a few seconds. >> it's like a long push. >> reporter: minutes after it hit, i asked on twitter who felt it, and folks were saying they felt it in alame t memeda pleas hills, san jose, menlo park, blackhawk, san carlos, burlingame. in san francisco folks felt it there, castro district, pacific heights and a lot of folks said they also heard the earthquake as well, mostly i feel bad for that guy who said the earthquake woke his baby up because we know what that's like.

this is a good conversation and a good reminder to be ready for when the big one comes. laura and marcus? >> that's right, one baby wakes up and then another then another. that's tough. >> reporter: it's over. >> it's my life. thanks so much. quarter to 7:00 right now. breaking news from the capitol. >> scott mcgrew, speaker nancy pelosi is asking president trump to move the state of the union. >> that's right, we just got this letter from the speaker's office this morning, asking trump to move the state of the union address for security concerns, due to government shutdown. here you see them negotiating about that shutdown a couple of weeks ago. pelosi writes, "given the security concerns and unless government reopens this week, i suggest we work together to determine another suitable date for delivering your state of the union address to congress." that was supposed to happen on january 29th. so right now, we are on day 26 of the government shutdown.

you heard from kris sanchez earlier talking about the city of san jose, thinking about loaning money to tsa workers, keep it open, keep mineta open and running. meanwhile, talk about the coast guard. they should have been paid yesterday. they were not. 42,000 of them, but they're still on the job, keeping us safe. the commandant of the coast guard in a letter to the men and women under his command said "to the best of my knowledge, this marks its first time in our nation's history that service members in a u.s. armed force have not been paid during a lapse in federal pr appropriations." estimates are doubled ever accounting for private contractors hired by the government who are also not getting paid and that's hurting the economy first and more than they first thought. generally good marks for william barr at tuesday's senate nominations hearing, the president's pick for next attorney general. he's been attorney general before and there's concern barr

will somehow interfere with the mueller investigation. he said though very clearly, he would not. >> i will follow the special counsel regulations scrupulously and in good faith, and on my watch, bob will be allowed to finish his work. >> do you believe mr. mueller would be involved in a witch hunt against anybody? >> i don't believe mr. mueller would be be involved in a witch hunt. >> meanwhile, the acting attorney general, matthew whitaker, will testify before the house judiciary committee early next month. he'll be the first trump official to come before a congressional hearing in which the hearings are led by democrats. we're watching everything that happens and as you can see, we can bring you the latest breaking news from washington, when we are not on the air, follow me on twitter. >> thanks, scott, keeping us updated on what's going on with politics. we want to keep on top of the microclimate weather alert that extends to the central jl valley and the sierra, because of incoming storm is expected to

be so fierce, that the city of polga in the camp fire burn zone is under a mandatory evacuation order. we checked with kari, she said as much as up to two inches of rain may fall. residents won't be allowed back in the area until tomorrow morning. crews are having a hard time keeping up with the snowfall as well. at one point yesterday an avalanche closed parts of interstate 80 near state line. chains are required. caltrans is advising everyone to avoid mountain travel for the time being. if you absolutely have to drive, expect reduced speed limits on your way up to the sierra. going to be a lot of temptation for people because there's so much snow falling out there. lot of powder. >> you can't go this afternoon, when visibility will be near zero, the blizzard warning goes into effect and you don't want to be driving in that. we're also going to see the brunt of the storm moving into the bay area by this afternoon as hechier rain moves in, and the winds will pick up, but right now we start out with some fairly calm weather, as we get ready to prepare for that system

that will be moving in. the storm ranger tracking the scattered showers moving through, parts of the north bay as well as the peninsula. you may also feel some sprinkles as you head out. look at how large the storm system is. here is the center of it, well offshore and we can see a lot of that moisture being brought up into the bay area. we still have a lot more of that to work through, so as we go hour by hour and time it out for you, some of the reds and the yellows indicate where some of the heavier rain will be. we'll already see that from santa rosa on northward, by 8:30, and then as we go into the 10:00 to 11:00 hours, still mostly in the north bay, while the rest of the bay area sees some scattered, light showers, and then some of the heavier rain arrives by 4:00, continuing in the north bay, but then also making it into the rest of the bay area during the evening commute, and this is when those winds for the bay area coast and the hills may reach up to 60 miles per hour, along with this heavy rain, and the valleys may have gusts up to 45. still looking at rain at 9:00, so several hours of rain, it

does taper off but there still will be some scattered rain, even through early tomorrow morning, into early afternoon, before the system really moves out. so we do have a high wind warning in effect for the areas in the darker shade of brown, the valleys are in with wind advisory that means that winds may reach up to 40 to 45, and we also have a flash flood watch in effect, as we prepare for the potential of some debris flows near the wildfire areas, and also some localized runoff, the streets may also flood in some of those poor drainage areas, and then if you live near a creek or a stream, you want to make sure that you are aware of the levels there as that rain continues to fall. we're looking at for the most part anywhere from about one to over three inches of rain. the higher amounts will be over the north bay as well as the santa cruz mountains, where that rain continues a lot longer. for tomorrow into the morning, still windy and rain chances but we'll see the storm system winding down.

friday is looking dry. saturday looking good. by sunday, another round of rain will approach the bay area. we'll also be watching out for the potential of a lunar eclipse, and monday a lot of kids out of school. we will have some nice weather. headed over to mike, it is pretty calm for the commute right now. >> that's right, as far as the conditions go, though, you're talking about the changes, be aware, folks, watch for kari's timing on that. meanwhile, the timing if you're headed west across the san mateo bridge, it could have been better because it was lighter earlier but still, moving smoothly across toward the peninsula. good volume of traffic, and the wet roads from earlier rain but not a major problem. there is a little radar activity in the area there, and coming across the peninsula as well. we know about that, and the slicker roads are just the warning right now, but so far we haven't seen a major commute. the build is now on for the south bay, pushing north. we'll talk about other patches throughout the tri valley recovery for pleasanton, south 680 the crash at 84. here are your northbound routes as they build the volume, a little bit of slowing and this is evenly spaced. look at 85 here. i want to point it out with

waze. we did see some slowing early and then the report came in on chp. before it did, it came over into waze system as well reporting in the campbell area north 85, a minor crash. the person who is cited is a generic wazer. other reports from other wazers, no names. folks, register your name, sign up with nbc bay area wazers, that is your team and get a cool wazer name, we may use it on the air to thank you. back to you. 6:52 right now, happening now, breaking news. there's been an attack on coalition forces in syria. nbc news's richard engel confirmed the information with a senior kurdish security official. casualties are reported, among them americans. it's not clear how badly they're hurt. the source also tells nbc news isis is claiming responsibility. next here on "today in the bay" the top stories including the big news on the future of sears. what the development means for

workers and stores. and the bay area is bracing for the biggest storm so far this season. we're watching the creeks and kari is constantly updating her forecast. we're back in two minutes with more news. 6:52. you're watching "today in the bay." t. taking a live look outside,

before you head out the door, here are the top stories on today in the bay-- > befop before y before yo

breakip breaking nebreakin with one story you may have experienced yourself, a 3.4 earthquake that shook parts of the bay area, centered near piedmont, hit about 4:42 this morning. here is a look at the seismograph. lot of people feeling this one, stretching across the bay area, that jolt a lot of people felt, this is down through the peninsula, even in parts of the south bay. so far, though, no reports of damage. >> now to a microclimate weather alert, our satellite radar showing a powerful storm taking aim at the bay area. the national weather service declared a flash flood watch for the entire bay area, starting at 3:00 this afternoon. it could have a major impact on local waterways, such as the alameda creek in fremont's niles canyon. in the north bay, residents of mill valley are preparing for this major soaker. in downtown san anselmo, businesses are bracing for possible flooding from the san anselmo creek which cuts right through town, and we know what has happened in the past there. lot of flooding. on the peninsula in the south bay, water managers are

keeping an eye on the llagas creek in morgan hill, the san francisquito creek and the peniticia creek in south san jose. headed to the sierra, send us pictures, video of your rain, snow, email us. the address is on your screen isee@nbcbayarea.com or contact us through your favorite social media. we're all online. if you get up early for work when the storm wakes you up overnight, it will be a big one, we have you covered. join us on "today in the bay," we're coming in early, starting at 4:00 a.m. tomorrow morning. breaking news in san francisco this morning, and a live look from the scene, where five people were injured after an early morning fire. this is video of that fire at its peak. little before 1:00, firefighters say that two people are injured and now in critical condition. that fire damaged two buildings, displacing about 20 people. so far, no word on a cause, but firefighters say they had to

contend with a lot of clutter. new details are emerging about a deadly attack in a luxury hotel complex in nairobi, kenya action an american was killed. the victim's mother confirms to nbc news the american victim was her son, jason spindler. the new york man joined the peace corps after september 11th terror attacks. yesterday a gunman blasted their way into a complex, killing at least 14 people. the islamist group al shabab is claiming responsibility for the attack. sears may have found new life, overnight, reuters reports the retailers chairman and largest shareholder has won the bankruptcy auction for the company's assets. he reportedly raised his takeover offer to $5.2 billion. lampert's proposal would keep 425 sears and kmart stores open and save up to 50,000 jobs. the deal must still abproved be by a judge. brod bay bestows a dim

lighting for carol channing. she died yesterday in palm springs. in 1984, her alma mater lowell high school named its auditorium for her. in lieu of flowers the family is asking for donations. they have a great drama program there. >> we've all been talking about the weather. >> breezy winds we track on storm ranger and want to give you time to get the kids to school, get to work and settleded at your desk. join me for facebook live at 9:00 a.m. on my page and we'll trauk about wh talk about what's going on and ask me any questions about the incoming storm for this evening. >> it's a good time for the commute. >> before the incoming storm. still a wet camera at richmond side of the richmond-san rafael bridge. lighter traffic and a lighter flow, that rain coming through

the area. picking up the volume in oakland. watch for slick conditions. be careful. >> be careful, that's for sure. next newscast coming up at midday, and we'll have local news updates at 7:25 and every half hour after. >> thanks for starting your morning here with us on "today in the bay." have a great morning. bed by a . >> let's get right to al. we're talking about dangerous winter storms could auto. good morning. ready, set, no. powerful back to back winter storms about to bear down on the entire country from california all the way to maine. dangerous conditions from snow, ice and freezing rain and a travel nightmare through the weekend. al has what we need to know. from bad to worse, the u.s. economy now expected to take a much bigger hit than first thought from the government shutdown. the ripple effects from the fight over the president's border wall that could be about to hit your pocketbook. hotel horror, an american among 14 killed during a terror attack at a popular luxury resort in kenya.