road. coming up in a live report, the two ways bay area counties are teaming up to crack down on illegal dumping. and colin kaepernick making a comeback? the crucial workouts he's gearing up for and who is expected to attend. "today in the bay" continues right now. and good morning to you on this wednesday. happy hump day to you all out there. thanks for starting your morning here with us. i'm marcus washington. >> and i'm laura garcia. let's get straight to the forecast right now kari. a nice day ahead? >> it will be another nice day. warm temperatures, too, but we are starting out with some fog and low visibility for drivers moving across the golden gate bridge. we'll see that clearing out and our temperatures will start out cool. by noon, we're at 70 degrees in danville, while san mateo is at 63 degrees. santa rosa will be at 68. heading into the low 70s today. now, we will see slightly cooler air today, and much cooler tomorrow. i'll talk more about the changes ahead in the forecast, coming up in about seven minutes, and mike, it's an easy start to the

commute. >> it is. aside from the hour, i know, of sleep. kari showed you the fog socked in at the bay bridge -- at the golden gate bridge across the bay but peninsula 101 looks clear and easy. same as the drive. green sensors all up 101, 280. south bay no problem from the south county into silicon valley. tri-valley at speed except for the altamont pass. we know we'll see that slowing for west 580. a little blip shows up here highway 4 into concord. so far no problems getting toward the bay bridge. back to you. >> thanks, mike. it's a big day on capitol hill, a few hours the nation will get a firsthand look at the impeachment process. jay gray this morning has a closer look at what we can expect today and what we should look out for, too. jay? >> yes, you're absolutely right, laura. good morning to you. look, today marks a big real shift with this historic process, but it's also a big test. does the public care?

are they as interested as intensive as lawmakers have been over the last couple of months when it comes to this impeachment? ? just hours the impeachment investigation goals public. >> i think it's very important to tell the story to tens of millions of americans who have not yet heard from the witnesses themselves. >> reporter: the first two witnesses are bill taylor, america's top diplomat in ukraine, and george kent, the senior state department official in charge of policy involving ukraine. president trump continues to label the process a hoax and witch hunt. >> going absolutely nowhere. don't worry about it. >> reporter: overnight, democ t democrats and republicans huddled behind closed doors working through last-minute strategies, questions and talking points. gop leaders challenging the process. >> they don't have the right to stop us from speaking, even though they changed the rules to deny us the right, even though

they changed the rules to deny us the right to have witnesses. >> there's more evidence to prove that the president attempted to bribe or extort ukraine than there is evidence to support the idea the sun will come up in the east tomorrow, period. >> reporter: as the sun comes up this morning over capitol hill, the impeachment inquiry enters a new and both sides agree critical stage. the public hearings continue friday and we learned last night, laura, there will be at least three more public sessions, tuesday, wednesday and thursday of next week. >> okay, public sessions for us to watch but only lawmakers asking the questions during this? >> no, actually we are going to hear from lawyers, staff lawyers on both sides of the aisle, republicans and democrats. they've been involved in this process from the start. they've done some questioning and private depositions so we'll hear from them as well. in fact, democrats saying you

may hear more from the lawyers than you do the lawmakers in this process, which is very important, because it's got to be relatable to the public that's watching. if it's too much legal jargon, it may bog down people, may get people confused and that's a big concern. that's why so many were meeting last night to make sure they worked that out. >> exactly, clarity is so important. jay gray, live from washington, thank you so much. >> yes. >> you can watch the hearings from the beginning until the end, right here on nbc bay area, our special coverage will begin at 7:00 a.m., right after "today in the bay." and coming up later this morning, scott mcgrew will take a closer look at who is actually testifying today. we talked about it a little bit with jay. join scott for his "checks & balances" segment at 5:45. happening now, vice president mike pence arriving in california for a jam-packed visit. first he'll visit santa ana, then head to monterey. then he travels to the south bay tonight with a planned stop tomorrow at nasa ames research center in mountain view.

that's where he'll tour the facility and speak to workers before heading back to washington. one man's trash is turning out more and more to be everyone's problem, and later today, leaders in the east bay will announce a new program to fight illegal dumping. "today in the bay's" bob redell live for us in walnut creek, and bob, i know this is a big problem not just for the east bay, but really throughout the bay area. >> reporter: correct. sadly especially over the past few years it's become more and more noticeable under and around interstates, rural roads, different spots throughout the city so marcus, later this morning, the district attorneys for both contra costa county and alameda county along with other state and county leaders, they're going to announce a $750,000 pilot program funded by the state that will help law enforcement go after people who dump their trash illegally on the sides of roads and other places where they aren't supposed to. to give you an idea, talking

about contra costa county, in 2017-2018, illegal dumping cost contra costa county $600,000 in cleanup costs. compare that to just $200,000 in increase, a $200,000 increase from the year before, gives you a sense of how much more dramatic the problems become. this is according to the think tank, a group that includes representatives from the d.a.'s office, the sheriff's office and public works. take oakland as an example. in 2016, that city's public works department cleaned up around 29,000 piles of illegally dumped trash. that's double the number of pickups from five years before. that's according to the city of oakland. and pickups are expensive. it cost public works here in coco county around $260 to pick up a cubic yard of illegal trash. if that person had just taken that same pile of garbage to the dump, it would have cost that person around $32. reporting live in walnut creek, bob redell, "today in the bay." >> certainly the thing that

people are talking about and they don't want it to be around where they live or work. hopefully there will be a solution soon. thanks, bob. 5:06 for you right now. thousands of university of california service and health care workers plan to walk off the job today. the union accuses uc of outsourcing jobs to pay lower wages. earlier this month, the uc spokesperson told "the mercury news" the union won't budge on its wage demands. this will be a one-day strike. uc leaders say critical operations will not be affected, and no patient appointments are in jeopardy at its medical facilities. a live look this morning at sfo, and that's where in a few hours the international terminal departures hall will be named after ed lee. lee was san francisco's first asian-american mayor. he served from 2011 until his death from a heart attack in 2017. current mayor london breed is expected to attend today's dedication ceremony. she took over for lee, following

his death and recently won re-election. a new chance at a restart, for former 49ers quarterback colin kaepernick. after walking away from the 49ers after the 2016 season, kap got a chance to show nfl teams if he still has what it takes. "today in the bay's" kris sanchez joins us live at levi's stadium this morning. kris, do we know why now? >> reporter: it's a really good question. it's been three years since colin kaepernick was in a 49ers uniform and seems like this offer from the nfl to play in front of the general managers and the owners of the teams came as a bit of a surprise to kap and his team as well. in a tweet he writes "i am and just getting word from my representatives that the nfl league office reached out to them about a workout in atlanta on saturday. i've been in shape and ready for this for three years. can't wait to see the head coaches and gms on saturday." the nfl set up saturday's private workout in atlanta and invited all teams to show up to

watch the 32-year-old quarterback run through a workout, also answer some questions. while kaepernick says he's ready, he's been working out five days a week for the last three years, that really is not a lot of notice for the coaches and the general managers, most of whom have sunday games to be ready for. at this point, it is not clear which of the 32 teams are going to attend this private workout. here is some back story. kaepernick opted out of his contract with the niners at the the end of the 2016 season, hasn't played since. he was criticized and praised for taking a knee during the national anthem to protest police brutality and social injustice. in 2017 he sued the league for cluding to keep him from playing again and earlier this year he and the nfl settled out of court. we don't know if this workout is part of that settlement or part of the nfl's show of good faith to him but espn reports there

have been teams that have been asking about his availability as we get into the deeper weeks of the nfl season, some teams may be looking to make some changes. we're certainly going to follow this story for you. we know it is interesting. we want to know what you think, too. i'll put up a poll on my twitter feed and ask the question on facebook, what do you think of colin kaepernick's next best chance? in santa clara, kris sanchez, "today in the bay." >> we'll see how it ends and who bites. thanks, kris. bitter cold continues to grip two-thirds of the nation, from the midwest to the south, and up and down the east coast. chicago dropped to 7 degrees in indianapolis 8 degrees yesterday. des moines minus 1 degree. as you can imagine, people there is a they're miserable. >> some i'm used to but first snow and all the traffic out here, it's kind of rough. >> this is the first time i've seen snow this bad this early. >> okay those people are tough. that guy was wearing a hoodie, the other had a hat on.

there were so many crashes on the ohio turnpike, interstate 76, it's a major highway there. 50 cars, trucks and big rigs all slamming into each other. unfortunately, some people were seriously injured. michigan stadium in ann arbor looking like a winter wonderland. the hope is all that snow will melt away just in time for saturday's game between michigan and michigan state. >> okay. >> the snowplows are out. >> meteorologist kari hall, folks dealing with the freezing temperatures. my mom texted me, it was 21 degrees in memphis. >> is she okay? >> cold but okay. >> she needs to come to california. >> show that does. tell her to visit because we are seeing some much warmer temperatures here. the problem is not that it's so cold, but it's so early. it's still fall, and we're talking about ten degrees in detroit right now. it is 19 degrees in little rock, and this cold air is making it all the way far south, we're

below freezing this morning in atlanta. while we are one of the few places where we are seeing some warmer air in the low 50s now. that's what we are seeing as you head out the door, and this is warmer than a lot of spots will get for the high temperature for today. 50 right now in concord, and 51 in oakland. and then here is a look at our highs, so marcus, call your mom and tell her it's going to be 73 today. >> i'll let her know. >> 75 in antioch and we have mid-70s for the north bay. we do have some changes ahead and i'll talk about that, and mike, you're tracking one issue in contra costa county. >> yes but i'm watching for this from marcus. 73. yes. hello? right over here, hello bay area. looking at a smooth drive through the maze. a gathering at the bay bridge toll plaza but contra costa county one other slow spot, highway 4 westbound there's an issue at port chicago highway, a disabled vehicle, reported out of lanes but you see the slower drive approaching. we'll double check that in a few minutes just to make sure things pan out per usual coming out of

antioch, pittsburg and bay point. anywhere south of there and that's pretty much most of the bay, green sensors all around and that is great news. we'll take a quick look at fremont, the volume is light right now. back to you. coming up on "today in the bay," join us on the phone with marcus' mom. just kidding. we have california's new law calling for wage and benefit protection for gig workers. the group of workers now suing to stop the rule from going into effect. in business news, i'll tell you about something nobody's going to watch. i just guarantee it, and the dow is doing something kind of funky. we'll take a look. not looking for love but looking for a bestie instead. there's a company helping people become friends but it ain't cheap. the cost of a friendship, coming up next. ok, network inspection. -ok.

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right now at 5:16, let's get a look outside in fremont. we are seeing all clear conditions, no fog here, although we've seen it in parts of the bay, and starting out we'll see a few clouds, temperatures in the low 50s, heading up to 68 degrees at noon. we are still in for another nice and warm day. a few changes ahead, and if you want to know what the weather is going to be like for the next two weeks, hang out for five minutes and we'll talk about it. and 15 is the number for the drive from highway 4 to the bay bridge, that's starting to get a little more crowded, not yet crowded at the richmond to san rafael bridge. there's look that person at the

toll plaza, has it all to themselves. we'll show you where that's not the case, coming up. and good morning to you. very happy wednesday. here is something you do not see very often, i kind of love this. the dow ended up right where it began, like a coin flip that ends up on its edge. this almost never happens. doesn't mean anything. i just think it's kind of fun. tesla says it will build a car factory in germany. san francisco's 89 bio sank a bit in its first day of full trading. "san francisco business times" counted it up, 34th bay area ipo this year, tying last year's number. all eyes on the impeachment hearing of course today. president trump spoke to the new york economic club on wednesday, told people who know a lot about the economy that the government had predicted a lousy economy ahead before he was elected. >> in 2016, the department of labor predicted that americans would continue dropping out of the workforce in record numbers.

they predicted and projected a decade of sluggish growth, and they expected unemployment over 5% and really 6, 7 and in some cases 8% for years to come. >> mmm, that led us back into the records. the department of labor's bureau of labor statistics does make ten-year predictions, but it sounded strange an economist would make such a wide guess from five to eight. we found the actual numbers, the president was correct about one thing, people predicted to come out of the labor force because america is growing older, retiring. the six, seven and even as high as 8%, well that was nowhere to be found in the actual data. fed chairman jerome powell will speak to congress today in a hearing that no one will watch. i'd be surprised if the members of congress at that hearing are going to watch, because of course today is the first day of public impeachment hearings. powell testifies at 9:00 a.m.

our time. the impeachment hearings start at 7:00 a.m. our time. laura? >> thanks so much, scott. it's 5:18 right now. the state of california now facing what is believed to be the first large scale lawsuit challenging recently approved wage and benefit protections for so-called gig economy workers. california truckers are the ones suing. the new law will make it harder to classify workers as independent contractors. it takes effect next year. the truckers association says it would reprieve 70,000 independent workers and truckers of their ability to work. rideshare companies are vowing to fight it on the ballot if they cannot work out a compromise. i don't know about this next story but might work. they say the best ships are friendships, in one washington, d.c., based company is trying to capitalize. for fees starting at $900, people can be set up with others looking for friendship. we know what you're thinking, but the company insists that this is only a plutonic situation. each client is interviewed on topics like life, values, and

interests. they are then introduced to up to six potential friends. >> that's a lot of money to make a new friend. >> whatever happened to just going out and just talking to people? >> oh, talking about-face-to-face? people, interaction? >> that's a novel idea. you don't have to pay for that >> exactly. i'll be your friend for a lot cheaper than that. >> $900, hmm, i'll get back to you on that. all right, so hopefully you'll make a new friend today, but we know that carl the fog hanging out here, our friend to the golden gate bridge. we're going to see the low visibility lingering for a while, if you're driving out there. you know the drill, it's been like this for a while now. and so we are going to see our temperatures today headed into the low 60s. mid-70s in santa rosa today. up to 75 in livermore, and in antioch, with san jose reaching 73 degrees. now as we look out two weeks, the climate prediction center gives us an idea of how the

weather will shape up, and we can see that on the computer models as well. looks like we still continue with well below average rainfall, and it looks like things could change for southern california, and areas just off to the east, with some cooler air moving in, while we stay warm, and also once again no rain. that's the weather we've seen lately, mostly because high pressure has been in the way. but then we'll start to see it moving off towards the east, a couple of storm systems moving in. another area of high pressure blocking our chances of rain going into early next week but then that gets pushed to the south, as this area of low pressure moves in. it looks like it kind of skips around the bay area, and heads towards l.a., and brings them a chance of some showers, so we'll be watching out for that, going into the end of next week. hopefully we can get some rain with it being so close by, but at least we will have some cooler air. looking at some breezy winds in the forecast for tomorrow, as a cold front moves in. upper 60s in the forecast thursday and friday, and then

we're going to rebound once again, back into the mid-70s, keeping in mind that we should be in the mid-60s this time of year for our high temperatures. mike, you're checking out a few points of interest. >> for the morning commute that means a couple of spots people will be slower. south bay, peninsula, easy drive at speed, no problems out of south county, and that blip right there, that's mid span for the dumbarton bridge, eastbound, we sometimes see that blip show up. there is a crew farther east and that may be what's moving right now. we're looking over here and moving west, highway 4 shows that build continuing out of antioch, really pittsburg and bay point. the disabled vehicle or the crash is over on the shoulder, approaching 242, and port chicago highway. looks great from this map, a couple of live cameras to show you, the backup at the bay bridge, so we have it right on schedule, the inle million and the backup and 808 overcrossing, as well as off the berkeley curve, and we also as kari showed you have the fog, carl the fog casual carpooling with you, but that does not qualify you for any discounts. back to you.

>> all right, thanks, mike. coming up next, at 5:22, the latest bay area county to ban es ecigarettes and where the issue stands in the largest county in santa clara. could this be the cast of "friends" reuniting? "friends" lovers listen up, that is the word around hollywood. when you could possibly see them getting back together again. (avo) do you push through migraine? (man) you ok to watch a movie? (woman) yes. i'll pick. (avo) imagine what you can do with more migraine-free days. (woman) here, catch! (avo) when you're not fighting through migraine, imagine the possibilities. once-monthly emgality is a preventive treatment for migraine in adults. it's specifically developed to help give you more

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welcome back, everyone. it is 5:25. contra costa county is the late toast ban the sale of all vaping related products. supervisors yesterday unanimously approved that ban. it includes ecigarettes, flavored tobacco, menthol cigarettes and marijuana vape. contra costa county joins san francisco and san mateo counties in banning the sales. santa clara county is now on the verge of approving a similar ban. san jose tech startup is offering $10,000 to get people to leave the bay area. they want to get people to work remotely, but like everything, there are a few catches here. the company main street just launched this week and if you want to cash in, you have to apply through the company. they will then try to get you hired with a tech company looking for remote employees, and if you get hired, you get to move where you want. the company is founded by former google employees. 5:26 right now. like sand through the hourglass,

so are the days of our lives. >> but the question is for how long? tv line reporting the show will soon go on indefinite hiatus. all of the show's current actors have been released from their contracts. to be clear, the show is not canceled. reports say episodes will run until the end of summer next year. "days of our lives" premiered over 50 years. it is owned by our parent company nbc universal, full disclosure. ♪ so no one told you life was gonna be this way ♪ [ collaplaps ] 15 years without a "friends" reunion but a sliver of hope this morning, hopefully this isn't the one that got away. "the hollywood report" and "deadline" are both reporting there is a reunion in the works for hbo max. the classic series will call the streaming service home when it

launches next year, but don't mark your calendars just yet. that reunion is only in the planning phase. hmm. >> we will see. 5:27 right now. coming up next, our top stories we're following for you on this wednesday morning including a costly story that may impact your morning drive. marcus, you know the toll lanes you see out there, construction on bay area freeways. get this, it's going to cost $3 to drive just one mile. >> i'd rather stay home. stick around, because in two minutes we'll talk about where you're actually going to have to dig a little deeper to get to work quicker. plus, if you have something to say about pg&e and its planned cutoff power to prevent wildfires, possibly in your neighborhood, today is your chance to have your say. a live report coming up of when and where, coming up in just moments. teachers from another bay area school district walking off the job, we'll tell you where and what they're demanding. you're watching "today in the bay." ♪

♪ running out of gift ideas, ♪ seeking something more. ♪ well if inspiration's what you're searching for... ♪

♪ follow me to a place i know with endless possibilities so ♪ ♪ you can check your list off row-by-row. ♪ ♪ i'm making this song up as i go! ♪ ♪ come on! look around! ♪ so much in store, ♪ you'll spend much less but gift much more at the stores ♪ ♪ that you've been searching for! ♪ spend less, gift better. at t.j. maxx, marshalls, and homegoods. ah, that worked well! and good morning to you. 5:31 for you right now. thanks for starting your morning here with us. i'm marcus washington. >> and i'm laura garcia. let's get to the forecast with meteorologist kari hall. good looking day ahead? >> it will be another really nice day, starting out with a few clouds and temperatures in the upper 40s to low 50s as you head out the door. we're right now at 52 degrees in san jose. let's head out the door in concord, and show you how our morning shapes up. we'll be at about 49 degrees here, and then going from 49 to 69. we'll have a nice warmup going

into the rest of the day. all of our microclimates well above normal temperatures, reaching into the low 70s for san jose. mid-70s for the tri-valley and inland east bay, as well as the north bay. san francisco will be in the lower 60s. we'll talk about the weekend forecast in about six minutes. mike, you have a familiar story out of oakland. >> maybe you heard of the bay bridge toll plaza and the metering lights, so there you go. no big surprise, no headline makers over there but we have the slow maker that is the metering lights turned on regular time, and an easy drive getting over there through contra costa county. a little blip, slowing highway 4 and out of vallejo toward mare island west 37. the first blip shows up in san jose north 101 approaching oakland road. we'll make sure that sorts itself out like usual. a live look at capitol hill this morning, where in a few hours from now americans will get their own firsthand look at the house impeachment inquiry.

this will be the first public hearing in the investigation of president trump and whether he withheld military funding for ukraine. two witnesses expected to testify today and this is supposed to be the first of three days of public hearings. the two witnesses being called today are bill taylor, america's top diplomat in the ukraine and george kent, a senior state department member. members say when it comes to most of the testimony, you probably should not expect a whole lot of fireworks. president trump meanwhile is calling the whole process a farce. >> the aparade of patriots. we're going to see a bunch of people get in front of the cameras this week who are not trying to dazzle, razzle-dazzle anyone, they're just going to explain how the government does its business under normal circumstances. >> democrats in washington would rather pursue outrages hoaxes and delusional witch hunts, which are going absolutely nowhere. don't worry about it. >> nbc bay area plans to carry the hearings when they get under

way which is slated to begin around 7:00 a.m. coming up in our next half hour, "today in the bay's" jay gray will have a live report from washington and our scott mcgrew will break it down at 5:45 and again at 6:45 in his "checks & balances" segment. >> it's 5:34 right now. this is taking place as elected officials propose big changes to the utility company. pete suratos joins us live with a look at some of the details. good morning, pete. >> reporter: good morning to you, laura. that meeting with the california public utilities commission will happen behind me here in san francisco a little bit later this morning and according to the meeting agen da, they want to call for an investigation into the latest round of power shutoffs by pg&e. getting into specifics of what the cpuc would like to see when it comes to the investigation, whether pg&e prioritized public

safety when it came to the latest round of shutoffs that happened in october. the shutoffs affected millions of customers after pg&e shut off power in certain parts of the bay area due to what they called fire safety in those areas. as this takes place this morning state senator scott weiner calling to restructure pg&e from an investor owned company into a public utility company. he ploonz to introduce the bill early next year. not much detail on the bill because it's in preliminary stages and governor gavin newsom wants pg&e to do more financially for its role in folks losing their homes during the wildfires of 2017. utility company filed for bankruptcy as a result. a bankruptcy hearing was set for today but that was postponed to next week but after the cpuc meeting set to take place at 10:00 a.m.. pete suratos for "today in the bay." >> thanks for the latest.

someone caught this argument on video, we have to warn you it's disturbing. we'll show it to you you can see what the driver will face serious charges, they need to find him. the couple we spoke to were filming the incident. they say the altercation involving two men seemed to escalate quickly. both had already gotten back into their cars and this is what happened. >> actually a guy and a female tussling inside of the car, and i told my boyfriend to check it out to make sure everything was okay. the guy said they stole marijuana from him and he was just trying to get it back. >> it's hard to look at. the couple we spoke to say the man suffered a cracked shin and possible fractured hip. police need to locate that driver who could face charges including assault with a deadly weapon. a few hours from now, teachers in the north bay will go on strike. more than 100 west sonoma county high school teachers are walking off the job this morning. both sides have been locked in a bitter contract dispute.

the three schools affected are analy, el molino and laguna. the district says class also go on today as scheduled. you could be soon paying top dollar to drive town highway 101. new toll lanes could cost up to $3 a mile depending on traffic. they will go for 22 miles on 101 from the south bay to highway 380 in san bruno. the hope is they'll ease some congestion out there. they'll be finished in 2022. so you've all heard of couch surfing, right? take a look at this. this happened as a driver was driving doing a double take now, last night near hillsborough. one of our photographers shot this last night, a car shaped like a couch driving on southbound interstate 280. we did a little digging and found out it belongs to a mechanic named ed china. he's a former host of a british

tv series called "wheeler dealers." >> it looks like it's going so smooth. >> it's kind of scary. >> you're very exposed. >> the goggles on. >> yeah. >> and he waves. hey. hey, ed. >> couch surfing at its finest, mike. >> you know what's weird is that the couch driving, that's fine. that's fine with me. who is filming that in their driver's seat? they shouldn't be filming that. was that england or here? >> no, here in the states. >> if it was in europe that's okay on the side of the road but not here. i don't know. >> it had a license plate. >> but the driver, the person doing the filming, think about that. i've seen "wheeler dealer" i enjoy that show, check that out, i have not seen the couch. the roadway your typical four-wheeled vehicles north on 101, tail lights headed up toward san francisco. no delays on this side of the bay. south bay a little blip, typical right here 101, sorting it self out through san jose and the

tri-valley is great, just a little slowing in the altamont pass on the right. as we move the map up the rest of contra costa county moves smoothly. highway 4 shows that little slowing there toward 242. check with our partners at waze and time things out. this is a surprise. not a surprise, pittsburg to the walnut creek interchange, that green line that's kirker pass road. one alternate to the slowing we see is actually getting just above there on to surface streets, willow pass road. waze will help you time secrets out, it's not a secret now, i showed it on tv. >> you're helping to get out. >> join nbc wazers. >> that's why people tune in for you, mike. >> people are going to turn me off for revealing the secret route. >> no secret we're having great weather this week. >> it continues into the weekend. we see a cooldown before we get there and warms up saturday with high temperatures inland in the mid-70s. does it get any more perfect? make sure you're making plans to get outside and for sunday we are going to be slightly warmer in the valleys, reaching 76

degrees while the coastal areas will be in the mid-60s, the bay will see high temperatures there up to about 71 degrees. nice weekend for ice skating, get you in the mood for the holidays since this weather isn't doing the trick. we'll see temperatures in the low 60s on saturday, in san francisco union square and mostly sunny skies. as we check out what's happening in the sierra, still no snow, and it doesn't look like we'll get any going into the weekend so you might as well get outside and enjoy the sunshine. temperatures in the mid-50s on saturday, and then on sunday, we're up to about 61 degrees. going up to the north bay and enjoying time outdoors in russian river valley, expect the coolest day on friday with highs up to about 69 degrees, warming uhm on saturday to 72, and the warmest day will be on sunday, as we reach 76 degrees. also not a bad weekend for heading to the beach. we'll see santa cruz reaching up into the low 70s by the end of

the weekend, and also more sunshine in the forecast. we'll talk about what's going on today. a few changes ahead, coming up in about three minutes. >> thanks, kari. 5:40 right now. coming up, all eyes on washington, d.c., as impeachment hearings against president trump go public. scott mcgrew watching capitol hill. >> in fact we'll walk you through the time line, laura, what to expect today and in future days as well. marcus. look at this live post game show following a hockey game. did you catch something fishy gpg on? >> that didn't happen. >> you got to be quick with it, if you missed it, we'll break it down for you and show you that replay again. ooh. >> that's hilarious. >> that's a talker for you. 5:41 for you right now. much more ahead for you right here on "today in the bay." so, as you can see, saving can be quite simple.

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good wednesday morning. it is 5:44. let's check out our temperature trend for martinez today. we'll have some upper 40s as you head out the door, the same start we've seen recently, cool mornings and warm afternoons. we will see more clouds moving in and peeks of sunshine. i'll talk about that for the next two weeks, coming up in less than five minutes. and showing you the bay bridge toll plaza, a shot we know we have the backup before but things may slow down because of an issue on the span. we'll show you what's going on and around treasure island. >> it's 5:44. today is the day the first of public impeachment hearings.

>> a lot of people are talking about this and scott mcgrew, it has been a long strange trip here. >> less than hofour months ago were in the middle of the mueller investigation looking into whether president trump tried to work with a foreign country to affect previous elections. four months later, we're in the middle of a different investigation looking into whether president trump tried to work with a foreign country to affect the next election, first to testify today is president trump's top man in that country, the acting u.s. ambassador to ukraine, bill taylor say west point grad who fought in vietnam, and has worked for the u.s. government for years. he's the one who started raising alarms in text messages. behind closed doors testimony, taylor said "that was my clear understanding, security assistance money would not come until the president of ukraine committed to pursue the investigation." security assistance is military

aid. the investigation is in to vice president biden's son, this for this, quid pro quo. taylor will be followed by george kent later today, trump's top adviser on russia and the former u.s. ambassador to ukraine on friday. next week, a huge slate of witnesses, including top donor gordan sondland, the first to say that there was no quid pro quo, then changed his memory after so many people testified there was. that will be a big day. president trump has of course tweeted this is another witch hunt but he may not watch today, because he's welcoming the president of turkey to the white house. erdogan is the guy who invaded syria last month and attacked our kurdish allies. during a previous visit to washington in 2017, president erdogan's body guards attacked protesters, americans on the streets of washington. leaders on both sides of the aisle are asking is today the right day to welcome, of all

people, recep erdogan? it's not the first time president trump's done something like this, even though his own supporters are saying it's bad optics. he did this after the firing of james comey for "that russian thing" the president's words, fired comey over "that russian thing." the first thing he did after the firing is meet with the russians. here is the president yesterday at the new york economics club. >> when i meet with the leaders of countries as they come in, kings and queens and prime ministers and presidents, and dictators, i meet them all. anybody wants to come in, dictators, it's okay. come on in. whatever's good for the united states, we want to help our people. >> special coverage of the impeachment inquiry begins at 7:00 a.m. our time. 5:47 right now. colin kaepernick back in the headlines this morning. he may be hoping to land a job

on an nfl roster. at 6:00, the big audition set for him this weekend and what he's saying about it. a follow-up on a story that got a lot of traction on the peninsula. cvs walking back on a policy shift made by one of their palo alto stores to limit the number of high school students in the store. that store located near pally high. they decided to limit the amount of students at any time to five, because they noticed shoplifting rates were higher during the school's lunch hour. students say they felt targeted. cvs corporate has gotten wind of the story. they say it goes against policies and it's instructing the store to stop that practice immediately. joan and sandy wheel are donating $106 million to launch a research initiative at three west coast universities aimed at finding treatment for brain disorders. the colleges taking part include university of california san francisco, uc berkeley and the university of washington. you've got to watch this. this may be the smoothest steal

in tv history. look at that guy. sticky fingered hockey fan there. reaches over, grabs another fan's ice cream, straight from his hand. he actually takes a bite, but before can he replace it, the victim notices here that it's gone. kind of turns him, what happened to my ice cream there. the fan quickly makes a clean getaway before anyone catches him red-handed. this happened during a carolina hurricanes game on monday night been identified. >> we have a picture there. >> clearly a joker. >> i hope that's his friend. can you imagine someone you didn't know took a bite of your ice cream, took it back. >> you don't want it back. >> yeah, they were friends. >> they are now. >> am i the only one like unh-uh, i'd be ready to fight. >> you're not the only one. >> even if that is your friend, no, i don't want to. >> unless you're a really good

friend don't do that. >> it was funny. >> it was funny but not scary. >> right. >> that's whey think. you scream. in dublin as we get ready to head out the door and it's already moving out there, as we are seeing no fog here. we are starting out with some nice conditions and as we check out our temperature for today, upper 40s, a few clouds moving by and at noon 67 degrees, low 70s by early afternoon. so after the cool start again we have another nice day. won't be as clear and sunny as we've seen recently. the sun once again being kind of filtered by those high clouds moving in, and we'll see some mid-70s in cupertino for the high today. morgan hill reaching 74 degrees. for the east bay we are up to 77 in danville, while oakland reaches up to about 68 degrees today. we'll see some upper 60s in san mateo and half moon bay cool

with upper 60s this afternoon. on the embarcadero a high of 68 degrees and 57 in santa ro75 in. we've had the dry weather, warm conditions and the climate prediction center says that will continue. we still have some dry weather in the forecast over the next two weeks and the outlook shows that things will stay the same here, but may change for southern california. look at what we are seeing here, with the next couple of weeks, above-average temperatures for the bay area, while it starts to cool off for the desert southwest, and also just to our south. high pressure continues and it's going to be moving off towards the east. it will allow for a couple of cold fronts to drop in some cooler air temporarily but high pressure builds once again and as we go into early next week we'll see this low moving off to our south, so that was the deal with cooler air moving in for l.a., and also that chance of

rain, while we may miss out on the showers, we will hopefully at least get some rain out of this by the end of next week, because we're still all dry and we haven't had a drop of rain for the whole month, and so we're looking at some mid-70s today, cooler and breezy going into the next couple of days and warming back up again for the weekend and early next week. mike, you have a possible problem on the bay bridge. >> yes, a concern because as the commute builds, we have the metering lights on. we had an issue reported treasure island on-ramp coming on to westbound 80 joining up with these folks. it sounds like from the few details we have from chp, it sounds like the vehicle is moving, out of lanes on the span through the tunnel and closer to san francisco, maybe getting off there at the fremont fulsome - ex-if that is the case we hope it moves off in the a couple of minutes. that is a tough spot the as far as exit. we have the build at the berkeley curve and no big

problems. we have a new crash showing up i think it's on highway 4 just shy of interstate 80 but we'll double check with chp once they get to the location. another issue close to san quentin getting off the san rafael bridge from richmond. no slowing there and anywhere south of there no problems your typical light build. marcus, back to you. >> thanks, mike. state of emergency, destructive wildfires continue to burn across australia, many around sydney. at least 50 homes are destroyed and 13 firefighters were injured overnight while working to put out those flames. meantime in italy venice in italy is dealing with historic flooding, the second highest water levels. more than 85% of the city is submerged and one death is reported. are you ready for this one, marcus? "people" magazine chose a new sex ye man alive. coming up next, we'll share the winner's name and why he says he's feeling the pressure today. plus an inspiring story you want to stick around for, the

help customers gave, rolling up their sleeves for one overwhelmed restaurant worker. nice. you're watching "today in the bay."

welcome back, everyone. it's 5:56. trending this morning, "people" magazine has named this year's sexiest man alive.

>> it's not me. here are some hints. he's won an oscar, an emmy, a tony and several grammys, also married to one outspoken woman and even works for nbc from time to time. >> still stumped? let's just say it will likely add to his legendary status. there you see it, john legend is named "people's" sexiest man alive. he tells the magazine he has mixed emotions about being chosen. for one he says it's a lot of pressure to try to follow last year's sexiest man alive, idriss elba. did we mention he's a fellow employee. see him on "the voice" monday and tuesday nights on nbc. this morning we're learning more about some heartwarming photos, you may have seen circulating online. >> customers jumped in to help at an alabama waffle house this past weekend, because of a mixup there was one worker on the schedule, totally swamped, so they just pitched in to help. brand new we're hearing from the man who took some of the pictures. he says the whole situation

really took even him by surprise. >> he seemed surprised, sure, but the overwhelmingly odd thing maybe about all of it was how cool everyone was about it. the waffle house employees, the two customers helping and the other customers in the restaurant were playing along like it was a normal day at waffle house. >> fun. he says it was cool to see all the people come together. here say new deal this morning between apple and walmart aimed at simplifying your grocery shopping. you can ask siri to add something to your online cart. walmart gives you the option to have the food delivered or pick it up. 5:58. this morning, berkeley farms facing an uncertain future. the parent company filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy. people are drinking less dairy milk so it's focusing on milk alternatives like soy and almond milk. berkeley farms produces 135,000

gallons of milk a day. drink up to help them out. what if on your morning coffee run you had to worry about getting lava inside the store? >> this morning we get our first glimpse inside the largest starbucks. when it comes to starbucks locations it's a venti. it's 35,000 square feet and opensfully chicago, it will be cold outside, a lot of people want to get inside. described as a willie wonka factory of craft coffee levers and on each of the five levels customer also find everything from the signature cocktails, pastries, liquid nitrogen gelato and coffee. five stories. >> 35,000 feet, a lot of coffee there. right now at 6:00, going public, the impeoplement inquiry into president trump taking its highest profile step. in one hour, live tv coverage as

lawmakers on both sides try to sway the american people. we've got live team coverage. no more dumping, the new strategy coming across the east bay to xat a problem that plagues the entire bay area. and kaepernick comeback? a surprise announcement about the former 49er this morning. "today in the bay" continues right now. good morning to you. thanks so much for joining us, now on this wednesday morning. i'm laura garcia. >> and i'm marcus washington. we'll have a look at the commute coming up with mike in a bit. first the forecast for you. meteorologist kari hall is tracking that. >> some changes in the forecast, we'll talk about getting you out the door this morning. it's foggy, driving across the golden gate bridge, while most of the rest of the bay area is seeing some much better visibility right now. so we are going to start out with the fog there, in mountain view, we are going to see our temperatures in