they are estimated to be worth around $1,000 apiece. the house was owned by someone who seems to have been a prominent bootlegger but had a forget spot as well. >> maybe had too much whiskey and forgot it in the walls there. right now at 6:00, black friday crackdown. despite warnings to stay home there are people planning to hit the stores. what's being done to reduce the spread of covid-19. >> the third wave is getting worse. the milestone experts say we could be approaching. >> temperatures in the bay area are dipping. cooler weather could be sticking around. meteorologist kari hall's forecast in just a few moments. "today in the bay" continues now. good friday morning to you. i'm kira klapper.

>> and i'm scott mcgrew. laura and marcus have the day off. kira, good morning to you. good morning, yes, it is very chilly out there. we have clear skies and colder temperatures as the winds start to calm down. we are going to see a very nice day after this chilly start. it's going to be frosty in the valleys but the mild afternoons will continue and still no rain in the forecast. we'll talk more about that and what's ahead coming up. mike, how is it looking heading out to work this morning? >> on the roads we're still fine. b.a.r.t. has delays into dublin and south san francisco over to the east bay. as we look at the maps the roadways are light. many people have the day off today but not everyone. there's still traffic out there as we take a look at oakland we do see traffic on the nimitz.

you will not find the overnight road crews. they are not clearing because they had the day off as well or the night off. back to you. health officials are certainly warning you to stay home as coronavirus grows worse, they worry thanksgiving and black friday are going to cause a huge spike in infections and death. still, some people lining up for deals like here at the best buy in san jose. we have team coverage on how shoppers and stores are responding to the pandemic. "today in the bay's" cierra johnson is live in burlingame. let's start with thom jensen. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, yes. there was a line outside this san jose best buy this morning. the line went in the store very quickly because there wasn't that many people, not like on a normal black friday with the sales. you might have some people waiting overnight. people abiding by the curfew, people showed up about 5:00 and

all went in the store. normally you would see hundreds of folks, shoppers inside the store and great sales going on. now only a few dozen. the store abiding by the 25% capacity rules making sure they have no more than 80 people in the store, and then the essential workers. home goods, but we were able to talk to them about what they were expecting for the black friday holiday shopping and what they were looking for as they went shopping today. >> came to look for the play station 5. it's sold out everywhere. >> reporter: what if they don't have it? will you still do some shopping here? >> we were just looking around for some deals and see what we could find. >> it's definitely different.

it doesn't feel like the holidays no more. just living a regular day kind of. >> reporter: we heard that from a few people. people doing the online shopping, coming here making sure that they were wearing their mask, that they're abiding by the social distancing and the stores doing that as well. limited to 25%. and grocery stores limited to 50% capacity. enforcement teams are out during this holiday shopping weekend making sure that businesses and shoppers are abiding by all of the rules as they try to camp down this surge and ward off what they were thinking could be a huge increase in cases if people do not abide by all of those protocols during this holiday weekend and get together and go out in big crowds and go shopping. we're live in san jose. thom jensen, "today in the bay." >> thom, thanks. here is the difficult thing. you want to support business that is have been suffering

during these closures, during the pandemic. you want to support the retail workers who are out there trying to make a buck but by going out when health officials are telling us not to you're not only putting yourself at risk but those working in retail as well at risk. cierra johnson with that part of the story. hey, cierra. >> reporter: i've actually worked black friday retail when i was in college and it was wall-to-wall people, folks reaching and grabbing and a lot of close contact. for that exact reason a lot of people are simply deciding to stay home and they have good reason to. your risk increases when you're in those increased crowds. how big of a deal black friday typically is, this time last year 190 million people took part in both black friday and

cyber monday shopping. that still means millions will be in the stores. and for those deciding to venture out there is the 25% capacity for malls and retail stores. for those who decided to open what are they doing to keep people safe, placards are on the ground and hand sanitizing pumps and some even urging shoppers to use their mobile app to shop. some businesses using technology to use apps for contact tracing. take a listen to why that awareness of being exposed is so crucial.

>> since we're seeing transmissions, the more information the better. >> a lot of retailers are pushing the sales online. they started you recallier. as you can see from thomas shot not a lot of people are doing the early morning shopping so experts are thinking online shopping will be the move this year. we're live in burlingame, cierra johnson for "today in the bay." >> nearly 13 million covid-19 cases in the united states, more than 263,000 americans have died. a new cdc report says the actual number of cases hit nearly 53 million. the u.s. could approach 100 million. the true number may be eight times the reported number

because cases -- some cases are mild or asymptomatic. >> astrazeneca and oxford university are defending the results and methods. they claimed the drug to be 90% effective and later admitted to contradictory numbers for different trials. scientists question why some people in the trials were only given half doses. a spokesperson is saying studies were conducted to the highest standard but they were interim results. they tell bloomburg they are considering a new study. it is 6:08. millions of murss went to work at hospitals. the covid cases put major stress on health care industries when it comes to shortages.

261,000 lives lost, nurses worried about their own families and often feel exhausted and helpless. >> one of the things we struggle with is what do we do with our kids if we feel we can't keep them safe, potentially sending them to live with a relative away from us. >> when i get a chance when i'm not in a room if i can run into the bathroom for a 30-second break, i'll quickly take the mask off and shield and breathe, breathe, breathe, breathe. >> with the large number of people traveling hospitals are expecting an influx of covid patients as the holiday comes to a close. we're tracking the number in each individual county to see where things stand in your area head to nbcbayarea.com. we're going to make things a little lighter now and take you to tahoe where more ski resorts are opening today.

sugar bowl is set to open. squaw valley and alpine meadows opened. heavenly opened last week. you will have to book your lift tickets ahead of time. there are major restrictions on the slopes. time now to check in with meteorologist kari hall with a look at the forecast and, mike inouye, i didn't get to tell you earlier i loved your kevin mccallister impersonation, "home alone." your disease, that's one of the naughty things i thought i had to shield my son from hearing. >> we protect them. let's go now to kari hall. >> if you're able to do that and watch some snow we're going to see some snow on the ground in spots like the sugar bowl resort

if you're going there. you'd better have all of those reservations in advance. not a lot of snow to work with for skiing. our high temperatures reaching into the low 40s. a lot more sunshine in the forecast and morning temperatures in the 20s. in fact, even some 20s as you head out the door in parts of the bay area. look at ukiah right now at 28 degrees. and we are mostly in the 30s heading down to the south county. we do have freezing temperatures but it will be a nice afternoon. mike, what are you seeing as people are still heading to work this morning. >> i'm seeing green which is good for the commute. i see one problem i'm concerned with, a nice, easy dry, even out of the altamont. no slowing. we're looking at byron highway. there is a crash and it sounds like a something crash.

contra costa county and the bay area reports, the bay bridge, no backup. back to you. >> looks good, mike, thanks. just shy of 6:12, thanksgiving derailed as an apartment complex up in flames. ou many people are now out of their homes this thanksgiving holiday. the big promise amazon made as online sales boom and why it's still facing criticism. out to the big board. wall street should have a light day today and only working half a day. you're watching "today in the bay."

good friday morning. as you are heading out and heading to work this morning, we are seeing clear visibility but very chilly temperatures this is a look at the view from dublin and we're going to start out in the upper 30s but then warm up nicely by late morning. we're in the upper 50s heading to about 60 degrees. we'll talk about our microclimates and take a look into next week coming up in a few minutes. you showed dublin. might be a ten-minute delay from san francisco to dublin and antioch, equipment problems getting fixed there. looking at fremont, no delay for the rails on the roads.

a smooth drive. developing this morning as many as 30 people are without a place to sleep after a fire. the flames broke out just before 7:00 near the corner. the battalion chief says it started in an upstairs apartment. nobody was hurt. wall street looks set to open with small gains after the thanksgiving holidays. taking a breather after the dow rose above 30,000 on tuesday. traders reacting to some disappointing unemployment data, more people than expected filed for jobless benefits last week. trading volume should be light. markets are only open for half a day closing at 1:00 p.m. eastern.

amazon will give more bonuses to frontline workers in the united states. full-time staff a bonus of 300 and part-time workers $150. amazon has been facing criticism from lawmakers and unions over whether it is doing enough to protect warehouse and other frontline workers from the coronavirus. a lot of people took time-out from turkey and football to get an early jump on holiday shopping deals yesterday. adobe analytics said initial figures show thanksgiving day is on track to break $6 billion in online sales up from $4.2 billion last year. shopify says the average online shopping cart had $88 in goods in it. several chains kept their physical stores closed on thanksgiving this year to limit crowds, of course, pushing more deals online. black friday projected to generate $10 billion in online sales up nearly 40% from last year. with your cnbc morning report, i'm brian sullivan.

miley cyrus has released her seventh studio album. here is a clip from one of the tracks. ♪ i don't miss you but i think of you ♪ ♪ i don't know why >> the album is titled "plastic hearts" and includes guest vocals from joan jett, billy idol and fleetwood mac's stevie nicks. the record is out today. >> let's get a check of your weather and traffic. i'm guessing not much traffic on this black friday. chilly weather, kari, good morning. good morning. we've seen temperatures in the 20s and 30s for some of our north bay valleys. and we're going to have the all-clear day. that's a beautiful view from belvedere. as we take a look at some of the numbers heading to the lunch hour you're going to be outside.

we're going to see the temperatures in the mid to upper 50s. a few low 60s like oakland and san jose reaching into the mid-60s for highs as we enjoy our leftovers today. expect it to reach into the mid-60s this afternoon and cooling down quickly for that evening walk. as we'll come back to the upper 50s right about 5:00. it's going to be chilly once again. if you'll be up and out the door early expect more 30s and low 40s to start out our saturday morning. there will be a cold front approaching heading into monday but the rain is going to dry out before it gets here, and we're stuck in this dry weather pattern with cold front after cold front, really not bringing any chances of rain as we go into the next week or so. i wanted to show you the drought monitor because conditions are worsening across the state. now over 96% of california is at least abnormally dry. as we look at southern california they were doing pretty good. with the lack of rain we're start to go see them approaching

drought conditions. here in the bay area we've been in a drought. we've had extreme drought conditions for the north bay. and what this means for us if we don't get any rain and we get a high wind event, we still may see our fire season continue even going into december. so we're looking at still some severe to extreme drought conditions here in the bay area with no rain coming our way and we're looking at highs that will reach into the mid-60s. those morning temperatures will be chilly dropping near freezing at times. mike, how is it looking now for the commute? >> looking great. as you would expect, maybe light traffic today. scott is right. the friday after thanksgiving we see green sensors on our maps. no problems on the freeways. i want to take you to byron highway. we had a crash reported in byron and this is your main cut through here that may be an issue near mountain house because there's a crash involving a trailer, a boat trailer so that might affect you on mountain house as you approach. you have to get by on the

shoulder. no problems at the toll plaza. hardly any traffic at the toll plaza. we'll keep checking. >> reporter: returning presents might not be as easy as it usually is this holiday season. i'm investigator chris chmura. we'll blame covid and i'll tell what you you should do about it next. and our team is always on social media this holiday season. we are grateful for the frontline workers like my son, a paramedic, out there keeping you safe. that is his thanksgiving meal. looks like pasta from the hospital. make sure to follow us on facebook and twitter. you'll find me @scottmcgrew, and share photos of anyone you know that is working on the front lines, our grateful thanks to them. we will be right back.

nevada has been hit hard, 145,000 positive cases. more than 2,000 have died in that state so far. someone is being diagnosed every minute and more unsettling everyone is dying from coronavirus every two hours. >> new york just recorded its deadliest day with 67 covid deaths in response governor andrew cuomo is revealing a new winter plan ahead of a spike in cases during the colder months.

he will continue to prioritize trying to reopen schools and ramp up testing. baltimore ravens quarterback lamar jackson has tested pass tiff for covid-19. the raining nfl mvp is the biggest star to become infected with what is a big outbreak in the nfl. jackson is among the four latest ravens players, one staff member as well, to test positive. the ravens have at least a dozen players test positive for coronavirus this week and this latest round of positive tests will probably threaten the game between the ravens and the undefeated pittsburgh steelers. that had already been postponed since thursday. deadlines are officially set as retailers and shipping companies navigate the challenges brought on by the pandemic. write these down, december 15th is the last day for u.p.s. and fedex ground. december 18th for first class mail. they all warn there's no guarantee your shipments will be

on time. all year long but especially at the holidays nbc bay area responds to viewers who have trouble returning merchandise. >> what are the rules? we asked chris chmura for a quick refresher. >> reporter: good morning. we'll return billions upon billions of dollars worth of merchandishat doesn't work, doesn't fit or just doesn't do it for us. last year 77% of consumers who responded to an oracle poll said they plan to return at least one gift. here is a 2020 hitch. many stores have modified or removed their return policies due to covid-19. and they're allowed to. returns and exchanges are not required by california law. stores can say all sales are final, period. the attorney general says don't assume a store will allow to you return an item. let's do a quick q&a. can a store charge a restocking fee? yes. can a store only give you store credit not cash back? yes. can a store deny a refund if you

don't have an original receipt? yes. you see a trend here? you need to figure out a return policy before you swipe your credit card. they're supposed to be posted. the law says so. go to nbcbayarea.com and then click the responds option from the main menu or call us 888-996-tips.

right now at 6:30 today is black friday unlike any other as the pandemic grows worse. go holiday shopping plus -- >> we expect them to come onboard physically around the second week of december if all goes according to plans. >> two hospitals could be among the first to get a covid vaccine. who would be the first in line. what trump is saying about conceding to president-elect joe biden. "today in the bay" continues right now. and a very good friday morning to you. i'm scott mcgrew. >> and i'm kira klapper. marcus and laura are deservedly off this morning. mike, now back with a check of the commute but first right to

meteorologist kari hall tracking chilly temperatures. sunshine on the way. >> yeah, the sun is rising right now. and not a cloud to be seen anywhere. very chilly to start but warming up with a lot of sunshine. more of these frosty mornings in the valleys and mild temperatures for the afternoon. still not seeing any rain in the forecast. mike, what is going on right now with the morning commute? kari, right behind me we have a view that a lot of people like as we take a look at the maps, we have green. you're at speed around the bay and, in fact, some of our -- all of our usual suspects are light even where the arrow is out of the altamont pass there is a crash in byron we're tracking but on mountain house parkway over 880 very smooth. we have traffic but it's not bad.

>> we begin our coverage and cierra johnson to show us how retailers will attempt to contact trace shoppers in the pandemic. >> reporter: good morning. to start with this year like so many other events throughout 2020, today is a little different, a tradition for so many folks to do that black friday. keeping the turkey day small and black friday shopping. to give you an idea how big black friday typically is outside of the pandemic, 190 million people, according to the national retail federation, participated on black friday and cyber monday last year. the same organization saying they're expecting a 43% drop this year. it may sound good on the surface

but that still means millions of people are potentially planning to hit those stores. and for those of you deciding to venture out a majority of the bay area counties in that purple tier, which means capacity for malls and other stores are currently operating at 25%. what are the retailers doing to reduce the risk of spread? a lot of those stores like walmart and target won't even open on thanksgiving day, when the lines typically start. according to jo ling kent, a lot of major mall chains are taking steps like placing the placards on the ground to enforce social distancing. and some malls are even encouraging their shoppers to make reservations to shopping using mobile reservations. many businesses turning to technology contact tracing to notify shoppers if they've been exposed.

if you've come into contact with a sick person, take a listen why that awareness is so crucial in this time. >> we're seeing that throughout the country. this balance getting information and also privacy but, again, we're disrupting that providing this name or even a nickname and a way to contact you and your device because you're at risk. there is certainly a balance t but -- >> reporter: and so we know that knowledge is so important in the midst of a pandemic and retailers are well aware they won't be inside of the stores. they offer very deep discounts

with sales starting earlier, running later so you are able to shop in a safe manner in the comfort of your own home. live in burlingame, cierra johnson, "today in the bay." >> the state confirming more than 14,000 cases. 416 new cases confirmed in santa clara county alone. the county has removed more than 400,000 cases a day for the past week. two of them here in the bay area. if the fda approves pfizer's emergency use authorization, health care workers and -- [ no audio ] >> as scott was saying health care workers, first responders, paramedics at both ucsf and san

francisco general hospital would be the first to get the vaccine. ucsf specialist dr. chin-hong says this could happen before christmas. he expects the two-dose vaccine will be free for everyone. you shouldn't ditch your mask right away. it may be something to hold on to, a symbol of how far we've come. >> some of the possible side effects of getting the vaccine include fever, muscle aches, and headache. in the red along with san francisco and san mateo counties which means businesses there have more liberties but if marin

county does go purple predicted as soon as this coming tuesday many indoor businesses would have to close due to the curfew. they do anticipate regressing into the state's purple tier in the coming days as well. a man was trapped under a boulder. the rescue of 48-year-old jason cook. he went hiking in the palisades area. looking for a missing drone. he was on the hiking trail off the main trail and a large slap of rock underneath him gave way. finally hours later at 2:00 a.m. he had maneuvered and dug himself out. he was able to get his cell phone and call 911. they located him, started a fire, kept him warm until daylight and airlifted him to uc davis medical center.

cook suffered 11 broken ribs and says his helmet saved his life. it's a startling statistic. 54 million americans don't have access to sufficient food. over the thanksgiving holiday many volunteers paused their holidays with their families to help with that during the pandemic. from glide memorial church and the salvation army in san francisco to nonprofit organization in the north bay thousands of meals were delivered to those in need across the bay area. one easy way you can help is through our nourishing neighbors food drive. if you can the next time you're at safeway we would love it if you could make a $10 donation at check-out. our food drive runs through december 29th. san jose's christmas in the park kicks off today. the holiday tradition is undergoing a big change because of covid. it's being reimagined as a drive-through experience at history park.

you'll still get to see all the traditional displays and the trees decorated by community groups. it will cost $10 to $20 per car depending on what time you go. you'll have to sign up in advance online. and launching a virtual experience on its website. this new interactive engagement also begins today and runs through new year's eve. >> reporter: and son this black friday during the pandemic and during a surge in covid-19 cases, how are people doing their holiday shopping? i'm thom jensen. coming up in a live report we'll show you how they're coping with all of the new rules and what they're looking for. plus, the san jose state spartans are set to make history this weekend if they can pull it off against boise state. why clinching aictory would an more than just a "w" for

this year's season. stay tuned.

right now at 6:42 a very chilly morning especially in our inland valleys where we started out below freezing. we're seeing that in morgan hill as well as ukiah but we're going to have a nice and mild afternoon. we'll talk about that and the rest of the forecast coming up in a few minutes. and we're looking at a commute across the san mateo

bridge which is relatively light. we still have a good flow of traffic. i've seen relatively major changes over at the bay bridge coming up. turning to the presidential transition at 6:42 this morning, president trump heads to camp david. his visit is closed to the press. it's unclear who is going with him or what the agenda might be, one day after president trump answered questions for the first time since the election. when pushed about whether he would vacate the white house january 20th when electors finalize the biden victory, here is what he had to say. >> certainly i will. certainly i will. and you know that. >> president trump announced plans to travel to georgia for a rally ahead of two senate elections. president-elect joe biden and his wife spent thanksgiving apart from their extended family sharing a video message on twitter. >> it's a personal sacrifice that each of our families can make and should make to save

somebody else's life. it's also a shared sacrifice for the whole country. >> mr. biden usually travels to nantucket but this thanksgiving they stayed in delaware. a pasadena church is taking its fight all the way to the u.s. supreme court. according to the southern california news group harvest rock church and harvest international ministry are seeking the high court's intervention ahead of its sunday service this sunday. it comes after the church filed suit against governor gavin newsom's office to allow them to worship indoors without restrictions and are currently awaiting appeal. the governor's office says numerous courts already have upheld the current regulations. 6:44. the state assembly will trade the capitol chambers for a downtown nba arena when it kicks off its legislative session in an effort to limit the coronavirus spread. the hope is the extra space and better air filtration at the

sacramento kings golden one center will help keep staff safe. no guests will be allowed. earlier this year several lawmakers and staff members tested positive for the virus. >> people are urged to stay home as coronavirus grows worse. they worry that thanksgiving and black friday will cause a spike in infections and deaths. some people lined up overnight for black friday deals. "today in the bay's" thom jensen is live at best buy in san jose for what he's seeing out there this morning. good morning to you, thom. >> reporter: good morning to you, too. we came out and did not see the long lines you see. the manager said you would see a line around the building. many people here waiting to get those deals. that line was not here. the curfew in place from 10:00

a.m. p.m. to 5:00 a.m. right now a limit of 80 people and that 25% limit on capacity. normally they might have 300 capacity, 320. business is down. during this surge in covid-19 cases and what they're looking for in particular. the playstation 5s sold out fast, didn't they? >> too fast. >> reporter: were you hoping to get one? >> yes. >> reporter: did you get one? >> not yet. >> reporter: what are the plans this year? are you shopping online because of covid? >> more online now, yeah, because of covid.

>> reporter: and that line that did form went right inthe store. people were not able to find the play station or the xbox, going to other stores looking for it right now. people did come out with tv monitors and other deals saying they are happy about the deals they found here this morning. >> thom, it's kira here. we spoke with cierra johnson earlier about her holiday shopping. how is yours going? are you going to go into best buy after you get off air right now? >> reporter: this best buy i think i can already tell our 13-year-old he knows we're looking for the playstation 5, on his wish list. i'm sure we'll be able to get one somewhere.

we're doing a lot of our shopping online, staying away from the stores. the stores around our neighborhood seem to be abiding by the rules also in the purple tier in my neighborhood. >> i did a lot of online shopping. the deals were already hot and happening on monday. didn't mean to put you on the spot there. good work, thom. thanks so much. >> reporter: not at all. the pac 12 canceled usc's game against colorado that was set for saturday. they didn't have enough players available in the offensive line due to positive covid-19 tests. the game will be declared a no contest. the school says two tested positive earlier in the week. another five were in quarantine for that contact tracing. going to stick with football. san jose state will attempt to make history. the school's football team is currently 4-0 and will attempt to go 5-0 for the first time

since 1939 when they take on boise state tomorrow. this is how the spartans looked in 1939 and how they looked today. you can see the uniforms have changed a bit. we also have a look at what sjsu stadium looked like back in 1939 and what it looks like today. is that in the same location? that's just so cool to see. and just to drive the point home even more back in 1939 the average cost of a car was $750. a gallon of gas 10 cents and the average cost of a bay area home $4,000. wow. >> now the cost of a gallon of gas is $750. right? >> it's about there, yeah. we'll check in with

meteorologist kari hall for a look at our weekend forecast. she'll send it over to mike with his $750 gallon of gas after this. we're starting out with some cold temperatures so you're using even more gas to run the heater this morning. this live look outside in san jose, now we're seeing our temperatures at about 8:00 at 40 degrees. after that chilly start it will warm up nicely for the middle of the day. we're at 63 degrees. it not only warms up but cools down fast so later on if you're heading out for a late dinner expect temperatures in the mid-40s. we're going to see still some warm weather for the middle of the day but temperatures in the mid-60s for a couple of hours so reaching up to 63 in napa and martinez. 65 today in morgan hill. going through the forecast we are still not seeing any rain. in fact, all of the cold fronts that moved closer, all of that rain just drives up before it moves into the bay area so even

as we go to the end of next week we're still not seeing a drot of rain in the forecast. so this november looking like it will go down as one of the driest we've had on record. and we are looking at the drought monitor. this shows a lot of different colors but for southern california, they have not been in a drought. in fact, towards the end of the last water year, they had some decent rains. they're just now starting to approach abnormally dry conditions. here in the bay area, well, we did not get that rain toward the end of the water year so we are looking at now some extreme drought conditions and it continues to expand looking more severe for much more of the bay area as we go deeper into our water year without any rain. and so we're going into next week with a dry weather pattern continuing and temperatures are at least staying down, but if we do get some high wind events we will have to monitor for the potential of some wildfires and, yes, this late in the season we're still going to have to

talk about that as we reach into the low 60s for highs, some upper 30s for morning temperatures. and, mike, watching out on the roads this morning, anything popping up? well, kari, the freeways are showing a smooth drive. green sensors all over the map as we show that to you full screen. out to byron where we're following this one crash. i've been following it for a while involving a boat trailer. sounds like there's damage to the roadway and that may be a factor for folks approaching byron bethany road. everything else through contra costa county and alameda moving nicely to the bay bridge toll plaza. the live look shows you a very light drive right now but a half dozen cars, at times as many as a dozen cars in this view. yes, fluctuating to almost double the traffic right now. back to you. >> always giving me a chuckle, mike. thanks. 6:52. germany has reached 1 million

people, in fact, a dozen nations have reached that grim milestone including the u.s. in fact, we have far surpassed that number with 12 million cases. the data from germany's disease control center shows that more than 15,000 germans have so far died from coronavirus. germany has embarked on a so-called wave breaker shutdown that started november 2nd. chessing restaurants, bars, sports facilities, schools, shops and hair salons remain open. up next a quick look at our top stories including shopping. what experts say you need to know before taking the risk and shopping in person on this black friday. plus, defending its vaccine results. what astrazeneca and oxford university are saying after some pretty heavy criticism. you're watching "today in the bay."

- nothing brings families together like the holidays. but it's also when some people need extra help. visit feedingamerica.org/croodscare and making giving back your family's holiday tradition. - thanks. - the more you know.

and welcome back to you. here is a look, a quick look, at our top stories this morning that we are following.

"today in the bay's" cierra johnson with more on the protections in place to help shoppers who are heading out to shop this black friday. >> reporter: good morning. yeah, black friday will look different than it has in years past because, to start with, most of the bay area is in the purple tier which means a lot of malls and retail stores will be able to cap the number of folks inside stores at 25%. nbc has also done sought research and finding a lot of malls are taking precautions like installing the hand sanitizing pumps as well as those placards on the ground to enforce social distancing. some are even going so far as to make reservations online for a time to shop. another trend this year contact tracing. a lot of businesses have apps to notify shoppers if they've come into contact with anyone testing

positive. a lot that is happening in the stores but online good news there the sales are happening for a little longer than they have in years past and the discounts very deep because the retailers know folks are staying home to stay safe and deciding to shop online. a lot of differences this year compared to years past. in burlingame, cierra johnson for "today in the bay." >> thanks. astrazeneca and oxford university are now defending the results and the methods they use to test their own vaccines after they received heavy criticism. monday they claimed the drug for covid was 90% effective. they later admitted to manufacturing errors and contradictory numbers for different trials. astrazeneca spokesperson says the results that were released monday were interim results. and the studies why conducted to the highest standards. our coverage continues online, of course, where we are tracking the number of covid cases in each county. you can see where things stand in your area, nbcbayarea.com.

a last-minute check of the weather and traffic. and we are starting out with those cool temperature across the bay area. we're going to see our highs reaching into the low 60s today. it won't be as windy as it's been the last couple of days and our weekend is looking pretty nice. more cold mornings and some mild afternoons. we're still looking at some dry weather conditions into next week while san francisco will also be in the low 60s and morning temperatures in the low 40s. mike, how is it looking right now for the commute? i think i'll let the speed sensors speak for themselves. they're all green including out of the altamont pass. a very easy drive. folks out there do be careful. you're going to want to mind the speeds. roadways are actually so light in some spots, going to be tempted to go faster than you should. areas like the toll plaza you have to slow down and make it through the toll gates. be very careful out there, folks. let's make sure we celebrate the

end of the weekend. the "today" show starts now. i will be back in 24 hours from now with your weekend morning news. hope to see you then. have a great friday. good morning. black friday 2020. while the crowds may be smaller, the deals aren't going anywhere. many taking their shopping sprees completely virtual. >> it's not wort it when you can shop online. there's so many other options. >> others say they're sticking to tradition, pandemic or not. >> i'd rather go experience the thrill of shopping rather than clicking a button on a mouse. >> we'll have everything you need to know about navigating the sales safely. wake-up call. new this morning a cdc bombshell. there could actually be eight times as many coronavirus cases as we thought.