the bay area or to tracy and that's because of an earlier crash along eastbound 580 that crews are working to clear right now involving two vehicles. caused a little bit of delays through there. let's take a look at how the rest of the bay area is doing. east bay drive times northbound 880 from marina boulevard to broadway ten minutes and westbound 580 from estudillo avenue to grand avenue eight minutes. looking good out there. laura. >> back here in california despde desperate ways to slow the tide of infections. the purple tier counties simply just aren't cutting it. cierra johnson live in san francisco and does this mean we should brace for more action? >> that's exactly what it means. throughout the week governor gavin newsom says more needs to be done in those purple

counties, including the purple counties here in the bay area in terms of restriction. and at some point throughout this week, he's mentioned those efforts going on in l.a. county. so, what exactly is being done there? well, on top of ending indoor dining last week, the city of los angeles issued a modified stay-at-home order wednesday that echoed what the county issued on monday. that city order bans gatherings of people outside of immediate households with some exceptions such as religious service and protest. governor gavin newsom hosted a conference call with members of various cabinets yesterday to work out a restriction and on that call representative with national federation of independent businesses. he said they should expect that announcement within a day or two from the governor. so, some businesses working to adapt to changes since reinnei t reinterring the purple. one business owner we spoke with has kept his gym open after being ordered to close simply to make a stand.

he says he's unsure how long his business will be able to survive. >> i can't, obviously, afford to pay $1,000 or $2,000 fine every single day. there's a point at which i will probably have to close my doors. >> and it isn't just leaders at the state level, but also here at the local level. mayor london breed this week has also mentioned l.a. saying the efforts made there are not off the table when banning that outdoor dining. really just in the next day or two where we hear from the state or local leaders when we hear about the title restrictions. live in san francisco, cierra johnson for "today in the bay." >> thank you. want to take a live look for you now at capitol hill. this is where a covid relief bill may be in sight after months of gridlock. top democrats are signaling the board for a proposal to provide $908 billion in aid for struggling americans. >> "today in the bay" tracie potts joins us live from washington this morning.

tracie, tell us more about how this could help. >> well, it could help if they could figure out how to get it done, laura and marcus. this is supposed to be the middle ground with both democrats and republicans saying, look, this could work. it's a so-called down payment on the bigger stimulus that will probably not happen until after joe biden is in office. let's take a look. this is what the $908 billion would cover. it would start with $300 a week extra for people on unemployment. there's $150 billion per state and local governments. this is what democrats wanted and republicans objected to. it includes the paycheck protection program. small business loans. help for airlines, a transit bailout and a number of things and now it's down to the politics and democrats and republicans agree to get something done and get it done quickly. >> finally this week we're

seeing cracks starting to form in the democratic leader stonewall. >> an effort to jump start serious negotiations. >> so, translation. they're talking. but nothing in your pocket yet. we'll continue to follow that. that's not the only proposal on the table. democrats have a separate one and republicans do, too. senate majority leader mitch mcconnell said they really want to start with what they know the president will sign. laura, marcus. >> tracie potts in washington. thank you. president-elect joe biden will meet with his transition adviser later today to game plan how to contain the pandemic and reboot the economy. yesterday, he had a round table with struggling small business owners and workers. >> attorney general bill barr is feeling the heat from the white house this morning. sources tell nbc news president trump is not ruling out firing his attorney general after barr said tuesday the justice department saw no widespread

evidence of voter fraud. with bay area hospitals posting for a post-thanksgiving surge, experts say a long, difficult holiday season. for medical professionals, a lot of cases. joy is actually showing the replacement with dread. they're actually bracing for the coming impact from thanksgiving get togethers and more extensive travel and some fear it's just the beginning. >> there are going to be holiday parties even though there shouldn't be holiday parties. and that's going to cause another surge. and then christmas is going to cause another surge. and then new year's eve and new year's day will cause another surge on top of all these surges. >> uc doctor says california hospitals are just a few weeks away from being overwhelmed. he believes the only way to stop the spread now is to make sure people don't gather. he expects a statewide order coming soon. listen to theb i numbers he. bay area infections just shot past 156,000 with.

the only bay area county not in the purple tier, marin did not report any new infections due to technical difficulties. now, close to 2,000 people in the bay area, sadly, have died. an east bay school is staying open, even after a covid outbreak in a classroom. san ramon says it wireopened an three students tested positive. the district says the school was disinfected but they plan to continue in-person classes at a limited capacity. new details this morning on the storm of earthquakes in central nevada rattling mina which is 159 miles southeast of reno. in 24 hours 43 earthquakes shook that area as far as the nevada border. some aftershocks felt in northern california. seismologists say the largest quake was a 5.1. well, happening today for

you, the grand opening for a new floating fire station. well, turning heads in san francisco. fire station 35 is located on pier 22 just north of the bay bridge. that new station replaces the century old fire station on the embarcadero. it will have three fire boats and a rescue water craft. let's take a live look outside. golden gate bridge there from a distance. beautiful. if you're anywhere near the coastline today, certainly don't turn your back on the water. a persistent ocean swell is creating dangerous conditions making it right for large sneaker waves. don't be fooled. sometimes those big waves could be up to 30 minutes apart. right when you think it's calm, it's not. stronger rip currents are also possible. meteorologist kari hall tracking it all for us. that really never turn your back on the ocean pretty big. >> yeah, especially for spots like ocean beach where we do have those most dangerous waves due to some of those currents

coming out of the golden gate bridge. and where we're seeing that water kind of squeezing through the bay. so, we do have the potential of more of those dangerous waves for today all the way through 4:00 this afternoon. as we continue to watch those areas that are west, northwest facing beaches, we are going to have some sneaker waves possible, as well. temperature wise, we are starting out cool in ocean beach and reaching to the upper 50s. we will have some sunshine and light winds there for today. as we head over to you, vianey, how is it looking right now for the commute? >> you know, we're still doing pretty good out on the roads. we have that crash near the trivalley area aside from that, though, i am starting to notice a little more traffic starting to build as we inch closer, of course, towards that 6:00 a.m. hour. pretty normal traffic flow through there and southbound 101 from van ness avenue through sfo. it's looking good so far, so

just continue to drive safe out there. i'll send it back to you. >> thank you very much. pigs even horses. next on "today in the bay" bringing your pet along for emotional support when you fly getting harder to do. we'll explain exactly which of your furry friends may suddenly be grounded. if you're planning to buy a gift online, it would be very good to get it done soon. i will tell you why. plus . ♪ so call me maybe the other boys try to chase me ♪ ♪ here's my number call me maybe ♪ >> you remember that song. i want to ask you a question, do you think a new christmas classic? the new holiday song from pop star. stick around for it. in a land not so far away. people are saving hundreds

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again, again! xfinity mobile. your wireless. your rules. your way to stay closer together. click, call, or visit an xfinity store today. the time now is 5:12 and i'm starting to see some dense fog developing in novato where visibility down to a quarter of a mile. clear visibility else where and i'll watch this as well as temperatures and any rain chances in the forecast. we'll talk about that coming up in a few minutes. a quick look at your bridge drive times westbound 580 towards the richmond bridge, you're looking at about eight minutes for westbound 80 towards

the bay bridge and westbound 92 towards the san mateo bridge only 13 minutes. keeping a close eye on the roads with a traffic report coming up in a few minutes. good morning and very happy thursday to you, as well. more evidence if you want to buy a holiday gift for somebody online, you better get on it. u.p.s. is apparently limiting the number of packages it's allowing its drivers to pick up from big retailers like macy's, nike and the gap are two others. this according to "wall street journal" which talked to drivers. they say they've never seen shipping limits before. the fed has released its o-called beige book, which is neither beige nor a book, but it does give us some anecdotal evidence as to what is going on in our economy. we particularly care about district12. that's because thast' the san francisco fed covering our fair city, of course, but really the whole west coast region. one thing that jumped out at me, the report says some employers are having trouble finding

workers because, quote, an unusual uptick in voluntary employee attrition, attributed to various reasons including changes in childcare needs, decisions to move out of state and fear of contracting covid-19. speaking of moving out of state. shares in hewlett-packard enterprise rose 2% after it said it would move its headquarters out of san jose to texas. it will keep its san jose campus. hpe not to be confused with hewlett-packard staying in palo alto. an enormous amount of hiring done by a company it did not name but said it was a large logistics and distribution firm with a national presence. now, if you could figure out what amazonian-size company this is, do let me know. now, as we've been reporting, coronavirus is the worst it has been. it is the deadliest it has in ever been ever. more people in the hospital now than during our spring lockdowl.

that may be inspiring the democrats to back down on their demands for a coronavirus relief bill. tracy was telling you about this. a smaller deal moving forward. it would appear even if it is not as much as they hope. marcus and laura, a spreadsheet so big my computer slowed down. who got how much in the paycheck prodekz loans. you can sort it out to see who in the bay area got big money. a bay area golf course as a consulting company on the peninsula. $1.3 million. you can look at it yourself. people noticing the big national chains got money. the reason i'm not going to call out bay area companies there are so many and picking a few at random wouldn't be fair. but i'll post that data to twitter for you. >> really interesting to see. a lot of money we're talking about there. thanks so much, scott.

all right. aern warning for you before yo plan to book and take a pet on your next flight. the department of transportation is cracking down when it comes to animals on aircraft issuing a sweeping new set of rules. emotional support animals are no longer considered service animals. only dogs individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of someone disabled will be allowed on passenger planes. one flight attendant union member calls it a win for all involv involved. >> this is really the product of all the stakeholders coming together and looking for a solution that works so that we can continue to make sure that those who need a little assistance onboard can have it without other people taking advantage of this space and really fraudulently trying to bring animals onboard that put everyone at risk. >> you saw some of the examples of the animals people are bringing onboard. "today" show will have a closer look at the changes ahead at

7:00 a.m. right after "today in the bay." trending for you this morning if you have a stupid love of cookies, i want you to listen up. lady gaga has a sweet treat for her little monster. that's what she calls the fans. the pop singer announcing on twitter she is teaming up with oreo to team up with her album. the vanilla flavored cookies are bright pink with green cream filling. limited edition cookies will be available in stores starting in january. just in time for valentine's day. >> thinking of all those holidays. >> well, there you go. you know what, also trending for you this morning pop star carly rae jepsen getting in the holiday spirit. >> she released a holiday song. ♪ >> it's called "it's not christmas until somebody cries."

many are wondering if it will be a successful as her "call me maybe" hit and others wondering if it will compete with this christmas hit. ♪ all i want for christmas is you ♪ >> all right, team, what do you think? i still go with mariah carey. it's uplifting. it's not christmas without you. the other one is it's not christmas until everybody cries. >> our producer was just saying, you know what, but for 2020, that might be a good song. crying, 2020. hey, i'm just saying. but you know what, i'm going with mariah on this one. it's mariah. >> counting her coins with this song. >> her song was cool. >> kari, you get the deciding vote here. >> well, i'd like to hear the whole song. i want to know what she's talking about until somebody cries. i mean, maybe we're not getting the gist of the song. i want to hear the whole song

before i judge it. but,yeah, i don't think anybody can stand up to mariah carey. >> not with that song, nope. >> all i want for christmas is you and you and you. all three of you. >> perfect. >> iust just want to hear s"sil night" from the temptations. >> i love that. let's get to the weather. >> we could sing it all morning. let's get to our forecast. does look really good for us today. starting out cold but look at our high temperatures for this afternoon. we're going to reach into the upper 60s. almost 70 degrees in gilroy. we're going to have a pretty big warm up there as we check out the east bay, expect it to reach up to 65 in concord and we're going to see mid 60s for hayward. along the coastline, once again, still watching out for the

sneaker waves and rip currents, half moon bay reaching 60 degrees and san francisco up to 63 degrees downtown and in the mission district. our north bay highs will reach into up thor 60s in santa rosa reaching up to 67 degrees. so, as we go through the forecast, we're watching a couple of weather systems coming in. the first one is what is churning up those waves along the coastline. check out what we're looking at early sunday morning. there will be the potential that the north bay could see some rain coming in. now, this is the first that the computer models are really starting to pan out rain as a possibility. that will be some good news as we get closer to this that we actually see this happening. but it doesn't look like a lot of rain and then we go back to some dry weather for early next week. we are watching for the potential that we could have a high fire danger by monday if we don't get some rain and if we also get some high winds and low humidity. but the rain potential not really that high at this point. only a few hundredths of an inch.

that's not going to help put a dent in this rainfall deficit that we have because santa rosa needs over 5 1/2 inches of rain to catch up to normal and we're seeing pretty big rainfall deficits all across the bay area and we've only measured 4% of our normal amount of rain in oakland. i mean, its are e's just so pitd not much in the way of any big storms heading into early to mid next week and we have to watch for that and the potential of fire danger early next week. really crazy that we're still talking about that during the month of december. vianey, how is it looking right now for the commute? >> well, we're seeing some traffic starting to build along 280 in the south bay but it's not because of any crashes. i'm thinking it's just people starting to get up and head to work. aside from that, though, we're still seeing a couple delays on eastbound 580 from that earlier crash as they work to clear the number one lane. let's look at how our bridges

are doing. westbound 580 towards richmond bridge eight minutes and westbound 80 to bay bridge nine minutes. >> thank you, vianey. the harsh words one church has for governor newsom this morning. plus, jam packed. hundreds of new yorkers statake the streets after a bar owner was arrested for breaking covid rules. first, you can always find the nbc team on social media. check out this behind the scenes photo hoda kotb shared from last night's rockefeller tree lighting. as you head out for this holiday season, if you can, take a moment to give to others. you can contribute to our nourishing neighbors food drive. the next time you're there make the $10 donation at the checkout and that money will go to local food banks to help so many familie families. i'll see you at the check out. we'll be right back.

new overnight, a scary but successful crash landing on a major mid west interstate. authorities say a small plane suddenly went down last night in new brighten, minnesota, right outside of minneapolis. the plane struck a car as the pilot tried to land. fortunately, no one was hurt. >> glad no one was hurt there. 5:25 for you this morning.

survivors of the san bernardino terror attack are being remembered of the pain five years later. a husband and wife team killed 14 people during a holiday party at a government building. 22 more people were injured there. to mark the day, many left flowers outside that building, including a man who was shot six times that day. that was the first time that he was actually at the scene since it happens. >> after 21 days in the hospital, many years of physical therapy and psychological therapy, i feel i'm in a better place today. >> that tribute is called the curtain of courage. some new yorkers are in an uproar after a bar owner was arrested for defying health orders. new york city authorities say a staten island serving people indoors past that 10:00 a.m. curfew. plain clothed officers said they

were allow to order food and drinks but only in exchange for a mandatory donation of $40. that resulted in a cease and desist order. well, southern california pastor calling governor newsom a grinch after the state issued a new health alert following a new church outbreak. health leaders there say three awaken churches in san diego are responsible for more than 60 people contracting the virus. parishioners have been seen at outdoor services without masks and aren't social distancing. after the state called out the churches, the pastor replied saying that all health protocols are being followed. well, nextt for you, the top stories we're following for you including a cliff side rescue overnight. the heavy equipment firefighters used to rescue the victim and how the victim is doing this morning. plus, under evacuation. an overnight firefight forces dozens to flee their homes in

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>> it will start to change numbers dramatically and be headed back to normal. right now at 5:30. racing for a vaccine. all new for you this morning, an exclusive conversation with bill gates. his insight on safety and getting everyone immunized and his important message to all vaccine doubters. and the all new fallout.

two of bay area's biggest companies are facing this morning. plus, up in flames. a december brush fire threatening homes. the fire statewide with dangerous conditions on tap. meteorologist kari hall tracking the whipping winter wind. "today in the bay" continues right now. a very good thursday morning to you. i'm laura garcia. >> i'm marcus washington. vianey with a look at that commute and we'll get to that in a second. meteorologist kari hall has been tracking the cold temperatures for us. >> i wanted to show you what to expect before you head out the door this morning. we are feeling some 30s in a lot of our inland valleys from the north bay to the east bay down to the south county. so, we are very close to freezing and starting to see some fog developing in parts of the north bay. watching out for that around novato and else where visibility is clear as we wake up and head out the door on what will be a very nice day. we'll talk more about that coming up in a few minutes.

vi, vianey, any problems out there on the roads? >> unfortunately, we do have a new crash and this is if you're driving in from tracy or to tracy. there appears to be now a new crash and this one on westbound 580 and that is a different crash from the earlier crash that was near flynn road. this one appears to involve a big rig right now. chp just now reporting this. this could definitely cause major delays as we head in towards the 6:00 a.m. hour. i'll keep a close eye on this. hopefully no one is hurt. we're moving along quite well but the traffic is building. i'll send it back to you. >> thanks so much, vianey. 5:32 right now. two vaccine candidates from pfizer and moderna are dominating the headlines, but now a dozen more are in development around the world. that takes money, public and private. >> new for you this morning "today in the bay" kris sanchez is joining us now and looking at the world nonprofits like bill and melinda gates foundation to

get the vaccine to everyone, kris. >> yeah, when we say it takes money, it takes bill gates second richest man in the world money and the bill and melinda gates foundation has been working for months with the world health organization to make sure any vaccine that is available is available to everyone around the world. as of last month, the foundation had committed $70 million towards the covid vaccine effort worldwide. because the foundation has been involved with vaccine distribution all the way backing up to the 1990s, the foundation isn't just providing money, it is providing infrastructure, too, to make sure those vaccines are available in low and middle-income countries, as well. speaking on "today" show this morning bill gates talked about finding out that the first vaccines up for emergency approval were more than 90% effective. >> that was absolutely at the high end of expectations and the reduction of severe disease and the reduction of transmission,

although we don't know the numbers exactly it looks extremely good. this is a great vaccine. great for covid and great for other vaccines, as well. >> now, as we have reported a week from today, the fda will decide whether to approve that pfizer vaccine for emergency use which health care workers and residents and staff of care facilities will get first. but we also can now report that the white house covid czar says enough vaccines to immunize 100,000 americans by the end of february. now, santa clara county just reported to us yesterday that they already submitted their vaccine distribution plan to the state which they have to do even before the vaccine is available. kris sanchez, "today in the bay." >> how many will they get during the first batch. we'll be waiting to find that out, kris. hopefully they come quickly. another record of covid-19 cases are being reported in the u.s. more than 204,000 cases were

reported yesterday. and the numbers show a grim update as 277,000 deaths were reported. that is the most ever recorded in a single day. here in california, more than 20,000 new cases were confirmed yesterday. that blows away the state's previous records. during the july surge that we saw, the state hit a peak of 12,000 daily cases. amid the increase of cases, the cdc is urging people to avoid traveling for the upcoming holidays. health officials say if you must travel, then you should get tested before and after your trip. well, this morning, there are now more than 100,000 covid patients in hospitals across the u.s. bay area leaders are keeping a close eye on hospital capacity. 30% of their beds available right now and in the south bay where hospitals are seeing the most patients since april, less than 20% but regional medical center said the patient stays are now shorter than before. most of the symptoms are not as

severe. >> we anticipated this and i think a little bit more prepared. so we can more accommodate them. >> they actually cite reasons for those shorter stays. patients are now younger than before and the staff has a better sense of what treatments work best. as cases skyrocket in southern california, there is a big legal battle playing out over l.a. county outdoor dining ban. a judge is now seemingly siding with restaurants. a live look this morning. he's actually asking the county to clarify why its ban ordered two weeks ago should go beyond state guidelines and explain how outdoor dining is adding to the overall case count. he's telling the county to have its answer by next tuesday. pasadena and beverly hills have voted to defy the ban. comes as city leaders approve a new stay-at-home order like the one already in place county wide. among other things, it bans gatherings outside immediate households. new for you this morning a new anti-trust lawsuit may be

filed against facebook within days. bob redell live outside the company headquarters in menlo park and what will this lawsuit actually claim? >> more than 40 states led by new york could be filing this lawsuit against facebook headquarter here behind me here in menlo park as early as next week, this according to the reuters news agency. it's not clear if california would be involved. the suit would allege, we expect, that facebook violated antitrust laws when it bought smaller rivals like instagram to stymie competition. "new york times" reports faceby denied the allegation and pointed out it does not have a monopoly on the social media market when you consider the other platforms like tiktok. ftc leading this probe into facebook and allow that group of states i mention join in.

reuters reports that the states are not expected to list what it is they want facebook to do by their antitrust behavior. google also being taken to court by the federal government. cnbc reports the national labor relations board has filed a complaint against google and its parent company alphabet for allegedly spying illegally on its employees. firing employees in retaliation for trying to unionize and for blocking employees from sharing work griefances with each other using general work tools like e-mail. in a statement, google defended itself and they write in part the rights of their employees and the right to have open discussions and their respectful debate and proud of the culture and committed to defending it against by individuals to deliberately undermine it. reporting live here in menlo park, bob redell, "today in the bay." new overnight a cliffside rescue along highway.

a high angle rescue of someone who fell over the side. all of this unfolded late last night. firefighters say the victim is now in stable condition in the nearby hospital. we don't know what injuries they suffer, but certainly quite lucky to be rescued. >> absolutely, laura. 5:39 for you right now. happening now, nearly 90,000 people in southern california have their power shut off this morning. this is because of dangerous fire conditions. strong winds there fueling small brush fire in san diego forcing to leave 200 people out of their homes. firefighters say that winds could quickly make that fire uncontrollable. now, here in northern california the incoming winds could create a dangerous mix for bay area this weekend. that wind could also create critical fire conditions. so, we have to ask meteorologist kari hall could a red flag warning be in our future? >> it is possible, but we're still not seeing any certainty in the computer models right now. so, we have to watch how to see

if we get high winds combined with very low humidity and as of right now, it is possible that we could see those ingredients coming together. i wanted to show you the wind forecast. this shows you the wind speeds in the forecast in miles per hour and it does show that as we head into late sunday night into early monday morning, we could have some high winds. and then the winds will quickly calm down as we head towards monday into tuesday. so, we are going to have the potential of a high fire danger and, yes, we're in december but because it's been so dry, this is something we'll have to monitor. as we head over to you, vianey, how is it looking for the commute? >> well, here's an overall look, kari, at the bay area. a couple slow spots down through 280 but the area of most concern is if you're driving along westbound 580 if that is part of your morning commute, chp is reporting a crash there inuvl vaiv volving a big rig and no word if there are injuries involved. it is blocking one of the lanes there.

the trivalley drive times affected by this. westbound 580 to 608 right now looking like 23 minutes. southbound 680 from vargas road about 11 minutes. so hopefully everybody is okay in that crash. laura, i'll send it back to you. >> thanks so much, vianey. 5:41 right now. dealing with all new fallout. still ahead on "today in the bay" the new action state lawmakers are requesting as the fraud scandal explodes within california's employment development department. president trump continues to complain about the results of the election. we will fact check him as we always do. and air ball or alley-oop? we'll tell you the growing number of nba players testing positive for covid-19. what the league is just saying about its plan to contain the virus. plus an all-new twist in a viral mystery. the latest metal monolith lands here in california. what are they anyway? advertisers are now getting in

on some of the fun.

right now at 5:44 as you get ready to head out in the east bay, a cold start. take a look at our numbers. we're in the upper 40s as you head out the door and make your way to work, you'll have the heater on. but later today, it will be nice. maybe even letting the windows down as that sun shines. we'll talk about what is ahead in our forecast coming up in a few minutes.

well, breaking news for you right now. the latest weekly jobless numbers are out. 712,000 people filed first-time claims. that's lower than the 780,000 forecast. another $5.5 million filed for continuing claims. in washington, congress may be inching towards a coronavirus relief bill. but one much smaller than democrats hope, scott mcgrew. >> that's right. democratic leadership, marcus, seems to have realized less help for the american people is better than no help for the american people. pelosi and schumer say they're working with republicans on a $908 billion bill. less than half of the $2.2 trillion bill they had been insisting on. mcconnell said cracks in the democrats' wall. it's not clear, though, whether the president will sign any deal congress makes. the senate is moving forward, meanwhile, with the defense authorization bill even though

president trump said he would veto it if lawmakers didn't tack on a change to rules in internet companies that has nothing to do with the armed forces. lawmakers didn't do it. he also said he would veto itf t includes the names of military bases named after confederates and it still does. we'll see if the president is bluffing. president trump released a facebook video where he speaks from the white house and says the american election system is rigged. republican election officials say he's wrong. his side has presented no evidence and even his attorney general disagrees with him. among the many falsehoods in the video, president trump pointed to what he calls vote dumps in several states that changed his chances of winning that state. they're actually the precinct returns coming in from big cities. for instance in michigan a sudden spike in biden votes as the very democratic city of detroit turned in its numbers. here's the president with a timeline of michigan precincts reporting.

>> here's what is normal and all of a sudden look at that. this is normal, normal, look, even here. normal. and then, boom. all of a sudden. >> it's detroit. michigan republicans are holding hearings about the vote. trump's lawyer rudy jewgiulianis there. he brought people who wrote affidavits saying they suspected fraud. here's a woman who said she was a contractor for dominion voting systems speaking with lawmakers. >> my question is, why, we're not seeing the poll book off by 30,000 votes. that's not the case. >> what did you guys take it and do something crazy to it? >> the numbers are not off by 30,000 votes. >> i know what i saw. i know what i saw. and i signed something saying that if i'm wrong, i can go to prison. did you? >> okay. a question here.

>> now, the woman is alleging that the same ballots were run through a counting machine over and over. she actually says 100,000 times. the republican lawmaker you saw there questioning her points out if that were true, the number of votes and the number of voters would be wildly divergent but they're not. the same woman made the same allegations as part of a trump lawsuit in michigan. a judge threw out her allegations saying they were not credible. nbc hallie jackson asked the white house if bill barr's job is safe. the white house press secretary said if president trump has personnel changes to announce, he'll let you know. we'll be the first to tell you about it if it happens. we'll do it on twitter. you can find me there @scottmcgrew. >> thanks so much, scott. 5:48 right now. one of the leading candidates to fill kamala harris' u.s. senate seat has a new endorsement this morning. from california senior senator dianne feinstein. she says she would like to see

secretary of state alex padilla be chosen for that spot. governor gavin newsom is making the appointment. harris' senate term runs through 2022. a member of governor newsom's staff has tested positive for covid. the unidentified staff member has not been around the governor or his family. the newsoms are in quarantine after one of his children was exposed to someone who later tested positive. it looks like the most recent controversy with the employment development department may be the final straw for state lawmakers. they're now calling for a special hearing. this is at the state capital. comes amid the recent revelations that jobless claims were filed on behalf of locked up inmates. republican state senator tells "mercury news" that $400 million were paid out on more than 120,000 inmate claims. a special task force is looking into widespread fraud and the edd was audited.

everyone in sacramento pretty much agrees this takes it to a new level. dozens of nba players in isolation after testing positive for covid-19. the league says as players preparing for the upcoming season, nearly 50 out of 546 tested positive last week are just under 10%. right now the league is still in its abbreviated off season and the nba expects the positivity rate to go down once players return strict to league protocols. the 49ers are resting comfortably in their home away from home. the team is at the renaissance hotel in phoenix. this is next door to cardinal stadium where they'll actually play their nt two home games. they'll also practice at cardinals complex starting today. the 49ers were forced to relocate after santa clara county banned contact sports. still possible that the niners will play their final home game at levi's at the new year. cckhehis out trending this morning. cue the creepy music. what do you think.

a third metal monolith located on california's central coast. follows the recent structures in utah and then romania both of which later vanished. these are photos of the monolith in atascadero. we believe someone placed it there. we do know in the utah case men earthbound humans dismantling it. several big brands getting in on the funds. budweiser says it's a beer fridge. and mcdonald's made it an ordering kiosk and an airline gate waiting area. that looks the most natural because that is pretty much watt they look like. >> yeah, exactly. they're probably not getting that much use right now. so why not put it out there. >> there you go. >> well, look, we don't have to wait in line to get a forecast

for you. meteorologist kari hall has it for you right now. >> we're starting out with some clear conditions for most of us across the bay area. let's just show you how nice and clear it is as you drive across the golden gate bridge. if you're driving through the north bay, you may encounter some fog and that's what we've seen in some spots, especially around novato. along the coastline today, we're watching out for the potential of more of the big breakers along the coastline as well as the rip currents and sneaker waves. now, this beach hazard statement has until 4:00 today. if you are going to be at the coast, we just say never turn your back to the water because we've seen the sneaker waves coming up and we've seen them as often as every 30 minutes. so, unfortunately, it makes it very dangerous to be out there at the beach today. and it's going to be a pretty beautiful day for a lot of us across the bay area. as we reach into the mid to upper 60s. our afternoon highs are going to feel nice with a light wind and

sunshine. as we go through the forecast, we are going to see a couple of these weather systems rolling in. but, unfortunately, a lot of the rain has fizzled out before it gets here. now, the models are holding on to a slight chance of hope for the north bay going into late sunday night and early monday morning. we are going to also at the same time have some high winds. so, it's possible that we may get just a little bit of moisture coming along with this. that is better than nothing. but we do go back to some more dry weather going back into the middle of next week. a lot of the models are really not putting down much rain. we're only looking at the possibility of getting a few hundredths of an inch of rain between saturday night and sunday morning. so, it's not enough because we need over 5 1/2 inches of rain to catch up to normal in santa rosa. and we've also seen some pretty big rainfall deficits all across the bay area. so, hopefully we can at least

squeeze a little bit of the rain moving through the cold front this weekend. right now, viane, y, how is it looking for the morning commute? >> aside from a couple fender benders, slowing along the sunol grade and pretty typical for the morning and near the tracy area westbound 580 still working to clear a crash along the westbound lanes near grand lane road. this crash is inuvl volving a b rig. no word on any injuries but you can see where that yellow and red is. that's where we're seeing the slowing near that area. drive time westbound 580 slowing down to ten minutes and a live look at the bay bridge toll plaza to see how things are doing. moving along, but it is starting to get to busy. marcus? >> all right, thanks, vianey. the search resumes this morning for six people missing after a massive mudslide in alaska that destroyed 20 homes. this happened in the city 100

miles outside of juneau. the mayor says rainfall at the top of frozen snow triggered that slide which tore through several of the neighborhoods. of the 30 residents evacuated, six are unaccounted for. a lot more ahead on this thursday morning, including as more schools plan to reopen after the holiday, one east bay teacher says all her students in her small classroom have gotten covid. the changes that's sparking, next. by harnessing california's

abundant wind and solar energy, we have the power to take on climate change. use less from 4 to 9 pm to keep california golden.

welcome back. 5:58 here on "today in the bay." a recent covid outbreak one school is promising to stay open. san ramon unified school says that del amigo high school in danville reopened the day after contra costa county went into the purple tier. the superintendent says she returned as part of the school's reopening but one week later she was infected along with all her students and staff members. >> the sad part for me my class and myself knew we were all guinea pigs. guinea pigs on a system that did not work in our special ed classroom.

>> teachers will be given medical grade ppe. the district said they're making sure all staff and parents understand all safety protocols. trending this morning, if you ever wanted to see where the pope lives but didn't really want to board a flight during the pandemic, you may have your opportunity now. >> that's right. a d.c.-based event planning company is conducting a virtual tour of the vatican today. for about $20, you can buy a ticket to get an up close look at the holy catholic city and what goes into preparing for busy advent and christmas season. >> three, two, one. >> light it up. >> america's most famous christmas tree now lit up for the holiday. you saw it play out right here on inbc bay area. very festive music. it took place at rockefeller center without the normally packed plaza, this year's tree

is the 75-foot tall norway spruce. it has more than five miles of lights. >> wow. >> quite the singers there, too. >> beautiful tree. i better up the lights on my tree. i can't compete. right now at 6:00, help on the way. lawmakers on capitol hill say they're nearing a deal on another stimulus package. comes as small businesses from the bay area and beyond read the next few weeks with covid cases surging and restrictions coming. more coverage of the growing crisis and when and what kind of help may come from washington as the third hour of "today in the bay" continues right now. good thursday morning to you, thanks so much for joining us. i'm laura garcia. >> i'm marcus washington. vianey in for mike this morning with a look at the commute for you. first let's get you headed if you're heading out the door kari hall has a look at that forecast. >> we feel some very cold