what's happening in one bay area county where you can actually still get a haircut, dine outdoors in spite of the strict shelter at home orders. and the warriors finally returning to the floor for the first time since march. the games still taking place as the pandemic rages. "today in the bay" continues right now. and we have made it to friday and you are with us this morning. thanks so much for joining us. i'm marcus washington. mike has a look at the commute. we'll get to that in just a second. first the friday forecast. vianey has a look at that and the rain heading our way. yeah, i've got you guys on the rain but it's also going to feel a lot more humid out there as we get the surge of moisture already making its approach. as we wake up in san jose, 42 degrees. the humidity, 82%. if it feels muggy that's the reason why. fairfax, 37. relatively humidity 100%. so it's still chilly but here is the reason why it's so humid.

you can see that surge of moisture off in the pacific as it continues its approach. fantastic news, it looks like we're going to get some rain. maybe not as much as we need. we're in a deficit but it will be just enough and we'll take what we can get. the system will push north to south initially becoming widespread by this evening. i will take a closer look at the timing of that rain so you can plan your day. coming up in a few minutes, first, let's check in with mike. all right, vianey. we do have a break before that rain so the roadways are in great condition. green all over the bay. we're following two issues in the east bay. i will zoom over to 580 away from the bay bridge, highway 13. the crash may be blocking your fast lanes. major damage and maybe injuries. so far not hearing about serious injuries. the sensors are also clear. westbound 80 getting to the bay bridge one crash affecting only the off ramp at richmond parkway, marcus. back to you. >> thanks, mike. a critical step towards ending

the pandemic. the fda signaling it's giving final approval for emergency use of pfizer's covid vaccine. independent advisers overwhelmingly approved that yesterday. "today in the bay's" tracie potts is live in washington with the details and the latest election legal twist and, tracie, if you thought things would slow down in for a surprise. still a lot going on. >> reporter: it's friday and there's a lot going on. we'll catch you up on that election challenge but let's start with the vaccine. it's something everybody is trying to figure out how quickly is it going to get out. new this morning from the fda they haven't fully approved it yet but a statement that they are rapidly working to do so and putting the cdc and operation warp speed on notice to get the distribution ready. another day of record covid infections and deaths. >> we've never had to treat so many sick patients at the exact same time. >> reporter: as the fda weighs

the recommendations from advisers to approve pfizer's vaccine. despite new concerns about allergic reactions. >> we saw no serious allergic reactions. >> reporter: prep kits, masks, syringes, ppe are being shipped. pfizer sending nearly 3 million doses in the first week protected by u.s. marshals to every state based on population. back in washington there's no agreement yet on financial relief. >> a lot of americans simply cannot afford to wait. >> reporter: more than 100 republicans are backing the long shot supreme court case led by texas to change election results. >> we love you. >> reporter: pennsylvania told the court they have no standing to challenge what happened in another state.

the electoral college is meeting on monday remotely, voting in their state to certify and finalize these election results. marcus? >> tracie, thanks so much. tracie potts in washington for us this morning. before we go, i do have a quick question for you. i know with that covid-19 vaccine in addition to the allergic reaction, a lot of people talking about that, what are we learning? the no votes from the members of that board, the fda, they're really concerned when it comes to teenagers, too. so what are their findings with that? >> reporter: yeah, particularly older teenagers, marcus, 16, 17 years old and they want more data on whether or not the vaccine will work in older teenagers the way it works in adults, tens of thousands of them in this study. there was concern about pregnant women and whether there's enough data whether the vaccine is going to work effectively in them. >> all right, tracie. a lot to take in with all of this. tracie in washington this

morning. thank you, tracie. a live look near the dumbarton bridge in san mateo county. you know what's the largest county not under a full-time stay-at-home order. that's where we find jackie ward. we think about that, they're still open, but what does the icu bed count look like this morning? >> reporter: yeah, good morning to you, marcus. we've looked at two different dashboards, the state says there are 31 icu beds in san mateo county available but san mateo county's website says seven. either way you look at it, that's not a great number. however, you can still go out to eat at a restaurant and sit outside and get your haircut in san mateo county. let's take a look at how the icu bed availability breaks down by county. it's pretty grim. san francisco has the most, 81 beds still available. santa clara 45. contra costa, 43. napa, solano, san mateo and

marin counties each have less than 15 beds available, again, depending on which website you're looking at. sonoma county has temporarily stopped reporting its numbers. icu bed availability is the top statistic health officials are monitoring. availability drops below 15%, governor newsom's stay-at-home order takes effect shutting down a lot of businesses. to give you some perspective on how quickly the number of icu beds available can drop earlier this week santa clara county has 63 beds available. that number plummeted to only 38 beds in a single day. this as the number of covid patients continues to rise. sonoma county is joining the stay-at-home order tomorrow but napa, solano counties are just like san mateo. for now they are not going forward with that stay-at-home order. in burlingame, jackie ward, "today in the bay." >> jackie, thank you. 5:06 for you this morning. sort of the hunger games playing out for bay area restaurants

reportedly changing course to survive. one los gatos restaurant really hoping to lure people to order takeout after they visit a fantasy of life celebration. they've actually set up holiday tents with trees in the parking lot and a lot of restaurants there. another owner defying that order, contemplating defying the order, by keeping her outdoor dining open. >> our plan was to take the fine and possibly, i mean, even if it came down to being arrested. but once it comes down to my business, i can't lose my business, too. >> now adding to the problem, of course, so many people losing work just ahead of christmas and still no sign of new federal stimulus. bay area sports still trying to march on as the pandemic rages. of course san jose state's football team is not allowed to play locally with santa clara county's strict health order,

but if they can beat nevada-reno, ton's game is being played in vegas. the warriors play their first game in nine months. they never made it to the bubble when play resumed in the summer. they host a preseason game at chase center against denver. ♪ hanukkah officially under way. and last night a holiday tradition returned to san francisco. that's where they lit the first candle on the menorah at union square. because of covid, the ceremony took place virtually and a virtual lighting ceremony will be held each night through next thursday. ♪ oh, hanukkah oh, hanukkah ♪ ♪ come light the menorah ♪ i used to love singing that in school. enough of that. rain is coming to our area, vianey. something we need to plan on if we are planning any outdoor

activities this weekend. >> i hope people can continue to do their rain dance. maybe can you do a rain song, marcus, so we get more rain. we need it this is a welcome sight. doppler radar showing a little bit of activity which is something we haven't seen in a while. i want to take you through the timing of this rain so you have a better idea of what we're monitoring. this system will be moving from north to south which means if you live in santa rosa, ukiah, areas north of the golden gate bridge you're probably going to see the rain first. also the coastal areas will be the first to see some of that rain. but, look, i pushed this time line through 9:30 tonight. by 9:30 we are expecting for this to already be widespread. you can see heavier pockets in through san francisco, san jose and then we get a second system. i'll talk more about that in a few minutes. let's check in with mike. vianey, we have a traffic alert. light traffic should mean minor delays at most on the east shore freeway. to the map. the crash i told you about west

80 coming out the richmond parkway has the off ramp closed because of the crash. i'm not hearing about major injuries, hilltop or hilltop drive as your next exit to get back on san pablo and the surface streets. an easy alternate. no backup and no slowing. still monitoring the crash for 580 past highway 13 and no slowing there. one lane might be blocked. the whole bay looks great. a smooth drive for 580 through dublin. scott? gift recipients with their gifts this holiday season. i have some advice on wrapping that's coming up. ahead for you on "today in the bay," "time" magazine making history with its people of the year cover. president-elect biden and vice president-elect kamala harris. details behind this year's choice and we give out an award of our own here on "today in the bay." 5:10 for you this morning. this year, xfinity internet gives you more options

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i really home you didn't wash your car this week. it is 5:13 right now. we are tracking shower activity on the radar and snow for the sierra. a full list and the timing of this. how much we'll get coming up in just a few minutes. mike? a new detail, the traffic alert in the east bay involves a car fire. we're tracking that as well as the general traffic flow across

the san mateo bridge. i saw flashing lights in the foreground. still something going on but no lanes blocked from what i can tell. we'll update coming up. a very happy friday to you. yesterday i was confused on what day it was but somehow i didn't forget it was friday today. let's talk about airbnb, the company's stock shot up 112% yesterday going from 68 in its stock market debut to 144 by the close. airbnb is one of four silicon valley ipos this week. the company made its debut on the nasdaq and normally if you're listening on the nasdaq you get the honor of ringing the opening bell. it's something we've shown you over the years hundreds and hundreds of times. of course covid. so airbnb found a novel way of ringing the bell. take a look.

i just think that's super cute. i am tickled by that. lululemon and costco say profits are up in the pandemic. lululemon because who doesn't like sitting around the house in stretchy stuff and sweatshirts. costco, if you have to run to the grocery store you might as well get everything all at once. it probably makes the stretchy pants all that more necessary. lululemon up 20%. costco, 22%. a relief bill seems to be going into where in washington. everyone deserves the blame that we can't pass a bill during a disaster is one concern. remember the government itself runs out of money if the very same congress doesn't pass a spending bill or continuing resolution. both sides have good points.

nancy pelosi and the democrats want help for state and local governments. mcconnell calls it a blue state bailout. he's wrong about that. the most broke states are run by republicans. mcconnell wants liability protection for businesses and universities. if you get covid in, say, a grocery store that shouldn't be the grocery store's fault. on a happier note it is hanukkah and christmas is just around the corner and a new study says it's okay if your presence aren't wrapped all that well. a scientific study in the journal of consumer psychology shows if you're giving a gift that's nice but not amazing, wrapping it beautifully sets people's expectations too high. a beautiful present makes people think they're getting more than they are. the study, which tested 180 people found people were more grateful with a gift if it came in not that well of a wrapped box. how about that? >> what? give you something in a paper

sack. >> set expectations low. >> a blue tiffany box. >> that's entirely different. >> make sure you don't reuse that box. >> that doesn't work. >> thanks, scott. well, 5:17 this morning and trending for you this morning "time" magazine making history and a historic choice for the 2020 person or people of the year. president-elect joe biden and vice president-elect kamala harris, this is the first time a vice presidential pick has been on the cover. so we got to thinking about our "today in the bay" people of the year and there's just no one choice for us. take a look. >> hi there, marcus and laura. i think a lot of us are feeling extra sleepy staying up past our

bed times watching for any changes. these election workers have been at it all morning. already they are opening up the ballots that came in over the week. >> if there's any consolation, good morning, laura, to any of this it's playing out pretty much the way we had anticipated and we had warned. you have what appear to be early leads for the president. >> our own scott mcgrew and kris sanchez for helping us make sense of the historic and at times very confusing 2020 election. all of us here at "today in the bay" are very grateful. and actually i want to extend it to our entire crew, too. behind the scenes they are phenomen phenomenal. there you go, congrats. king and queen. >> kris, well done. >> reporter: that is cute. >> i know both of us -- >> reporter: there's been a lot to work through. >> there's a lot to wade through. both of us are going to want that graphic, that picture for our facebook pages.

please email it to us. you know we're going to run with that honor. >> you both did a really good job breaking a lot of things. politics can be confusing for a lot of people. each of you really broke things down. kris, your segment really helped put things in perspective this year. you were back when they were couns counting the ballots. how does it feel to get this honor this morning? >> reporter: we work with so many talented people and so many people who make it happen behind the scenes and i try to show my grat fe gratitude for that of it is hard to digest all this complicated information and to maintain our integrity and to maintain our lack of bias. i appreciate it, i do, but i didn't do it alone. you will need a bigger page for that. >> i'll echo what kris says.

at 2:15 a.m. i send a long email with all the different things behind me, all the different videos, i need the video of the attorney general of texas and shayna john makes it happen. >> reporter: a goddess. >> all the people behind the scenes making this work, trust me, they do a great job so thank you to all. >> this morning alone. >> hello. >> god bless that crew. >> kris and scott, thanks. >> we're going to need a shot of a different kind after this friday. i can tell you that. >> congratulations to them. congratulations to our whole team. vianey, congratulations to you. you keep us up to date with what we need to know especially this incoming rain. >> and congratulations to the weather gods for finally gracing us with some rain. we need it. we are going to be seeing the arrival of a system that's going to finally spread some joy.

so let's talk about current temperature right now in san jose, 42 degrees and it is definitely humid. here is the reason why, doppler radar and satellite showing some activity. you can see that surge of moisture making its approach and for that reason we do have, of course, a developing weekend system so we have not one that's moving in tonight but two, another one moves in tomorrow. our very own storm ranger is up and scanning ready for the arrival of this rain. it gives us a closer detail and higher resolution. mobile doppler radar, the only ones who have it. check this out. only in the upper 50s today. cool and cloudy. 59 degrees in san jose. 56 in san francisco. what i really want to get to is our hour-by-hour outlook. the time bar, it's right on the right-hand corner. what to expect the rain will move from the north to the south. i will push this time line forward through about 7:00, 8:00.

it will become widespread. by 10:00 everybody is going to see at least a little bit of rain and into saturday morning we'll start to see some of the rain diminish. we'll get a period we're not going to see any rain and then overnight saturday into sunday morning we get an additional system that moves in. that will track in some heavier pockets of rain in areas like palo alto pushing through all the way down before it moves out late sunday into monday and we are also getting sierra snow anywhere from 6 to 12 plus inches for the higher elevation areas and we're going to see it for the next few days before we dry out. i'll accepted it over to you, mike. you are correct, that time bar was over on the right side and as folks are driving down the east shore freeway on their right approaching richmond parkway, it's closed. to the maps, we're talking about a traffic alert issued and because of a crash which then involved a car fire for the off ramp. no major injuries. hilltop is your next exit because you're watching us.

we'll get you on to san pablo and to surface streets and should be an easy workaround. the rest of the approach to the bay bridge, no problems. as we zoom out, a nice, smooth flow of traffic. overall a couple of spots. let me show you the rest of the map. right back to you. >> thanks, mike. 5:23 for you this morning. coming up next on "today in the bay," nbc bay area responds. >> reporter: two bank complaints worth more than $40,000 on the line. i'm chris chmura nbc bay area responds and telemundo next. plus, you know our people is always on social media. did you catch the show yesterday? yeah, that little sneaky elf on the shelf made an appearance, trying to who hog up my tv scre. a reminder someone is always watching. hopefully you every morning. be sure to share your elf on the shelf pictures and follow me on facebook, twitter and instagram. got to find out where that little guy is in my house this morning. you're watching "today in the

bay." the usual gifts are just not going to cut it.

we have to find something else. good luck! what does that mean? we are doomed. [laughter] that's it. i figured it out! we're going to give togetherness.

that sounds dumb. we're going to take all those family moments and package them. hmm. [laughing] that works. >> reporter: good morning. both of these are bank issues. we'll get started with alice in san jose. she had trouble getting her bank to acknowledge a mix-up and unauthorized withdrawal, out more than $900 and stuck. she called the nbc bay area responds team. alice ultimately got her $925

back. over at telemundo 48 fernandez and her money saving squad spoke up in the east bay. a $43,000 dispute with a bank. his case was stalled just like alice's until arlen's team stepped in and cleared it up. together nbc bay area and telemundo 48 have helped return almost $5 million to viewers like you. if you need help call us in english 888-996-tips. press the responds option. in spanish 844-408-4848. have a great week. coming up next for you the top stories we're following today including the pfizer vaccine getting final fda approval. next steps before the first shots are given out. and a new state of emergency declared in the central valley. one city warning it is completely out of icu beds.

our plan is to take their recommendations into account for our decision making and make a decision shortly thereafter. right now at 5:30 the decision now seemingly made by the fda commissioner. his message a short time ago after yesterday's big vote of confidence from an independent advisory board on the pfizer vaccine. we'll break down what it all means and the next step. plus, health care workers on the frontline to receive the vaccine, but who comes after them? a big push several lawmakers are

making. and after weeks and weeks rain finally on the way to the bay area. your weekend weather forecast ahead in just a moment as "today in the bay" continues right now. a very good friday morning. thanks for joining us. we've been on air since 4:30. i'm laura garcia. >> and i'm marcus washington. we'll get to that commute with mike, but, first, the rain with vianey. i'm so excite bod about it. we are starting our day with an active radar. that's what i like to see. the view over san francisco is not bad. you can see we do have that humidity, increased moisture, 48 degrees in san francisco, and here is that doppler radar i'm talking about. i just tweeted out how it's exciting to see some sort of activity. the reason i'm moving this around and pushing out further is so you can see the surge of moisture we have coming in. we have one system moving in tonight, a little bit warmer. the rain will push from north to

south and then heading into sunday we have an additional system. i'll talk about rainfall totals and what to expect. first let's check in with mike. all right, vianey, we continue to track this traffic alert which has the richmond parkway off ramp closed from westbound 80. that's coming to the bay bridge. we'll watch for that and you'll use hilltop as an alternate. we'll also talk about the crash just to the south of the clear bay bridge toll plaza on 980 involving a pedestrian. i'm getting more details and we'll let you know what i find out. the rest of the bay you'll find it's a very easy drive there. no backup at the bay bridge. i'll show that to you in the next report. back to you. >> sounds good, thanks so much, mike. developments on the pfizer covid vaccine coming really fast and furious this morning. it follows yesterday's approval by independent advisers. an hour ago the fda commissioner announced all parties are being notified the fda is granting emergency use authorization and

working towards finalizing the order. vaccinations may begin monday. "today in the bay's" sharon katsuda is live in contra costa county where there's certainly a push to have teachers now be first in line right behind those first responders. tell us about it, sharon. >> reporter: that's right, laura. there's a lot of talk right now about the teachers being called essential workers and getting the vaccine to help reopen the schools. i watched the hearing yesterday involving health experts and public comments on the pfizer vaccine. once the debate was over the endorsement came to grant emergency approval of pfizer's covid-19 vaccine. >> our plan is to take their recommendation noose account for our decision making and make a decision shortly thereafter. >> reporter: the fda has to give an approval and then operation warp speed moves into high gear once the cdc signs off. the early dose is expected to go to frontline medics as hospitals

are overwhelmed. san francisco health experts say the plans currently are to use all 327,000 doses for the first dose. then when the next shipment comes in give people the second dose. san francisco supervisor hillary ronan and elected leaders are calling on the governor to make teachers a vaccination priority so kids can get back to school. >> so far the state has only announced its first priority group and educators are not part of that first priority group. we are asking that they be the next in line for the vaccine. >> reporter: along with teachers, other groups feel they belong to the front of the line including food service and grocery workers who have been hard hit by the virus. here in contra costa county about 10,000 doses are expected and county leaders are still studying whether teachers should be next in line. reporting live in contra costa county, i'm sharon katsuda,

"today in the bay." >> sharon, thank you. now on the other end of the spectrum another new record for a number of deaths in the united states more than 31,000 yesterday breaking another record just set the day prior. and that's in addition to the nearly 230,000 new infections. california yesterday confirming 220 additional deaths. overall the count is now past 20,000 and in the coming days confirmed cases will surpass 1.5 million. >> listen to this, marcus, just in, the city of fresno has said they are completely out of icu beds. this is now considered the entire county only has a handful of available beds. very concerning in the central valley. it's becoming a reality in some bay area counties as well. take a look at this updated map here from the state where the nine counties are with available beds. these are numbers not percentage. according to the state san mateo is up to 31.

san francisco has been cut almost in half from last night from 45 down from 81. hospitals say the numbers are fluid and changing by the hour as patients are released and as patients come in as well. a follow-up now san francisco district attorney chesa boudin has decided not to charge police officers involved in the recent deadly shooting of a carjacking suspect. the shooting happened near valencia and market streets in october. the department later released body camera video showing the suspect vargas armed with a knife. he appeared to ignore orders to drop it before officers fired. in the deadline arrives today for wildfire victims seeking federal assistance. people can apply for fema grants or disaster loans. now this includes victims of the czu, scu, lnu, august and north complex fires.

fema can help pay for ren, medical he can pennsylvania exp repairs. can you head to our website for a link to apply. let's take a live look at the weather radar this morning. weekend rain vianey has been telling us about is finally on the way. i really wanted to wash my car, but i listened to your warning. it's filthy but i'm ready for the downpour. will it really be that much? it's going to depend on where you live. i wish i could say we're talking about several inches of rain because we're in a serious deficit but if you live in the north bay you might get an inch. everywhere else less than an inch. we'll take what we can get. it will be widespread so just enough to wet the pavement in some spots and today's microclimate highs will be in the 50s. 59 degrees in san jose. 57 in oakland. if you did wash your car it will be enough rain to the point it'll get your car dirty again.

notice ukiah, napa, santa rosa, parts of hayward into fremont will start to notice some rain and by 8:00 we might see heavier pockets through morgan hill. another look at that. let's check in with mike first. all right, vianey. i promised we'd take a look at the bay bridge. a quick peek but that's all you need to see how light the traffic is. in the east bare, the bay bridge, i've circled the crash on the top. that is the traffic alert. richmond parkway still closed from westbound 80. keep that in mind. tell you more about the crash on 980 but that cleared. it did involve a pedestrian. all i know is that person was taken to the hospital for some help. everything else looks clear but i am watching a new crash reported on 238 that might be an issue making your transition on to the nimitz. back to you, marcus. >> reporter: we are now one day away or one step away from the

fda approving the pfizer vaccine for emergency use, but they only work if people choose to get them. we talk to some of our friends and neighbors across the bay to see how they're feeling about getting vaccinated. the president's supporters are attacking other republicans who have had to say we are not communists. we'll take a look coming up. are you a swifty? well, taylor swift fans in a frenzy. this tweet sending shock waves throughout social media, swift in a wedding dress. the big reveal many folks are hoping for as the singer gives them something to smile about this morning. this holiday season,

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good morning. it is 6:41 and you're taking a look at dom letter radar right now. we are talking about rain heading into the weekend. light to moderate expected for today. i'll talk more about the timing and sierra snow coming up in my full forecast. mike? hey, vianey, let's give folks a little treat. we don't always get to see this. we have a shot of the dumbarton bridge because skies are so clear. the bridge is as well. highway 84. i know there's more traffic on 92, but let's give a shoutout to friends in the south. we'll see how friendly the roads are coming up. >> thanks, mike. all that's left before a pfizer vaccine rolls out official final fda approval. now some now say by monday doses

may start to be distributed. every dose is spoken for but with the moderna vaccine up for approval the vaccine for all of us is now within sight. "today in the bay's" kris sanchez is live for us in san jose looking into what regular people are saying about getting the vaccine. kris? >> reporter: we talked with a lot of people with some help from bob redell and we heard over and over again people were worried about how fast this vaccine was developed. it was a record breaking pace. for reference the last vaccine that was developed fast took four years, but people also said that they trust the fda and they trust science. so the latest survey out of the pugh recertificate institute says people are growing in confidence. 29% say they would definitely get the vaccine. 21% probably -- rather, 31% would probably get the vaccine. 21% would not get it for sure but 18% say they definitely would not get the vaccine.

we did a survey of our own, and here is what people told us. >> if it's fda approved, i'll get it. >> i would say 90%, yes, i'm okay with it. >> from what i know on the vaccine for it to be made within a year, i'm like, no, not going to do it. >> i wan to see what's going on and the side effects before i decide that yes for sure. >> i have two little ones at home. if you do get sick when you first get the vaccine, i don't have extra help. >> for those of us on the younger side or healthier side i think it should be optional. >> i guess i will because i'm one of those seniors. first medical staff should get it. >> i don't know how we'll get this under control without vaccines. >> i will but i will not take the first one. i would not like to take two injecti injections. i would only like to take one. >> reporter: while there are a few one-shot vaccines in the works the pfizer vaccine takes two doses for full protection and all of the 327,000 pfizer

vaccines heading to california are intended for health care workers and care facility residents and staff. here is the bay area breakdown. we checked with each of our counties. santa clara will get 17,500 followed by alameda county at 13,650. san francisco is at 12,000. contra costa county, 10,000. you can see the other counties on your screen. the fda will consider approval for the moderna vaccine coming up next week on thursday and, of course, all of the data is still continuing to roll in so as that data comes in the fda can make changes and it can yank that emergency approval at anytime as well. in san jose, kris sanchez, "today in the bay." >> kris, before you go, that one woman mentioned this was made in less than a year. why were scientists able to get this done so quickly? >> reporter: they were able to do this so quickly because they

worked together worldwide scientists produced a template, the viral genome, they call it, and were able to start working on the vaccine without any cases here in the u.s. and, of course, the fda has relied heavily on this emergency approval, which is not the usual standard for a vaccine, but you have to weigh the benefits of doing it this way when you have 300,000 people who have died because of this virus. >> all right, kris sanchez this morning for us. kris, thank you. switching gears now 5:46. one of the most powerful newspapers in america speaking out against joe biden's pick for secretary of defense. >> scott mcgrew, no doubt no one really doubts lloyd austin is well qualified to handle this. >> he's incredibly well qualified. good morning to you. he led the fight in afghanistan as the top general at central command, but america has to ask

itself how seriously are we going to take our commitment to civilian control of the military. the retired general has not been out of the military long enough to qualify to be secretary of defense. now we've talked about this before. congress can set the law barring him from taking the job, can set it aside but many in congress are reluctant to do so and "the new york times" editorial board this morning, which is a powerful influence in democratic circles, says congress should not approve the waiver needed to allow austin to take the job. we're learning new information about the federal tax investigation into joe biden's son hunter biden. it was the younger biden himself who revealed the investigation in a statement wednesday. conservative news outlets are howling with anger that the investigation was hidden during the election. president trump tweeting why didn't the fake news media, the fbi and the doj report the biden matter before the election. oh, well, it's okay, we won the election anyway.

75 million votes. he did not win the election. he's also rounding up it was not 75 million. it was 74,200,000. the other guy got more votes. we'll talk about that in a second. to his question why didn't the justice department reveal the investigation into biden before the election, were they hiding it? yes, yes, they were hiding it. that's because that's what doj policy is. e especially investigations that might affect an election. great reporting from inside bill barr's office showing barr was well aware of the biden investigation and kept it under wraps. >> the four states accused by texas' attorney general of somehow messing up the election responded with their own filings in court. texas' attorney general wants the supreme court to overturn the election. something nearly every expert says is a fantasy. pennsylvania, wisconsin,

georgia, michigan say texas has no business telling them how to run an election. there are a lot of reasons the lawsuit is flawed, the experts say, but one is timing f. texas was so concerned about the changes made to election rules in other states, why didn't texas say something before the election. the suit says trump got 75 million votes, again, rounding, but doesn't mention how many votes the other guy got. it was more. and we don't elected presidents that way anyway. it also says no candidate in american history has won ohio and florida but lost the election. that's irrelevant. you can win all the other states and still win. it's also wrong. nixon won florida and ohio and lost to kennedy. we're conditioning that lawsuit and the responses from the states to it and we're tweeting about it. can you find me on twitter @scottmcgrew. >> all right, thank you very much. switching gears once again trending this morning there's a debate going on in our newsroom right now and they're blaming it on taylor swift. >> i'm not part of this debate but --

>> me neither. >> a new album dropped at midnight. take a listen. ♪ >> this is the first video "willow" that dropped at midnight her new album called "evermore." a dress resembling a wedding down. is she now hitched secretly to her boyfriend. fans want to know and the debate here what's more exciting taylor swift's second album in five months or the dress? maybe this next story. >> that's up for debate. okay, so the next story, this is pretty cool. if you're heading to joshua tree national park you might uncover a hidden gem, made out of shipping containers. a house made out of shipping containers called the star burst

house because it looks like a star exploding and now it can be yours. three bedroom, three bath home that looks over the desert, sits on 22 acres of land near the park border. the price for you, $4 million. just under $4 million. some people would say that's a steal. >> shipping containers. >> do they deliver there? how far out is that? >> go to the container store, hey kids, make us a house. >> vianey had a good point. do they deliver there? that looks pretty far out there. >> construction costs cut down. >> but it's a star burst house. you could eat starbursts. >> all right. >> it could get pretty hot out there. let's look at our forecast. >> i've never been to joshua

tree before. i know it's beautiful because back when we used to be able to travel everywhere i would see my friends post. let's talk about san jose, 42 degrees. rain on the way. and it's also going to be a little muggy out there because we have this surge of moisture coming in. you can see it on doppler radar just out of the pacific there. a little bit of rain that will move in. i wish i could say we're getting several inches because we need them. but just enough to wet the pavement in some spots, a little over an inch, maybe even more in the north bay. that's always good. we do have our very own mobile doppler radar up and scanning as the rain moves in. 59 degrees in san jose. we are expecting to get an hour by hour look. by 4:30 the time bar in the upper right-hand corner, the rain from north to south. santa rosa, napa, oakland, hayward seeing some rain. and then by 8:00.

san jose, los gatos, santa cruz, morgan hill, the rain will become more widespread with a couple of heavier pockets of rain at times. we get a little bit of break from the rain tomorrow for the most up to date. so most of saturday will be fairly dry. into early sunday morning we get a second system arriving. this will probably carry some heavier pockets for half moon bay. you can see that pushing through there and a second line of showers into the evening. moving out by sunday night rainfall totals, again, as i mentioned i wish it was more but we'll take what we can get. nearly 2 inches to the north bay, maybe even higher and then another chance of showers. get this, by next wednesday. so we're leading into a more active weather pattern. mike, how are the roads? overall, great, vianey. i have two spots. i have a crash with big slowing and we have a traffic alert. two spots -- two separate spots. let's look at the map. overall green.

it's a great flow of traffic as you would expect on a friday in december. we zoom to the castro valley y. north 238. just off that transition there's a truck and it's a wedge there after a crash. no major injuries but this will take a while blocking one lane and slowing your transition on the nimitz. folks won't know that. now the lighter traffic will allow that and no problems coming in out of the tri-valley. that's the first issue, the big slowdown. the other issue, not a big slowdown but it is a traffic alert. the richmond parkway off ramp from west 80 i've circled, closed from a crash. a car fire after your alternate and the bay bridge has no backup. that's the great news for folks traveling out of the maze. back to you. >> thanks, mike. happening now for you a search is under way for a possible sailor overboard. the navy says this happened on "the uss theodore roosevelt" which is conducting a search and

has since discovered one sailor missing following command wide roll call. three helicopters and several other ships are assisting in the effort. much more ahead on "today in the bay" this friday morning including two california businesses, unusual ones, that were allowed to stay open during this pandemic. we'll talk about that up next what the businesses are and are they considered really essential? plus, operation toy delivery takes to the skies. coming up more of this amazing delivery video and where those toys are going. you're watching "today in the bay."

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welcome back. you're watching "today in the bay." last night the federal government carried out its ninth execution of the year. brandon bernard died by lethal injection. he was sentenced to death for the murder of a youth pastor todd and stacy bagley in texas. people showed up to the indiana federal prison to protest the execution. his attorneys and supporters lobbied to have his sentence reduced to life without parole. the supreme court denied a request for an emergency stay. governor newsom has stopped all executions in california. on twitter he wrote the death penalty has been an abject failure. it discriminates based on the

color of your skin or how much money you make. debate is brewing in southern california over two gentlemen clubs allowed to stay open during the pandemic. so it started when san diego county sent a cease and desist letter to the clubs to stop all live entertainment to slow the spread of the virus. the judge ruled in favor of the clubs allowing them to continue doing business during the latest shelter in place. leaders then voted to appeal the judge's ruling. but for now the clubs are still operating. now to a christmas tradition that gives santa a run for his money. take a look at this called operation toy drop. it's a training exercise for ft. benning paratroopers in georgia. in order to jump from the plane each paratroop her to bring a toy. plus, it's a chance for soldiers to earn foreign wings as the jump master is from australia. >> to get foreign wings if you have a jump master from a

foreign country allowed by the embassy to do a training, you do a jump with them, get a certificate and you can wear that on your uniform. >> the defenders from the sky put the toy drop every year for kids who may not get a toy. what a fun way to bring them in, too. nice to see. right now at 6:00 and all new for you this morning the fda leaders telling pfizer the covid-19 vaccination is on its way to approval after yesterday's marathon approval discussion and the go-ahead from a committee of scientists. up next what remains to be done before the final green light in the battle over who should get the medicine second after a frontline worker. and for the first time in a long time getting ready for rain and we are following the incoming system's approach. will it make a dent in the hole that we're already in? the third hour of "today in the bay" continues right now.