send me a suitable bill or else the next administration will have to deliver a covid relief package. >> right now at 5:00 suddenly stalled. president trump demanding congress do more in its covid relief bill saying americans need more money. our washington insider breaks down the threat. where things go from here and what this means for your stimulus check. plus -- >> as much as we try to practice social distancing and six feet apart we're running into people everywhere. it's hard. packed as a surge in cases isn't stopping shoppers from crowding into malls. the reason some have no choice. and a live look outside for you in san francisco. it is chilly but clear across the bay area. that rain is on the way just in time for christmas. meteorologist kari hall is tracking when the wet weather arrives. "today in the bay" continues right now. and a good morning to you. we are following breaking news on the vaccine rollout.

more on the millions of new doses now expected ahead. good morning. i'm kira klapper. laura has the morning off. kari hall has a christmas gift for all of us. yes, and it comes in the form of some rain. we'll see that on friday and as of now it's dry and cold. take a look at the temperatures. before you head out the door we've seen some of these spots like the south county and parts of the north bay dipping below freezing. we'll talk about the rain coming up. how is it looking for the commute? kari, it looks great. out to the maps and that construction in oakland this morning, 23rd to 29th. they've already started picking up the southbound side. i don't see any slowing. the northbound side may be picking up as well trying to get that confirmation but, again, no slowing. that's how light the traffic is.

the bay bridge coming up, marcus, back over to you. breaking news for you this morning the trump administration is announcing it will purchase 100 million additional doses of the pfizer vaccine. the u.s. government struck a deal with the pharmaceutical giant to secure 70 million doses by june 30th and another 30 million by the end of july. the u.s. has already purchased 100 million doses which have already started to roll out. in a live look this morning at capitol hill and not so fast. president trump is now threatening to blow up the coronavirus relief bill. it could delay those promised stimulus payments to american people. >> this happened on the day when the outgoing president also pardoned several convicted criminals. "today in the bay's" chris pollone is live in washington with the details. hey, chris. >> reporter: kira, marcus, all weeklong the white house indicated the president was going to sign that deal hammered

out between democrats and republicans to provide some coronavirus relief. now the deal is in doubt. after signaling he would sign the $900 billion aid package president trump threatens to veto it. the president complained the bill's $600 cash payment to americans is too small. >> i'm asking congress to amend this bill and increase the ridiculously low $600 to $2,000 or $4,000 for a couple. >> reporter: house speaker nancy pelosi tweeting, let's do it. but time is running short. the federal government will shut down if a spending bill isn't signed. it was a busy day for the president who announced a flurry of pardons for giving four blackwater congressmen, a campaign adviser to lied to the fbi and london-based lawyer, the first person sentenced in the investigation. >> we would be sitting in a jail

cell for a good long stretch of time. >> reporter: the u.s. saw its deadliest day from the coronavirus yet. 3,350. two more prominent government officials got vaccine shots on camera to encourage americans to do the same. >> i want to encourage everyone who has the opportunity to get vaccinated so that we can have a veil of protection over this country that would end this pandemic. >> reporter: president-elect biden in a pre-christmas speech blasted the president's handling of the pandemic. >> experts say things will get worse before they get better. >> reporter: america's darkest days are still ahead. and, marcus and kira, there are so many questions this morning that every time i ask them i feel like i'm in the season finale cliffhanger episode. is the president really indicating that he's going to veto this bill after it had been worked on for weeks? what if he does? what if congress just ignores him? there are so many questions.

congress could override the veto. we don't know at this point whether it will come to that and something needs to be done by monday. the government only extended funding until monday night. a bill has to be signed by then or the government shuts down. >> what are we hearing about responses to the threat? >> reporter: you saw in the story that the house speaker and democrats are overjoyed at the idea of $2,000 checks. members who are still here in washington right now are going to try to put a bill before the house tomorrow, christmas eve, that would raise those payments from $600 to $2,000. the catch is it would have to pass by unanimous consent and

one member objecting could scuttle the whole thing. it might be kind of a showboat. >> we hope this finale does end, chris pollone. thanks for asking the hard questions and thanks for the update this morning. more details for you this morning and this could be the make-or-break moment. they say they need a second paycheck protection program and they're hoping politicians understand businesses that cannot fully operate also cannot survive without some assistance. >> there's going to be a ton of businesses that shut down. >> stimulus backers argue even more jobs will be lost if more restaurants go out of business. >> last-minute shoppers are still heading out to complete their shopping list but avoiding

crowds can be difficult. experts warn this is the worst time to let your covid guard down. "today in the bay's" thom jensen is live in downtown walnut creek with a preview and a little bit of what we were seeing last night. hi, thom, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. yes. it is a little bit of what we were seeing last night. expect to see more of the same today. unfortunately, what we are seeing is too many people too close together indoors and outdoors and too many people, quite frankly, with the chin diapers on, the mask all the way down on their chin or noses hanging out and too close together even outdoors. medical experts warning that even outdoors we need to follow the rules of social distancing and masking is important with the surge and the number of coronavirus cases out there. covid-19 cases in hospitals, surging icu beds full and the uncertainty with this new strain

of the coronavirus out there not knowing where it is exactly how contagious it is. they say that we need to do those practices at all times now. nbc bay area caught up with shoppers. some said they had to get that last-minute gift still. >> you don't want your kids to not get what they want during the holidays. sometimes you have to do what you have to do. >> we are so lucky to have two vaccine candidates. the end is so completely in sight. this will be the last time we feel miserable. >> reporter: dr. monica gandhi from ucsf said if we can pull together now with the combination of social distancing and masking it will really help keep a lid on the current explosive surge at least until

the most vulnerable get vaccinated and the hope in 2021, the vaccination just ahead, the most vulnerable first and everybody else. we have to keep these practices in use. >> absolutely, thom. thank you for that reminder. as we have been telling you intensive care unit availability is a major concern. icu beds are in short supply. less than 2% statewide remain open. the bay area as a whole has about 13% availability. napa is a bit better off in orange with 20%. san francisco and alameda counties are much better actually, more than 30% availability there. >> san francisco's top doctor says 230 lives were saved by the latest stay-at-home order but new cases there are still surging with an average of 275

per day. however, the rate appears to be slowing. two weeks ago new cases at about 8%. it is now at 2%. lake tahoe area leaders reportedly making a personal apole to airbnb to remove rental listings during the stay-at-home order. "sacramento bee" reports many sent a letter reminding airbnb the latest order bans reservations for nonessential travel. leaders in truckee are considering revoking permits. >> bay area cab drivers are struggling to make it in the bay demanding foreclosures during the pandemic. this comes with eviction protections to expire. lawmakers have introduced bills to boost statewide productions to the end of 2021. data showing about a quarter million californians are behind

on their rent owing more than $1 billion. a live look around san jose and san francisco, clear and cool. another chilly start. rain is set to move in for christmas. we'll check in with meteorologist kari hall on all of that. two more dry days for everyone to get everything done. we've started out with some dense fog in parts of the east bay and the north bay. it was coming in from the central valley. we can see the fog staying confined to those areas and not creeping into the bay area so clear visibility as you head out for your commute through the tri-valley. we're checking out dublin and temperatures there dipping into the upper 30s. a slow rise will make it into the upper 50s with sunshine later today. mike, how is it looking? >> it looks great. we'll show you the bay bridge toll plaza.

and here we go, a live look shows you no problems, no backup. very light traffic slowing through the toll plaza. mind your speed even though they have fast track. not like yesterday, a clear view on the roads as well. back to you. >> mike, thanks. snubbed, the tech leader elon musk says once refused a immediating to acquire tesla. plus -- we're in new york now. let us dress as new yorkers. >> i feel like a complete idiot. >> they're back. yes, the first look at the trailer for the sequel "coming to america." 5: 2. you're watching "today in the bay." in a land not so far away,

people are saving hundreds on the most reliable network with xfinity mobile. they can choose from the latest phones or bring their own. and choose the data option that's right for them. they even get nationwide 5g at no extra cost. and since they are on the carrier rated #1 in customer satisfation, they live happily ever after. again, again! xfinity mobile. your wireless. your rules. your way to stay closer together. click, call, or visit an xfinity store today.

getting ready for sierra snow and close to 24 inches of snow in kingvale as we go into the next week or so. we'll talk about what that means for how much rain you may measure at your house coming up in a few minutes. >> i'll talk about the san mateo bridge and the sunrise. it's a smooth drive. be careful. it's clear driving. you might be tempted to go

faster than you should. you should go as fast as you're allowed. let's check in with brian. thank you very much, mike. listen, you don't need to go to the sierra for snow. we have some on the ground in new york. we should have a decent day today based on the futures. dow futures are up 50 or 60 points. we are in the green. the s&p did fall. apple had a nice day, by the way, up 3% as well. overall silicon valley stocks up an average of 36% so far in 2020 but a tough year for so many on so many levels. the stock market is not one of them. it's been a good year for big tech stocks. in focus continued talk about the stimulus package. you heard president trump's comments and the focus on home prices. two quick stories for you. number one, the debt lift. wants to help those in need get

to vaccination centers that may not have another way. they are teaming up with jpmorgan chase, insurance company anthem and the united way to offer 60 million free lyft rides to and from vaccination centers for those in lower income or underserved communities or those with special needs. if you need a ride, you want to get vaccinated reach out to lyft. they might be able to help you out. if you are a fan of formula one car racing you might be able to watch the races on amazon beginning next year. "the financial times" reporting the racing series is in talks, perhaps negotiations, with formula one about bringing those races to their streaming platform. right now only seen on espn. formula one to amazon as well, good work being done with lyft, jpmorgan, chase and others making sure if you need to get vaccinated and want to get vaccinated they might be able to provide you with a ride. >> great news, brian sullivan.

thanks so much. elon musk says he once considered selling apple to tim cook but he refused to take the meeting. this was during the darkest days of the model three program. as recently as 2018 tesla was struggling to turn a profit. but fortunes have changed. the company finally making money on a consistent basis and the stock up more than 660% this year making it the world's most valuable automaker. kfc is cooking up an all new product, a gaming consult, called the kf console, kfc, with a built in chicken warmer. the company made the announcement on twitter but have not revealed when it will be released nor how much it will cost. our most serious director

sitting to my left just started laughing when i said that. >> prince hakeem is back. >> we're getting our first look. >> we are going back to america. >> making me happy. that's the first trailer. this time eddie murphy is king hakeem. it will be released on amazon prime in march and stars tracy morgan and wesley snipes. >> my husband will be so excited to hear that. >> eddie murphy and eddie murphy and eddie murphy. >> wasn't it crazy when we were kids watching that for the first time. that's eddie? that's eddie? >> he was the original.

>> all right. well, the original forecast of it all, meteorologist kari hall with a look at what we can expect in the forecast today. i don't know if it will be as nice but it should be, right? absolutely. we're going to enjoy sunshine, cold temperatures for you this morning. we are going to have a beautiful afternoon. let's get you out the door in walnut creek starting out at 44 degrees. it will cool down around sunrise and then start to warm up with a lot of sunshine for today. we're heading into the upper 50s and low 60s. it will still be cool in parts of the tri-valley, over to antioch. 60 today in santa rosa and palo alto as well as san jose. if you were wondering what's better, should i use a real tree or, as mike says, a tree run. using fake trees. we get our fake trees from china

and it has a huge carbon footprint. you have five years to lower that impact and then for real trees if you can get one you can repot or compost or taken to a farm. those l.e.d. lights are always best for reducing your carbon footprint. let's talk about this rain coming in after christmas. we are going to see a good round of rain coming in late friday and another one from late sunday into monday. it's good to see at least a few rounds of rain coming in. the possibility of those two stores coming in that we could see over an inch of rain in parts of the north bay. we may see over an inch and a half, possibly two inches.

that's still pretty good. we are dry and clear for the morning commute, mike. >> that is catching on. all of our morning meteorologists are using it. in san jose what is showing up. perhaps under 680 around king. possibly a fire. follow that. it's not impacting the speeds in the south bay. very little impact around the bay. we're zooming out to the altamont pass, a tiny bit of slowing out of the altamont and that's way more traffic at speed than we typically see. a very light flow to the bay bridge as well. no delays, no metering lights at the toll plaza. back to you. >> thanks, mike. 5:22 this morning. a new lawsuit next here on "today in the bay." explosive allegations walmart is facing from the justice department. plus, a volcanic eruption

continues on hawaii's big island. what scientists say about the growing crater there. first, our team always on social media. be sure to check out our holiday edition of synced in. damian trujillo and his holiday recipes. find out how to make all those tamales.

welcome back. 5:25. take a look at this. this is new video of kilauea's latest volcanic eruption on the island of hawaii going on inside what's called a crater that started sunday night and is still going strong. scientists say it's stabilizing. >> the justice department has filed a new lawsuit against walmart accusing them of unlawfully dispensing controlled substances and contributing to the nation's prescription opioid pandemic. authorities say walmart pharmacists filled thousands of prescriptions they knew were invalid. walmart operates across the country. the company is not commenting. gift cards have become the go-to favorite a long time ago. the better business bureau warns buyers beware. the real message here, know who you're buying from. websites offering brand names at

steep discounts, they're probably just a scam. go directly to the merchant. now to something good this morning for what many of us are missing as we distance and quarantine. one retirement center in colorado has a hug tub. >> plastic covers with arm holds separate the two people, you can see there, so that they can hug one another. it is disinfected. one woman says until the tunnel showed up she hadn't hugged her mom in about eight months. >> well, i think life is all about relationships and part of that is the physical touch. >> the nurse says she's now working to share the hug tunnel with others. >> that's basketball. >> i love that. next on "today in the bay," a warning before you attend your christmas dinner.

plus, no fresh dungeness crab on the christmas table. what? the price war putting the start to the season on hold.

right now at 5:30 not heeding the warning. >> it comes as some california hospitals run out of room. the desperate steps some health care workers are being forced to take. the growing number of people

leaving the bay area and all new data showing where they're heading. "today in the bay" continues right now. and it's wednesday and we say good morning. i'm marcus washington. and good morning to you. i'm kira klapper. laura garcia has the morning off. let's get right to meteorologist kari hall for our forecast first. hi, kari. good morning. and it's a cold start once again. in fact, some spots are below freezing. we're seeing that right now in the south county as well as parts of the far north bay. check out morgan hill. right now the coldest temperatures, 28 degrees. all right. we had this cold start but you'll want to get outside today. parts of the east bay and spots like pittsburg will reach into the upper 50s for this afternoon. we'll talk more about the rain in the forecast coming up. mike, how is it looking now for the commute? it's looking great. remember, this is christmas eve eve. the week of christmas we typically see light traffic. there's a definition of light traffic as we look at the map,

same thing, different way of saying it but the same definition. a light flow of traffic, no delays, and the fog much less of a factor on our maps. no slowing, not even out of the altamont. a closer look coming up. back over to you. >> mike, thanks so much. breaking news. the trump administration is announcing it will purchase 100 million additional doses of the pfizer vaccine. the department of health and human services is saying they struck a deal with the pharmaceutical giant to secure 70 million doses by june 30th and another 30 million by the end of july. the u.s. currently is rolling out its first 100 million pfizer doses. and with christmas the day after tomorrow health leaders are concerned not just about people gathering but about how they're getting there. "today in the bay's" cierra johnson is live from sfo and if you're one of the millions of people choosing to travel, cierra. >> reporter: yes, good morning. as we mentioned christmas is

quickly approaching a number of days away now and that means millions of americans will figure out what they're going to do for the holidays. aaa is saying 35 million fewer americans will travel. millions of other americans, 85 million other americans, will still decide to hit the roads. it is important to note if you plan to travel that san francisco does have that ten-day quarantine period for people that work or live in the city. the only exception essential workers and first responders. according to san francisco's top doctor, the stay-at-home order has saved an estimated 330 lives. still surging with an average of 275 new cases each day. right now that appears to be growing at 2% daily. so for those still planning to travel despite local pleas from local leaders aaa recommends planning your stops for food and

gas in advance and be sure to research each of the restrictions on your route and offers a downloadable restrictions map that will show you what is and is not open in each community. the nation's top doctor warns you to think long and hard about where you spend your holidays. it could put your family's health at risk. >> people doing the normal wonderful things of congregating together at meals with friends and family, you know, abc independent as those things seem, in fact, those are the things that continue to drive this. >> reporter: and whether or not you are hitting the skies or stayinger who local it is still crucial to follow the recommendations of the cdc and health leaders by wearing a mask, washing your hands and be sure to practice social distancing this holiday season. as you know tgatherings spread

the virus. >> thanks, cierra. north bay breweries reportedly getting onboard a recent lawsuit seeking to put them on the same footing as wineries. breweries in southern california sued over state rules enacted in july. it was to serve food in order to keim their on site business open. wineries don't have to follow those same rules in part because they're often prevented from offering meals in the first place. "the press democrat" spoke with brew clubs. many hope the new suit triggers a quick response. more than 18 million americans have been infected with covid-19, the most of any nation. india is second with about 10 million cases. and india's population four times that of the u.s. california is quickly approaching 2 million cases as the total number of deaths make 2020 the deadliest year in history. the spike is bringing new urgency to california hospitals.

southern california has the most dire situation, in some cases hospitals in the largest health care system are being forced to place patients in hallways and in conference rooms, even hospital gift shops have been used as a last resort. there are fears patients statewide may top 100,000 before february especially if christmas gatherings have the same effect as thanksgiving day. happening today two new pop-up testing sites in the bay area one in san francisco on the mission at 24th starts at 7:30 this morning. another is a drive-through event at san jose's yerba buena high school. santa will be making a visit there. distancing is required. >> oh, ho-ho-ho. 5:36. san francisco leaders are urging the return of in-class learning. supervisors passing a resolution to try to help san francisco unified students get back to the classroom. the district put its late

january restart on hold and right now there's no new return date. more details for you that morning. teachers in one san diego high school district are taking new legal action to block their district's reopening plan. board members voted to open schools after the new year and keep them open five days a week. teachers say in-person learning should stay on hold as long as san diego county is in the most restrictive purple tier. happening today oakland leaders hear the brutal details behind a recently announced series of budget cuts to close a $62 million deficit in that city. the city administration is proposing $29 million in immediate but hopefully temporary cuts to offset revenue losses. public safety is taking the biggest hit with the oakland police department losing $15 million in funding and oakland's fire losing $5 million. we're told some of that savings will come from reduced overtime. today's meeting happens at 11:00

a.m. more and more people making it in the bay just isn't working. that new data showing exactly where they're moving to instead. the website finds renters are still moving into the bay area but the outward flow is about seven percentage points higher than one year ago. the sacramento area in modesto with one-third of all bay area people relocating there. l.a. a distant second. new details for your christmas. a price war is putting crab season on hold yet again. the bay area's commercial dungeness crab season was supposed to start today. it's being push back because fishermen and seafood distributors cannot agree on a wholesale price. the original november start date was pushed back to protect migrating whales from getting entangled in fishing lines. >> i've never had crab for holidays but i'm down for that. if any of you want to make it, i can come get it.

>> hypothetically. it's 5:38 for you this morning, time to get a look at the forecast before you head out the door, meteorologist kari hall tracking the temperatures starting out real nice and cold in some spots. it is so cold again this morning. and the past few mornings we've started out with some fog in parts of the bay area. it was that really dense tule fog coming in from the central valley. right now we can see that it's not making it into the bay area this morning, so it's all clear. a nice day. our commute is looking fairly clear here as we look at dublin. upper 30s to start around sunrise and slowly warming up. we'll make it into the upper 50s today. mike, how is it looking right now for the rest of the bay area commute? kari, i just looked over my shoulder and noticed the sensors just changed. that will influence the report. i have these maps prepared. let's show you that one and

we'll clarify a little more next report. the only slowing we see was out of the altamont pass. that circle there, now 84 showing a little bit of slowing. i have to correct myself. zoom in to vasco shows you northbound your typical commute a little slowing but no fog on this reading. not like the last couple of days. an easier drive if you are driving to 580. a smooth drive to and through the toll plaza with no metering lights, not even a backup. back to you. >> thanks, mike. rolling out the covid vaccine. still ahead on "today in the bay," when every american is now expected to be able to receive the shot. and president-elect joe biden is expected to name the new education secretary today and it's someone who used to work in the classroom. plus -- >> i hope you're all drinking milk. i want to get rid of it. >> the $122 plus tip. >> for pizza?

>> back in the early '90s do you want to live like kevin mccallister in a fancy "home alone" house, how you can make all of your dreams come true. stick around. we'll tell you where and how.

right now at 5:43 to the south bay and what to expect as you step out the door. a clear day and right now at 44

degrees in san jose. it will cool down a few more degrees around sunrise and slowly start to warm up. we'll make it up to 60 today. we'll talk about what's ahead for the rest of the microclimate in a few minutes. and make it up to 65 in most of your commute spot. the bridges go a little slow for safety's sake. san mateo bridge no slowing for any other reason than safety. we'll talk about what's creeping up over to the tri-valley coming up. now time to the presidential transition. president-elect biden today expected to announce another member of the incoming administration. dr. miguel cardona will be nominated for education secretary. appointed to connecticut one year ago. president trump has been busy wrapping up things at the white house expected to spend christmas at his mar-a-lago club in south florida. he's expectedo stay there through the new year. california's secretary of

state alex padilla has a new job. he has been appointed to fill kamala harris's senate seat becoming the state's first latino senator. governor gavin newsom tweeted the news and shared the phone call when he broke the news to padilla who became emotional when talking about his immigrant parents. >> i'm honored, man. and i'm humbled. because of them. >> newsom's nomination is being met with criticism. the replacement for padilla has already been named. governor newsom appointed san diego assembly woman shirley weber to serve the remainder of padilla's term as secretary of state. she is a retired professor, would be the first black woman to hold the office. as chair of california's electoral college it was weber's afounsmennouncement that put jo

over the electoral threshold making him the official winner of the presidential election. to the race for a vaccine, more than 600,000 initial doses from pfizer and moderna have been administered across the u.s. now this map here showing you where the shots have been given. the states in darker blue have immunized more people than the lighter colored states. california has administered more shots than any other state with more than 70,000. as of monday more than half a million american health care workers have been vaccinated and with moderna in the mix that number is expected to grow. marin health medical center in the north bay is among the first to receive that moderna vaccine shot beginning yesterday. in the meantime new for you this morning the department of health and human services secretary alex azar says the vaccine time line is still holding. >> we believe that we will have enough vaccine for every american who wants to be

vaccinated by the second quarter of next year. >> that would mean by the end of june. hospitals can't look far ahead. it is now getting ready to open its first ever mobile e.r. unit. a trailer located in the e.r. parking lot. and a follow-up for you and a sudden turn of events for the white house covid response coordinator dr. deborah birx. in a new interview she says she plans to retire soon following backlash from revelations she ignored her own and the cdc advice by traveling out of the state to visit family during the thanksgiving holiday. birx shooting for a role in the biden administration says that she will not leave before the new team is in place. covid cases right now are on a startling rise in southern california. new data from our sister station in los angeles lays out one possible link to incomplete contact tracing.

many people were called but simply never answered their phones. data shows that cumulative ratio of people who do answer is just 62% making the job of a contact tracer difficult. >> a lot of us are just kind of overwhelmed right now but trying to get through the day and making sure everyone has the correct information. >> people are worried about privacy but contact tracers never ask for specific information. their biggest word of advice besides wearing a mask, social distancing is to answer the phone if you test positive. cruise ships will start returning to san diego today and through the new year to help re-establish operations in u.s. waters. the ships will not have passengers. they will make one-day stops across california to show the coast guard it's following cdc guidelines. crew members will not be allowed off the ship unless approved by

the cdc. dub nation, look at it this way. at least our team has 71 more games to figure things out. last night the dubs tipped off the nba season against new york. ken durant and the brooklyn nets. he and steph, that pregame embrace. playing for first real game since leaving the dubs and looking no worse for wear for 22 points. steph led the warriors with 20 on the night but the young warriors bunch seriously outplayed losing 125-99. they play their next game christmas day in milwaukee against the bucks. jimmy garoppolo is out with an injury but the niners now have lost his backup. mullens injured his elbow against dallas and is expected to miss the final two games. the 49ers head coach kyle shanahan says beathard will take over against arizona but shanahan is not ruling out having jimmy g. back.

airbnb is offering an experience to live like kevin mccallister. >> the massive home in the "home alone" movie -- okay, so, look, the original movie uses a house this chicago but airbnb is offering the full mccallister experience at a dallas home complete with paint cans hanging from the ceiling, a michael jordan cardboard cutout and a rental can accommodate up to six guests. prices per night start at around $300. >> i want that big house. that big og "home alone" house, two staircases and the attic. that is just a dream house. >> i saw something online. >> what did the family do to earn the money for the house? >> honestly.

and their brother-in-law paid for them all to fly to paris for christmas? that hole mccallister family was loaded. >> big money. >> you save money when you don't have to take kevin. >> right. >> true. >> we're going to check in with meteorologist kari hall to find out what's going on for our christmas back here in the real world. yes. hopefully you don't leave anybody at home. we just watched that movie last night and he was just so into it. it was so funny to him. it's cool to relive that experience. as we head toward christmas, if you're in napa today it starts out very cold. some low to mid-30s. it will warm up quickly by noontime. we continue until we hit 68 degrees and coming back down and so as we are going to have this nice weather for today you can already see the seven-day forecast is up at the bottom of

the screen. we want to see a lot of changes as we head into the next few days. once again it's going to be fairly mild today, upper 50s and low 60s. talking about what's better -- a real tree or a tree-run, as mike likes to say, using a fake tree. so as we look at what's going on, the composting tree, if you can do that after christmas, that will be better. you can donate to a farm for the goats. a lot of times trees come from china and that has a huge carbon footprint. your environmental impact, use l.e.d. lights if you are able to. as we await our christmas gift in the form of rain starts on friday and continues into saturday.

the next one comes in late sunday. looking at the potential of getting a decent amount of rain. up and up with each run of the computer models. the first round brings up to an inch of rain. between the two storms we may see over two inches in the north bay and parts of the east bay. a little over an inch of rain so that would be nice to see. over to you, mike, how is it looking for the commute? >> i might be telling the kids, congratulations. you have the gift of rain for christmas. that will go over well. a smooth drive right now. no problem. the south bay with a minor crash. over to the tri-valley this is almost gone. 84 and out of the altamont pass.

it will probably stick around but 84 looking good. looking great all over including the bay bridge toll plaza. the arrow shows you where things are very smooth and why things are very smooth. not as many cars. light traffic, marcus. back over to you. thanks, mike. happening now, the coronavirus has reached the end of the earth. the first outbreak in antarctica hit the research station. so the coronavirus has reached every continent in the world. the military says that at least 36 people were infected and they are scramble to quarantine staff from the research station surrounded by ocean and sig icebergs. they are monitored. more ahead on "today in the bay," thinking of our loved ones in assisted living facilities especially right now. up next, some simple ways you can share the holiday spirit all while keeping everyone safe. you're watching "today in the bay." christmas comes early.

it sounds amazing. when the croods come home. dun, dun, dun. give your family the ultimate gift. [ gibberish ] and spread joy. [ shrieking ] [ howling ] laughter. [ giggling ] and friendship. you accessorize with a sloth? this is belt. [ gibberish ] mine's sash. -oh, la, la. go to watchcroods.com.

5:57. welcome back. you're watching "today in the bay." this week it's more important than ever to reach out to seniors in your life. >> it can take a dangerous toll on their health mentally and physically.

here is nbc's sarah dolloallof give your support. >> reporter: the isolation inside her continuing care facility accelerating her dementia and adding to the trauma after a bad fall. >> i can be angry about it or accepting because i can't change what's happened. >> reporter: it's a problem within a problem, say health experts. the measures meant to protect seniors from covid-19 are having a detrimental impact on mental well-being which in turn can impact physical health. >> their reserve is less than it is in a younger presumably healthier individual. and so they're losing physical skills, cognitive skills and it's more difficult to function on their own. it's critical to check this season.

phone calls, window visits, delivered meals can make a big difference. >> none of us want to be separated but we see light at the end of the tunnel. we have to get through this. >> reporter: in alaska a hugging wall is allowing seniors to see and touch their loved ones. >> to see my beautiful granddaughter and great-grand baby has been just like a miracle. >> reporter: connecting in creative ways at a time when it's needed most. >> it just breaks your heart. connecting with seniors offers a boost for their mental health and loved ones to assess their health if you can see them over face time or zoom and look fog weight loss, lack of attention, personal grooming. it's really important to reach out. i know face time with my mom and

kids has been a life line for us. >> all right. 6:00 this morning, a live look outside right now. this is san francisco and the golden gate bridge. a chilly start this morning as we wait for the sun to rise and looking ahead this week. christmas is heading our way and so are showers. the third hour of "today in the bay" continues right now. and it's wednesday, hump day, and a good morning to you. i'm marcus washington. >> and i'm kira klapper in for laura garcia who is taking much-deserved time off. we'll get a check with mike for the roadways in a bit. the forecast with kari hall on what mike is calling the ease of christmas eve. >> yeah, i like that. my husband was heading out. it's my friday. it may be your friday, too, the last day before the holidays and it starts out cold as we