working families need help now. not next year. right now. >> right now at 5:00, far from over. our washington insider breaks down the debate on capitol hill still looming over more relief checks for struggling americans. the money you can expect to roll into your accounts as early as this morning. plus, the one-two punch. cases surging across the country just as a new strain makes its way to the u.s. a live report on the growing concerns and what is now being done at airports to try to stop the spread. clearer skies. "today in the bay" continues right now.

a very good wednesday morning to you. thank you for joining us. i'm laura garcia. >> and i'm marcus washington. we're going to get a look at the commute in a bit. mike is watching that. first, we want to talk about the forecast today. get ready to have clear skies because the rain is coming. enjoy this part of the week, vianey? >> that's a great way of putting it, marcus. and then later into the evening things will change. grab a coat and an umbrella if you're going to be out and about way late tonight. you could be caught in showers. curran temperatures up through the north bay, novato 32. down to the south bay also in the 30s. i'll talk about the rain. but, first, mike, you have a traffic alert? i do. traffic is very light right now but it is a problem in the north bay. let's get a look at the maps. even out of the altamont we're

doing just fine for these speeds. we zoom up to westbound 80 coming down through vallejo where we saw slowing. you're down to one lane. there's debris across lanes. only one lane is open westbound 80 at the bay bridge is clear, marcus. back to you. >> thanks, mike. on capitol hill efforts to raise coronavirus relief payments appear to be going nowhere. however, those $600 stimulus payments are hitting bank accounts as early as today. >> how much will people end up getting? that's still to be determined. "today in the bay's" chris pollone live with the very latest for us. good morning, chris. >> reporter: good morning. so far the deposited checks going out are for $600. senate democrats would like to vote on a bill that would increase them to $2,000, but

they might not get that chance. >> i'm ready. >> reporter: on the day vice president-elect kamala harris urged americans is to get the vaccine, president-elect joe biden slammed the efforts to get people vaccinated quickly and detailed his plan to vaccinate 100 million people in 100 days. >> i will lose my power under the defense protection act when i'm sworn in and order private industry to accelerate the making of the materials needed for the vaccine as well as protective gear. >> reporter: despite support from president trump senate democrats and a handful of senate republicans efforts to raise relief payments appear to be going nowhere. mcconnell blocked the first attempt. >> is there objection to the modification? >> i object. >> objection. >> reporter: then mcconnell introduced a payment but

introduced other things democrats will not agree to. schumer calling it an attempt to deprive americans of a survival check. it sets up a senate showdown today on a vote to override the president's veto on a key military spending bill. >> i would urge my colleagues to support this legislation one more time. >> reporter: vermont independent bernie sanders vowing to block the bill until senators vote to increase the stimulus check. time is running out. this session of congress ends sunday. so if congress does manage to raise those amounts from $600 to $2,000, the tessry department says people who get paid $600 will indeed get another payment to make up the difference. live in washington i'm chris pollone, "today in the bay." >> thank you so much, chris. u.s. congressman elect from louisiana has died from covid complications. luke letlow announced he tested positive.

days later he was checked in to a shreveport hospital where he died. he leaves behind a wife and two children. house minority leader kevin mccarthy sent his condolences on twitter. the 41 letlow had just run a n run-off election and was set to be sworn into office on saturday. now to the race for a vaccine. the uk is approving the oxford astrazeneca vaccine. it completed its clinical trials. they're hoping to begin administering the vaccine within weeks. in the u.s. the vaccine could be submitted for emergency approval from the fda at the end of january. just days ago we told you about that mutant strain of covid-19. now it's reported it's already in the bay area. "today in the bay's" cierra johnson is live at sfo to break down where the virus was found and how local officials are responding to this one.

cierra? >> reporter: health officials in colorado have confirmed a case of that mutant virus. this morning we're learning more about the individual that contracted that virus. it is believed to be a man in his 20s with no travel history. he's recovering in isolation just south in the city of denver. an infectious disease specialist says this specific mutation allows covid to stick to your cells faster. the concern is it will affect more people increasing the number of folks hospitalized. the serious concern experiencing low icu availability. >> it will spread from person to person faster and will take over

the u.s. strain. >> reporter: it is important to note researchers believe the current approved vaccine will be effective against this now found mutant strain and the u.s. is taking some steps to slow the spread of this mutant strain in the united states. folks will have to present a negative test within 72 hours of any flight bound for the u.s. again, there has been a case confirmed of the mutant strain. we'll be following that situation closely as well as any other similar found cases. cierra johnson, "today in the bay." the u.s. is approaching a grim milestone in the pandemic. there are 19.5 million infections.

nearly 339,000 people that started out 2020 alive are now dead. statewide the surge is getting worse as icu beds continue to dwindle. more than 31,000 new cases with california's overall total now approaching 2.2 million. more than 24,000 people have died. governor gavin newsom is expected to update california's response to the pandemic this morning. we will stream the news conference and the app. a virtual talk about the response around the united states. for updates on the pandemic including cases head to nbcbayarea.com. some shaking in the south bay already might have some people moving their beds. that 3.2 quake hit south of

hollister near pinnacle. it struck around 12:30 a.m. and followed by a 2.7 aftershock. a live look at the golden gate bridge. certainly never turn your back. don't be fooled. sometimes those big waves can be up to 30 minutes apart. stronger rip currents are possible this could make the stormy seas. the ship is expected at 8:00 this morning carrying new container cranes to oakland. make sure the ship has enough room to pass. they plan that with the tides. we need to make sure to get a peek of it later this morning. vianey, what are we looking

at today? >> laura was mentioning the sneaker waves and all of that. there are three advisories. the first is a beach hazard statement and that's because of the dangerous rip currents that will remain in effect through 10:00 p.m. today. also a high surf advisory as well for the entire coastline especially for the west/northwest facing beaches. the best thing to do is to stay safe, keep a good distance from the coastline. you have a traffic alert, mike? i do and i have worse news for the situation. we heard about injuries but chp categorized it as a deadly crash. this will affect folks traveling to the bridge. it sounds like tlchls an animal

involved in the crash. that's basically all i know. so far the speed sensors are there. all the way down in through the south bay because of lighter traffic, laura. back to you. >> thanks so much, mike. 5:11. all new clues. still ahead on "today in the bay" at 5:25. shocking revelation about the suspect in that nashville bombing. what police knew about him that could have prevented the destruction. an nfl player says he's being paid in bitcoin. the nfl says, are you really? maybe not. also, the all new search feature google is working on and how it would work. plus -- ♪ do you love me i can really move ♪ >> oh, yes. that classic hit from 1962.

the future is here and up next for you the must-see video with their own twist on this performance. you do not want to miss it. 5:11.

good morning. it is 5:14.

bundle up. it's really cold outside. 31 degrees to start. i have you covered. a look at the timing and the full forecast coming up in just a few minutes. let's check in with mike. heading to the carquinez bridge is where lanes are restricted and we're looking at the bay bridge toll plaza with a live look and things are moving just fine this portion of i-80 westbound out of oakland. no delays. well, good morning. a very happy wednesday to you as well. chris pollone was just telling us how many americans could start getting a $600 check anytime now, maybe by today, in fact. more good news for your bank account, the department of labor is telling us jobless benefits

will not be delayed after all. we thought because the president hesitated for several days to sign the stimulus bill there would be a pause. the nfl is clarifying something one of its players said about getting paid. okung said the nfl was paying half his salary in bit coin. he tweeted out a demand to be paid in cryptocurrency and said pay me in bitcoin. he update it had to read paid in bitcoin. the nfl says, not really. he is paid half in cash which he himself converts over to bitcoin. it's working out for him as an investment but could easily go the other way as well. a list of ceos paid in dollars, lots of dollars.

bloomburg "businessweek" did an analysis to determine the highest paid. it tesla and apple on the top. rutledge is charter cable and the ceo of cbs. the ceo of dog food company delivery company chewie makes more than google or microsoft ceo. notice no women on the top list. former lockheed ceo marilyn hewitt makes many of the weapons for american defense made $32.8 million. here is the president not even getting marilyn hewitt's name right. >> i may ask marilyn lockheed, the leading woman's business executive in this country, according to many. >> hewitt:lisa su, hewson at

third. sheryl sandberg is fourth. it's hard to calculate overall pay. ceo musk just paid in stock. when the stock goes up they grant him more. money is money. google is reportedly testing a new mobile search feature that will collect tiktok and instagram videos. the company's answer to a growing appetite for short form videos. the new feature expands on one launched earlier this year. trending this morning you may know the dance move the robot. some are showing off their moves. ♪ tell me

do you love me ♪ ♪ do you love me >> that robot is pretty cool. dancing to "do you love me" so that video has gone viral because people want to see these robots shake and do the mashed potato. more than 3 million views right now. ♪ do the mashed potato do the twist ♪ >> i'm sure it took a lot of work. >> it did. that's cool. now like a little ballerina. >> that's cool. >> there you go. >> laura, you can't beat your robot, the human robot you did on "the ellen show." >> no, i don't think -- no, i don't think this crew knows about this.

>> vianey, let's get to the forecast. >> once again i got you, girl. send it over to me. 37 degrees right now in san jose. it's so cold outside but, you know, i love it. it's seasonable. it's supposed to be cold. let's get a look at doppler radar and that satellite because this tells our next story which is that approaching rain. for the first half of our day you don't have to worry about the rain. we will be dry. might catch drizzle. we're the only ones that have it up and scanning for when the rain does make its arrival. it gives us a greater detail where the rain is passing through. showers here and there, not going to be a huge rainmaker. we'll push the time line forward.

dinner time, right around 9:00 depending on where you have dinner. san had he say, there you go. we have a couple pockets of rain pushing through. and then notice what happens. right around 2:30 in the morning the majority of the rain will clear out in time for tomorrow. temperatures, we're talking 50s, upper 50s, and we can expect to see at least a little bit of activity as we head into the overnight hours. we'll be dry and friday evening we start out 2021 on a pretty dry note. the rain moves in and saturday, sunday, monday, tuesday we get the interaction of several systems which is a really good start when it comes to that rain. mike, i will send it over to you. the north bay is where we have this traffic alert. this map as we show most of the bay is very calm and clear.

green sensors approaching the bay bridge down the east shore freeway. it's before you get to the carquinez bridge. only one lane is open over at highway 37. reported as a deadly crash situation. debris all over. chp giving us more information we will track that out of the north bay. the live look shows you how very light it is across the san mateo bridge. back to you. >> reporter: his flight is canceled. we called his bank it rebook. yes, his bank. i'm consumer investigator chris chmura. i'll explain why when nbc bay area responds next. first, you can always find our team on social media. check out our year-ending synced in show. we're asking our reporters about the top stories they covered in 2020. you're watching "today in the bay."

>> reporter: good morning. oscar was set to fly to australia to see his son. a few weeks out he discovered his airline canceled his flight. but oscar's booking agent didn't reschedule or refund him. he was going nowhere. that's when he contacted us and we contacted his travel agent, a company you might not expect, wells fargo, yeah, the bank. it turns out oscar used some bank rewards points to book his trip. wells fargo took care of oscar's flight the very next day. a rep told us while we do not

discuss information about our customers or their recounts due to customer privacy and confidentiality we were able to advocate on behalf of the customer for a more favorable outcome. $2,150 when all was said and done. wells fargo added one nugget. flights bought using rewards redemptions are subject to the same airfare restrictions as purchased travel. free tickets do carry rules and fees. by the same token, they deserve the same treatment when the airline changes its schedule or cancels the flight. you are due reaccommodation or full refund. having a free ticket is not a license for them to strand you. should that happen, let us know, nbcbayarea.com/responds or call us 888-996-tips. a statement about a secret new year's eve party. la scala says it is apologizing

for the discreet dinner invite they passed out calling the oral a, quote, misunderstanding. initial dining ban was set to expire monday the flyers were in case it was allowed to offer some kind of service. nashville police are releasing a report with new information about the suspect of the christmas day bombing. the report from august of 2019 police received a call claiming the girlfriend of anthony warner says that he had access to weapons. she says when they arrived at warner's home back then his girlfriend also told officers that he was, quote, building bombs in the rv trailer on his property. police say they told the fbi. warner was killed in the blast and several buildings were damaged. the u.s. justice department will not pursue federal charges against two cleveland officers involved in the fatal shooting of rice. the department ruled the video of the shooting was in poor

quality for protectors to determine -- too poor of quality for them to determine what had actually happened. rice was playing with a toy gun when he was shot by the officers back in 2014. coming up next, the next few days critical. the warning health officials say they want you to hear before you celebrate the new year. plus, rolling out new rounds of vaccines. who is next in line for a covid shot on capitol hill?

who knows what will happen in a couple more months. i can't. it's frustrating. help is on the way. temporary relief set to roll out for restaurants and small businesses across the state struggling to stay afloat. plus, in crisis mode. a look inside southern california hospitals that are already dealing with an overflow of covid-19 patients. the solution doctors are trying to find to make demands meet. and a live report on the vaccine, the mistake stanford medicine made that's raising eyebrows this morning. "today in the bay" continues right now. a very good wednesday morning to you. thanks so much for joining us. i'm laura garcia. and i'm marcus washington. first, we want to start out with your forecast today. vianey in for kari this morning. vianey, you say it's going to be a nice one today.

it will be and the rain moving in. san jose a beautiful start there. temperatures are pretty cold in the 30s up in the north bay. then we have rain on the way. timing on that. first let's check in with mike. we have a traffic alert. we do have one area that's a concern. even more of a concern because of the fatality. a deadly crash reported here for westbound 80 as we look at traffic coming in and out of fairfield. reports of a death as a result of the crash and we're still trying to get details. laura, back to you. small business owners can

apply for covid relief grants from the state. "today in the bay's" bob redell joins us live this morning. when could businesses receive some of this money? will it be hard to apply? >> reporter: it seems like it will be pretty straightforward based on their website. january 13th is when the state would start notifying small businesses they've been approved for the covid-19 relief grant. the california program will start taking applications for grants starting at 6:00 this morning. we're still talking with them the next couple of hours. the grants are part of a $500 million relief program governor newsom announced on november 30th. individual grants range in size from $5,000 for businesses under $100,000 in revenue. $15,000 for those up to $1 million.

$25,000 for those up to $2.5 million in annual revenue. some have relied on fund-raisers. they plan to apply. one business owner is skeptical whether he'll receive the money being handed out by the state. >> and a $25,000 grant is not first come first serve. i think the money will run out real fast. >> that money will come in handy the next couple of months. with the vaccine there is hope that we can hold on until spring. >> reporter: according to the website run by the state you must call a phone number, an 833 number, listed on there to apply. that number oepens up at 8:00. january 8th is the deadline for

applying. then january 13th is when they will notify businesses. bob redell, "today in the bay." all right. one we'll continue to follow. thank you, bob. supporters of a peninsula brewery will take to the streets to protest county health orders. pacifica brewery owner says the shutdown is unlawful. this comes after it was in violation of health orders at the beginning of the pandemic. supporters will march to rockaway beach and then back. that protest starts at 1:00 p.m. medical experts have real concerns about people driving and gathering this new year's week after millions of people did not follow the cdc guidelines during thanksgiving and christmas. san francisco one of many cities deciding to cancel its new year's eve fireworks display. this move is in line with california's health and human services secretary with an urgent message to stay home. >> we know a number of people will be newly exposed over the

weekend. the urge of many californians to gather and do so in ways that really aren't covid safe are going to lead to some transmission. >> this idea comes as the u.s. is dealing with an increase of infections in recent weeks. doctors are blaming thanksgiving travel and people spreading the virus without even knowing it. doctors worry people who got infected during christmas celebrations could spread it to people at new year's eve parties. stay-at-home orders extended for southern california and the son joaquin valley. the governor making that call yesterday. right now both regions have zero percent icu available. our stay-at-home order expires january 8, a week from friday. one los angeles hospital is taking extreme measures to deal

with the surge of patients. converting a former cafeteria to handle those now waiting for a hospital bed. nine members of the national guard are helping the emergency department. >> the second visit into the e.r. when i was in the hall and being treated in the hall. that is when i had to go into the restroom to have my catheter removed while in the restroom because there was no rooms available. >> riverside is treating more than 200 covid-19 patients. in san diego county hospital officials say they're running out of room to hold bodies. hospitals have had to rely on other mortuaries due to exceeding the morgue's capacity. our special series, race for a vaccine.

seniors and staff will receive their first doses of the covid vaccine today. sequoia living says its facility is among the first communities to do so in northern california. the vaccinations begin at 11:00 this morning. so when is it your turn? our interactive tool will ask you a few questions and then will ask you a rough estimate of the place and when you will be in line to receive the vaccine. click on where you stand in the vaccine line at the top of our trending bar. it's 5:38 right now. a live look at the roads from the sierra. some snow on the side of the roads there but pretty clear. no snowplows needed at this point. the department of water resources will hold its first snow survey of the season. they will check at sierra at

tahoe road. a lot of people have this week off, at least the kids do. the governor said you are free to go skiing. vianey, a lot of people are taking advantage of the snow. >> there's a lot of it after the christmas storm. i do want to show you what the most recent snowpack was, the statewide average 54% for the north. central california got a boost, at about 61%. this is the outlook. several systems moving in. the one that will pack the greatest punch will be the one moving in on monday. look at that. several inches of snow. all right, mike, are there any updates on that traffic alert?

you know, vianey, i'm trying to sort through the details because it is reported as a deadly crash. that's horrible news for westbound 80 through vallejo. some of the details aren't lining up with what i often see. this crash is blocking three of your four lanes. ledding to the carquinez bridge. no estimated time for opening. looking at possibly 6:30 when they can open lanes. allow yourself about ten minutes to get through the traffic if you're heading through the area and the rest of the bay no delays. back to you, laura. >> thank you, mike. it's 5:40. new details in the death of breonna taylor. two officers involved in the raid at taylor's home are getting fired. in march the detectives raided taylor's apartment to obtain evidence in a drug investigation of her boyfriend. taylor was fatally shot during

the raid in which police found no drugs or money. and this morning the sculptor says he's going to rebuild. it was installed two weeks ago and then this weekend someone destroyed it. leo carcon says whateve isr left over will beonated to the family of breonna taylor. kris? >> reporter: the vaccine rollout for the covid vaccine is really complicated and stanford finds itself at the center of controversy once again over who is at the front of the line. we'll talk about some of the problems coming up. not only is it complicated, it's incredibly slow, warp speed. the hope to vaccinate 20 million people by tomorrow. it's one-tenth that number. we'll take a look. plus, the royal rollout. a first look at prince harry and meghan markle's first ever

podcast and the famous guests joining them. you're watching "today in the bay."

good morning. a live look at doppler radar. we have an approaching storm expected to make its way in this evening. how much rain we're going to get

and the timing in just a few minutes. mike, how are the roads? vianey, you can see i'm still tracking this crash over my shoulder, a traffic alert for the north bay. only one lane open at highway 37. then a live look shows you another one in addition to the traffic alert talking about the possibility of fog at the golden gate bridge. a clear view and a clear drive. all right, thank you very much, mike. it's 5:45. covid vaccinations not going as planned with some people going to the front of the line, ahead of frontline health care workers who need the protection the most. >> at stanford medicine we find "today in the bay's" kris sanchez this morning. and, kris, talk to us about what happened here. >> reporter: this is the second time stanford has found itself trying to explain its vaccine rollout. they are reporting the hospital

offered vaccines to some nonfrontline health care workers, nonclinical employees because there were more available than staff lining up to get them. a spokesperson said going forward vaccines will be by invitation only rather than walk-up. this comes a week after this walkout by those protesting they were in line behind some of stanford's more senior doctors and medical workers who don't have interaction with patients. stanford health care ceo apologized for that one, but there have been other problems across the country as well. down in orange county a hospital there came under fire after a nonhealth care worker bragged about getting the vaccine. the hospital explained it this way. they had vaccines that had to be used up or discarded. and in wisconsin dozens of vials with ten doses each of the

moderna vaccine had to be thrown out because they were taken out of a pharmacy refrigerator overnight. these are trained professionals and this is a complicated rollout. as scott mcgrew intimated a moment ago, it has not gone as quickly as it was supposed to. we did reach out to stanford ourselves and are waiting for a response. kris sanchez, "today in the bay." a live look at capitol hill this morning. members of congress and the senate we know they have received the vaccine. now some of the staffers are going to get it. house and senate offices have received guidance that limited staff are allowed to receive the vaccine. they must have onsite roles. president-elect biden says america must speed up the distribution of vaccines. >> this as no announcements shows we're not meeting our goals, scott, as kris was saying. the goals set up by the white house itself in operation

warp speed was to vaccinate, the plan anyway, 20 million americans by the end of this year. well, take a look at your calendar. the end of the year is tomorrow and the latest numbers from the cdc put the number of actual vaccinations at 2 million americans given that first dose. so that is one-tenth the number of operational warp speed was shooting for. president trump tweeted the federal government had distribute distributed 11 million doses to states. it's the states that are slow, he says. here is president-elect joe biden. >> i've directed my team to prepare as much more aggressive effort with more federal involvement and leadership to get things on track. today is the deadline for director robert redfield and his boss health and human services secretary alex azar to turn over documents to a house investigation into meddling at

the cdc. documents already provided show officials tried to block or water down at least 13 of what they call morbidity and mortality results on coronavirus. president trump is in florida. there's been talk he will attend a political rally. it's not on his press calendar as of now. instead it says he will continue to work tirelessly for the american people. his schedule includes many meetings and calls. the senate anyway take up the vote for increasing the coronavirus stimulus payments from $600 to $2,000 today. something the president and democrats have been pushing for. the house has approved the idea. senate leader mitch mcconnell, though, has indicated he may tie a vote on increased benefits to the passage of a law restricting section 230 of the communications decency act. we've talked about it before. it's the real that protects companies like facebook and

twitter from liability. if you tweet your neighbor is a drug dealer and he's not, he can sue you for sure, but he can't sue twitter. the president has been pushing this change to take away those liability protections. he even asked that it be put in the defense bill, and congress said no. the president says he believes changes to 230 will mean twitter will censor less. experts point out if you make twitter or facebook more liable for what people post, they're likely going to censor more. the bottom line is by tying this big change to the internet, whether or not you get more money, mcconnell may be able to kill the idea of a $2,000 check, something he's been publicly opposed to anyway. as far as the $600 checks, the treasury department said money started hitting people's accounts last night. they go to americans making less than $75,000. if you've gotten your stimulus payment already, i'd like to hear about it. you can reach me on facebook or

twitter. if you thought 2020 was the most stressful year of, you might want to think again. historians from ivy league and oxford university say it's only the eighth worst year in u.s. history. the 9/11 terror attacks ranked number seven. the worst was the peak of the american civil war in 1862. new york city is busy gearing up for new year's eve when we kick 2020 to the curb. the giant ball will be sent up a pole. trending this morning prince harry and meghan markle's first-ever podcast is here. >> fill in the blank, 2020, the year that -- >> the year when we stop taking our existence for granted.

>> the 33-minute show includes sir elton john, deepak chopra. the couple's son archie also takes part in the podcast. a lot of baby talk. >> i think he said happy new year. i heard it this morning. a british accent a little bit. you can hear that. >> archie -- >> happy new year. a look at the forecast, vianey. that was horrible. >> yeah, we're starting out nice and clear. i will not try an accent. i already have one. my mexican accent comes out every once in a while. it sneaks in. we have clear skies and that's making for a pretty cold start. 32 degrees in novato. napa, 32. concord, 37. so it is cold. bundle up and grab an umbrella.

you can see the system already. that's what will trickle in later into this evening. we have our storm ranger up and scanning. if you live in the north bay you will probably see the rain first and then the rest of the bay area will see a couple pockets here and there. not a complete washout. temperatures in the 50s. let's talk about the coastline. be careful. stay away if you don't have to go. we have a beach hiz ard statement in place. the beach hazard statement is in effect until 10:00 p.m. hour by hour outlook, the first half of our morning we'll stay dry. you can see a couple areas of rain. by the weekend, late friday night and then another one moving in monday.

mike, how are the roads? vianey, the conditions are great. as i show you that big view of the bay roadways that's great for this time of morning. we expect it on this week, this last week of december. westbound08 down to one lane. the backup is starting to build. that is an issue. you do have one lane and four or five chp cruisers on scene. the carquinez bridge, no backup at the toll plaza and no slowing in toward san francisco, marcus. back to you. happening now, a lot of us would love a jackpot to ring in the new year.

this comes after no one won the mega millions drawing last night for $376 million. the estimated jackpot it more than $400. and powerball is tonight. good luck. wouldn't that be a great way to start off the new year? also coming up on "today in the bay," north bay police officer accused of abusing his four-legged partner. the video is really tough to watch triggering an investigation that's getting a lot of attention this morning. plus, a new partnership aimed at getting kids back into the classroom. the effort that has san francisco's mayor and school district all coming together. 5:55.

(soft music) hey dad, i'm about to leave. don't forget your hat . good morning. how can i help? i need help connecting with my students. behind every last minute save,

ok, that works. and holiday surprise, thank you! a customer service rep is working unseen, making it happen. and at genesys, we're proud to help them help you everyday. 5:58. a vacaville police officer is under investigation this morning after video surfaces showing him punching his four legged partner. some of this video you may find disturbing. a man says he heard a dog crying in pain so he started shooting this cell phone video while it shows the dog being punched just once. the man says he thought he heard ten punches before he started recording.

the captain says what's on camera may not be abuse. the dog tried to bite the officer and he had to act quickly. >> this is commonly referred to as a position of dominance, and the dog is rolled on its back to create that position of dominance. >> the poor dog. i hope for the dog to have a better place. >> a k-9 training expert will examine to help determine if the officer's actions were appropria appropriate. ramping up covid safety measures though schools won't be doing in-person learning anytime soon. the district secured funding for district employees. last month school leaders decided to hold off on bringing students back into the classroom because of the increase of cases in the city. the superintendent says the esting for staff will be a jumping off point to start getting students and teachesers

back to in-person learning. right now at 6:00 -- >> working families need help now. not next year but right now. >> far from over. our washington insider breaks down the debate on capitol hill still looming over more relief checks for struggling americans. the money you can expect to roll out into your account as early as this morning for some. plus a one-two punch. covid cases surge across the country just as a new strand makes its way into the u.s. a live report on the growing concerns and what's now being done at airports to try to stop the spread. and you might want to just leave that umbrella in your car for a while. the days of potential rain. vianey is tracking it all for us. your third hour of "today in the bay" continues right now. >> i keep wanting to wash my car. good wednesday morning to you. thank you for joining us. i'm laura garcia. >> and i'm