who knew. >> who knew. a brushfire erupted on the south bay. we'll have the latest. and we have a live report on what to expect if you're planning to go out shopping on this black friday, and the increased security being put into place at bay area malls after the recent smash-and-grab robberies. plus -- >> the more this fire circulates, the more opportunities the fire has to change, and the more mutations we'll see. >> new fears about the covid variantses spreading overseas and the reason global leaders fear it could spread out of control, already having an impact here in the united states especially on the stockmarket. this is "today in the bay." a very good friday morning to you. i'm scott mcgrew. >> and i'm kira klapper. marcus and laura are off today.

the brushfire that burned in soes, this is now a live look of what firefighters were able to accomplish. the fire is out. this is near o'toole and wrinkle circle, not far from montague and 880. you can see how big it was. no word if it hit any buildings, but "today in the bay" cierra johnson is there. she'll keep an eye on everything. she'll have a live report coming up at 6:30. we're going to turn to our friday forecast. if you're heading out for black friday or want to go running to work off the turkey you ate, meteorologist kari hall is tracking what you can expect. hey, kari, happy friday. >> happy friday. you can log your miles on the silicon valley turkey trot. check out the website for that. now we're starting out at 40 degrees in santa rosa, and we'll see the temperatures going from

the low 40s to mid-50s by midmorning. by 11:00 we're at 55 degrees, headed for the low 60s for today. across the bay area, we're basically seeing a repeat of yesterday. maybe just a little bit warmer in some spots like san jose and morgan hill, reaching near 70 degrees. we'll keep an eye on that. vianey has been watching the conditions around the south bay. >> that fire's cleared out. i do have an update on an earlier crash. unfortunately it was a deadly crash in san francisco, northbound 101. that sig alert has been canceled, and they're working to complete lie reopen all of the lanes, but it is still going to take some time to recover after they had closed off every single lane through this area. if this is a part of your stretch, i would still avoid it. i would rather take surface streets.

19 minutes. i'll send it back to you. >> it's 6:02. before covid and all of those robberies, we knew what to expect on black friday, so what should you expect? probably increased security at some location, some stores. "today in the bay's" bob redell is at stoneridge mall. yesterday many stores were closed yesterday and getting a later start today. >> reporter: correct. stoneridge mall opening right now at 6:00 a.m. the question now, are we going to see a large number of people going to these malls and other stores? keep in mind that a lot of these sales that stores put out, they've been out there for weeks now, so it's not just black friday. also keep in mind that prices are higher this year because we've had these supply chain issues. you can see people are starting to pull up at the stoneridge mall in pleasanton as the doors are going to be opening at 6:00 this morning.

target stores, they will not be open until an hour from now, 7:00 a.m. for black friday. target will not be reopening or opening on thanksgivings anymore. that's something permanent they started yesterday. they stayed closed yesterday. if you think about walmart, they open this morning at 5:00. they had used to stay open on thanksgiving since the 1980s, but they were closed yesterday. the same goes for electronics retailer best buy. this is a move first made last year during the height of the pandemic, this was an effort to flatten the curve of covid-19 infections, but now a tight labor market is also part of the reason, giving retail works a time with their families on the hollywood. here in the bay area, some shoppers, they're also uneasy about ventuing out to do shopping because of a recent surge of flash mob robberies. >> i see it, and then we started doing things online.

yeah, it's a little risky to come out and do door busters in the city. that's why we are not doing it this year. >> reporter: san francisco's increased its police presence in its shopping corridors, including union scare where a mob of thieves struck last friday night. that extra law enforcement expected to continue at least through the new year. reporting live in pleasanton, bob redell, "today in the bay." >> if you're one of those people heading out to do some black friday shopping this morning, you're probably wondering what's open. the earliest we saw, 5:00 a.m. for best buy, kohl's, and walmart, macy's at 6:00 a.m. and target at 7:00 a.m. what about the larger malls? many of the outlets open at 6:00 a.m. that includes the gilroy, napa, and vacaville. also the livermore.

westfield opens at 7:00. westfield san francisco at 8:00. while some of those shoppers are going to head out to brick and mortar shops, many americans, instead, are choosing to shop online, shop from home today and over the holiday weekend. adobe analytics say consumers are expected to have spent $5.4 billion today alone. shoppers have already spent $75 billion online since the start of november. that's up 207 from last year and more than a third of the total $270 billion in online spending that adobe expects in november and december. with those big, big numbers, stories are worried. would you back and shop in real stores if you could get free parking?

that's part of the san francisco mayor's strategy after all of those robberiesful starting today the city will offer free parking for two hours in three garages, the sutton-stockton garage, ellis-oh farrell garage and union square garage in oakland. that will continue through the end of the year. the world health organization is holding a special meeting today to discuss a brand-new covid-19 variant that's raising concerns. experts say that b.1.1.529 as it's called right now as a large number of mutations that may impact the effectiveness of vaccines and may make it more contagious. the variant has been found in south africa to where cases are surging from 200 a day to 2,500. infectious disease expert dr. monica gandhi says this may spread more rapidly than delta.

>> it looks more transmissible than delta was. maybe this is more transmissible. hopefully it won't take over delta, but it means we have to get everyone vaccinated as fast as we can. >> it's been identified in south africa, botswana, and hong cob. doctors with the w.h.o. say work is under way to see how the mutations impact virus behavior. the new strain could mean a bumpy day on wall street. take a look at our live look at the numbers. it looks like we're going to get an 800-point harpt on the dow, on the open. s&p 500 and nasdaq in negative territory. asian markets hit hard in friday's trade, both japan and hong kong markets ending the day lower. >> we're seeing nowhere near the hospitalizations we saw this time last year.

last year we were seeing an average of 149 in san francisco, this year, 59. as far as hospitalizations, last year, san francisco was treating 71 covid patients. this year just 18. this time to the other bridge t golden gate. it's going to be a lovely day out there. i didn't realize it was on the honor system. i did 500. >> we believe you, we really do. >> yes, we do. you can do that 80 time this weekend. log your miles and make it count for something good to help feed other people. let's get you out the door in oakland this morning as we're starting out with temperatures in the low 50s this year. jacket weather for the start of the day and then comfortable for the afternoon. just grab those sunglasses before you head out because we'll see a lot more sunshine,

although, we're starting out with patches of fog across parts of the east bay, especially concord. right now, the visibility about 2 1/2 miles. if fog has been light and patchy. we're starting out cold in dublin. we'll reach 66. 71 in morgan hill. and upper 60s as you head out and about around the bay area. we're going to have another nice day. we'll talk about what's ahead coming up. vianey, what's it like for the morning commute. >> holiday light for sure. the earlier crashes have been pretty much cleared out with the exception of that northbound 101 stretch near sflachbls expect to see delays from an earlier crash as they work to reopen the sig alert. look at the tri-valley from grant line to i-680, 17 minutes. a quick check of your east bay

drive. no major delays to report through the area, which is great news. that's it for me. i'll be back were many. >> -- back with more. >> shopping? wrong size, buyer's remorse? no problem apparently. you're likely to make a lot of returns. still ahead, our consumer team walks you through what you need to know to take the hassle out of returns. plus, tick tock, but for spotify. hoping to expand your playlist. stay with us. you're watching "today in the bay."

happy friday. the time is 6:13. it's a warm sweater and hot coffee type of morning. in the low 40s as you're heading out. we'll have a beautiful afternoon as the temperatures warm up to the 60s. we'll take a look at this and events going on coming up. and a quick look at your drive times. northbound 101, highway, 19 minutes. more drive times coming up. a lot of investors taking the day off. it's going to be a shortened day on the trading floor, but what a mistake to take the day off. it's going to be a drubbing. this because of that new variant that's coming out of south africa that's now been spotted

in europe and hong kong as well, and it has a lot of people very worried. other news, san francisco-based pinterest setting a lawsuit over workplace culture. the lawsuit alleges top executives allowed racism and discrimination within the company. financial details have not been shared publicly, but as part of the settlement, they're relinquishing nondisclosure agreements with former employees. the company says it's also investing $50 million to reinforce equity and inclusion in the workplace. apple's long rumored mixed reality headset could be a standalone device that doesn't need to be tethered to an iphone or mac. it will be run on a semi-conductor chip with the same computer power as a mac. it will allow both augmented virtual and reality experience. it is expected to arrive

sometime late next year. and spotify is debuting a brand-new feature. availbling from a new tab in the navigation bar called discover. they're not saying if or when it will be rolled out to a wider audience. it comes out as netflix has started testing another feature as well. >> i'm an old-fashioned gal. i like spotify for my music and netflix for my shows, you know? >> yes. coming up, jimmy kimmel's thanksgiving mishap. >> take a look. blache ash in his eyebrows on his arm. the picture includes, happy birthday to everyone. try not to burn your eyebrows and hair off lighting the oven. >> i thought it was a fried turkey incident.

>> that would be terrible. we're going to turn to traffic and weather. we'll get to vianey in a minute, but first we're going to check friday. looking forward to the weekend. sounds like it will be beautiful. >> it will be a nice weekend. we're going to have a beautiful sunrise. we can start to see some of the colors coming in under the clouds. we're seeing some of the clouds rolling in as the fog has returned in some spots. take a look. it's a chilly morning. right now in the mid-40s, we'll go from 44 to the low 60s for later this morning into the afternoon. the seven-day forecast is already up at the bottom of the screen and we will get a little bit warmer over the next few days. that's going to be the trend for us today. we're headed back to the mid-60s for half moon bay. in paolo al toe, 66. 65 in livermore. 66 in and yough. some of the fog coming in, making the temperatures cool.

and just as fast as we warm up, we'll cool down. if you're going to the festival of lights tonight, make sure you're wearing something nice and warm even though it will be in the low 60s around sunset. we see temperatures dropping off into the lowe 50s. that's going to be chilly at the time of the parade. we're seeing showers moving along the pacific northwest. all of that stays to the north of us and continues to push off to the northeast. we've been missing storm system after storm system. that will be the trend going into next week as well. no changes and no rain chances. with the update of the drought monitor that came out yesterday morning, this is what it looked like last week, parts of the north bay were in the exceptional drought. that's the highest level of drought. despite the fact we haven't had many major storms, we did see slight improvements for parts of the northbound. still the extremely dry

conditions continue for the east bay into central valley. we'll see it going back to the exceptional drought. we'll be watching that. vianey, what are you watching right now for the morning commute? >> we definitely had a busy start. this crash that popped up on my traffic map. this updates in real time. i'll see what that's about. i'll get back to you as soon as i know info. east bay drive times looking good. from marina boulevard to broadway, like at that. 9 minutes. from estudio, 8 minutes. you can see more cars on the

roads, but at least there's no majors. i'm noticing more stop and go into the stretch of oakland. 880, pretty normal. look at the toll plaza. still, metering lights on. and it's 6:19. looking good out there. >> ten whole cars. next up on "today in the bay," nbc bay area responds. >> it's such a deal, and you love it until you don't. i'm consumer investigator chris chmura. nbc bay area responds with the rules for returns next. ♪♪ we wanted snow you this fun video marcus washington dancing with janelle wang with the caption how i plan to dance

while cooking on thanksgiving day. you can catch more on instagram. we'll be right back. ♪ i see trees of green ♪ ♪ red roses too ♪ ♪ i see them bloom for me and you ♪ (music)

♪ so i think to myself ♪ ♪ oh what a wonderful world ♪

if you're taking advantage of an item on black friday, you may look at it virtually and decide you don't like it. you might want to return it. >> we asked what are the rules for returns. >> every year we return billions upon billions upon billions.

it doesn't work or it doesn't fit. some have stopped returns altogether. can they do that? yes. california does not require stores to have a return policy. the attorney general says don't assume a store will allow you to return an item if you change your mind. let's do a quick q & a. can cal stores charge a restocking fee, yes. can they exchange exchanges only? yes. store credit only? yes? and can they deny you a refund with no receipt? yes. do you see the bottom line? you need to figure out the return policy. yeah, some stores, they do loosen their return policies around the holidays, but not all, and they don't have to. so, please, check the rules. they should be posted in writing

at the service desk. if you have trouble, please let us no. go to nbcbayarea.com. click the responds option or call us at 888-996-tips. >> great information for me. i do a lot of returns. thank you. it was a busy day across the bay area. we have video from a church in san francisco. volunteers prepared more than 2,000 meals. volunteers at the salvation army delivered about 4,000 meals to seniors in their homes. and across san mateo county, family after family lined up to get a hot plate. to the south bay, 300 thanksgiving dinners were handed out at the city team headquarters in the district of soes. and we here at nbc bay area and our sister station telemundo 48 are once again teaming up with safeway to make sure no one goes

away hungry. you can make a donation at checkout, and it will go to local food banks. it runs through christmas day. speaking of holiday meals, my holiday meal last night was pushed late because of the raiders' overtime win. it was memorable. >> just like that, the team is back in the playoff hunt. daniel carlson with the game-winning field goal. raiders beat cowboys, 36-33. they go on to improve to 6-5 on the season for the raiders. >> incredible. and on sunday, the 49ers hope to continue their winning streak. they take on the arizona cardinals. you can watch 49ers pregame show and stay for the postgame report right after it ends. >> 6:26. top stories we're following includes an intensifying search for a person who shot a security

guard. plus, developing news overnight in the south bay. we are live on the scene of a brushfire that grew quite large this morning. we're learning new details about how it could have ignited. also -- >> i'm kris sanchez in san jose, and small business saturday is on its way, and retailers are stocking up. we'll show you what they're doing and what they say this holiday season could mean for the business. mrs. claus the shopping boss here to help you merry savers decorate with the best bargains ever! ross has savings on everything you need to get the party started. because who waits for shipping anymore? or guests?! i love saying yes to more merry for less at ross!

mrs. claus the shopping boss here to help you merry savers find the best bargains ever! when you have the world's longest list you go to ross so you can work that budget and get those savings. i love saying yes to more merry for less at ross.

right now at 6:30, up in flames. crews on the scene of a brushfire in south bay. we have a live report on the progress being made to put it out. plus -- >> reporter: black friday shoppers hitting the malls and the local stores. the stores that were shut down yesterday this past thanksgiving. this is "today in the bay." good friday morning. thanks so much for joining us at 6:30. i'm kira klapper. >> i'm scott mcgrew. "today in the bay's" cierra johnson is there with the latest. cierra, what's the latest? >> reporter: yeah, good morning. i can tell you the fire crews have just pulled away. there's no more flashing lights, fire crews, or anything. about an hour ago you saw all

the excitement. it was the brushfire we learned about because our producer drove past it. we do have video of what the scene looked like at its height. you could see the flames from the freeway. this is not too far from the montague expressway near i-880. one of our producers spotted this on his way to work. no word on how it started, although, we did hear a firefighter mention there was an encampment down there. we haven't seen any injuries. none of the buildings were at risk. it was in a small area of brush with a parking lot separating it. the buildings were never at risk. it smells like eucalyptus, which may explain why the fire grew so large so quickly. everything is back quiet. no injuries.

the fire was knocked down. live in the bay. >> good news. well, as we look ahead to the weekend and celebrate the day after thanksgiving, we're going to check in with meteorologist kari hall to see how it's look ought there. hey, kari. >> it's starting out cold. 40s. after that, we'll gradually see it warming up with sunshine in the forecast today. this is basically a repeat of yesterday when we reached into the upper 60s. but a few more spots may reach 70 like morgan hill and santa cruz. we'll talk about the weekend and some events going on coming up in a few minutes. >> we do have an update on a couple of earlier crashes.

it looks like there was a fender bender. nothing is blocked or delayed. but we're noticing delays along 101 and san francisco near the vermont exit. unfortunately this was a deadly crash that happened early this morning and they had issued a sig alert. that has since been canceled. but they're still working to get the remainder of that traffic going through. so expect heavy delays out of that stretch. please just try to take the surface streets. it's going to be a while as the investigators finish out their investigation. peninsula drive time, van ness to sfo, 11 minutes, sfo to highway 92, 5 minutes and highway 2 to shoreline boulevard, 9 minutes. so far we're doing okay in the south bay. no delays to report there. and i do want to show you oakland, because it's starting to get busy along 880. there was a time when you had thanksgiving dinner and then the stored opened all the way

untilled my on thanksgiving. but for a second year in a row, most major retailers closed on thanksgiving. "today in the bay's" bob redell is at the stoneridge mall in pleasanton, and that got a late start to open. this is kind of good news for hard workers. good morning, bob. >> reporter: good morning to you, skochlt and the literature -- livermore, they weren't open. i spoke to my daughter who stills me the crowds at the outlets are not overwhelming. she was able to find parking, which is snushl. but she said there's an unusually long line for the nike store which she's trying to get in. she texted me, quote, i don't need anything this bad. she's a good kid. i think she's going to get out6. we spoke to a couple of college

student, first-time black friday shoppers. here's what they had to say. do you have a budget in mind how much you're willing to spend? >> a budget in mind? currently i'm a student. i'm not working. i'll be working during winter break. i don't have a budget. whatever we do today is going to put a dent in my bank account. >> reporter: so as you were mentioning, scott, a number of stores stayed closed yesterday. target, walmart, best bye, they did not open on thanksgiving. instead they're opting to open this morning. according to our alliance research, if you to the stores today and just in general during the holiday shopping season, you can expect to pay anywhere from 5% to 7% more for toys, clothing, appliances, and tvs. tvs especially. the number one being reason is the supply chain backup that

we've been reporting on for so much time. reporting live here in pleasanton, bob redell, "today in the bay." >> bob, thanks. if you're not like that student who doesn't hav doesn't yo budget, you might consider spending your money locally. tomorrow it's small business saturday. "today in the bay's" kris sanchez is going to show us local shopping are hoping to give an alternative to supply chain disrupp tors and shipping delays. >> reporter: whatever happens during this holiday reteal season could make or break them for the year. here they're rolling out the welcome mat. the store has more stock, anticipating better holiday sales than 20 when they fell to about 60% of normal. >> we've been busier these last several months. this time last year we were only allowed to have three or four customers in the store at a

time, so that was difficult during the holidays this. year we don't have that limitation. so we can gear up with extra staff and people to accommodate our customers during holiday shopping. >> reporter: there will still be covid protocols in place like masking indoors. they feel safe shopping in person, and the bonus, avoiding shipping delays. >> knowing that the stores have inventory, where online, you know, there always seems to be delays. you don't know when you're going to get the items that you purchased. >> reporter: many businesses ramped up the sites. plenty did online buying during the lockdown last year and now they're looking to get out and about. >> that's what i'm looking to, like maybe finding some good deals.

>> reporter: as far as the supply chain issue, they've been able to get what they wanted. the problem they're running into is when day try to reorder something. if there's something you like, get in early. kris sanchez, "today in the bay." we've been reporting on retail robberies, all the smash and grabs-across the bay area this past week. they're heightening shopping concerns about security. right now on nbcbayarea.com, you can watch more about the safety measures being taken to keep shoppers safe and hope they will support the local businesses. unfortunately more violence. rewards are growing after information to catch the person who shot a security guard who was a former police officer protecting the kron 4 news crew wednesday afternoon at 14th and webster in front of the prime 365 clothing store. that was the one that was the

victim of that robbery. the reporter was interviewing the store owner than robbery when more thieves tried to steal the camera and equipment and shot the guard. the guard is in stable condition. the reporter was not hurt. more than 2.3 million travelers passed through airport security checkpoints nationwide wednesday alone. that is the most since the pandemic began. it is still 12% lower than number of travelers screened wednesday in 2019 before the pandemic. the next busy day is expected to be saturday and sunday. also live, downtown san jose, the big tree in the middle, christmas in the park, is back open, and it is definitely not going to be snowy. it's going to be absolutely spectacularly beautiful says kari. good morning, kari. >> good morning. i like when they make the fake

snow. that's always really cool, but it's like this foam stuff. all right. there are a lot of towns that are going to be kick off their holiday lights. let's head over to half moon bay. this evening it will be really nice. at sunset, 56 degrees. even a heavier jacket or coat especially later on tonight. we'll see more of the same in fremont. as the parade begins, we'll be at 61 degrees, dropping to the upper 50 anlsd then cooling down quickly for the evening. we're taking a look at that live view. it's going to be comfortable and city, but the temperatures will cool down fairly quickly. it's going feel chilly out there. if you're going to have family in town, maybe you'll take them around to some of our popular destinations around the bay area. napa going from the mid-60s to low 70s by the end of the weekend. san francisco in the mid-60s.

very nice and also lighting up the ghirardelli square as well. in santa cruz, we'll see temperatures in the low 70s with a mostly sunny sky. and if you're hitting the road, maybe going to south lake tahoe, expect temperatures in the mid-50s. morning starts in the 20s, below freezing. prepare for that. if you're hiking, clear, and patchy fog. later, sunny and reaching the mid-60s. we'll take a look at the weekend forecast coming up in a few minutes. what are you watching? >> i'm watching one of our most peaceful cameras, which is rare to say when you're talking the bay bridge toll plaza. look at us. look at this. we have no metering lights on. 6:41. so i wanted to start with good

news through there. overall the traffic maps are look good. we had overnight issues that have been cleared out. still seeing slowing through san francisco. the northbound 101 stretch from vermont due to an earlier crash. i'm not noticing delays here. only 17 minutes. if you have to get to work, the roads are pretty clear. back to you. >> all right. not exactly how one north bay neighborhood planned to spend thanksgiving. what pg&e says is to blame for the outage. we're looking at a trend this holiday season. >> i'm looking forward to seeing that story. look at this though. this is a mess. we've been talking about that new covid variant. airlines are talking about

shutting down flights to certain parts of the world. the dow down 780 points on the news. sounds like a new variant. we don't have a name for it yet. but we're watching the very latest. but first right now on nbc bay area, old toxic cables are set to be removed from lake tahoe. the reason conservationists kept pushing for their removal and how much it's going to cost. all of that can be found on our website, nbcbayarea.com. we'll be right back.

good friday morning. we've seen patchy fog around the concord area. but elsewhere it's mainly clear, and temperatures are chilly right now, in the mid-40s. we'll have nice weather in our weekend forecast and beyond coming up in a few minutes. a live look at the san mateo bridge. you can see headlights and taillights, but the traffic is moving along. i'll have a closer look at the entire bay area coming up. well, preparing thanksgiving dinner without electricity, technically it's been done before, the first one, right? but it's not done normally. the 3,000 people in santa rosa yesterday lost power, and get this. it was birds that caused the outage according to pg&e. we found one santa rosa resident

who lost power not once, not twice, but three times. >> we're going to have a tough turkey. >> power went out in the middle of cooking the turkey. it went like three or four times today, so a little scary. >> pg&e said by 3:00 p.m. yesterday afternoon, the lights went back on. i don't know how the dids did, but apparently not well. claire, the scottish deerhound was just named best in show at the 2021 national dog show yesterday. she made history. she's the first dog to win two years in a row. she beat out hundreds of dogs representing 180 breeds and varieties recognized by the american kennel club. here's what the owner has to say that went through her mind the moment she won again. >> it's such pure joy. you work with the dogs you have. they're a part of our lives. it's just totally amazing when

things like this happen because it just makes for a wonderful time together. >> you can watch the full interview coming up on the "today" show at 7:00 a.m. right after this newscast in about 12 minutes from now. in oakland, a food giveaway for a homeless encampment. that good deed didn't go unnoticed by vice president kamala harris. >> i'm so proud of you. i'm sending all the best wishes for a wonderful thereaftering to all of you, and, please, take care of yourself and thank you for taking care of your neighbor. >> derrick johnson full of smiles, the owner of home chicken and waffles in oakland, a longtime friend of the vice president, teaming up with volunteers from city team. that's a christian nonprofit organization. they handed out 400 meals. >> trending this morning now that thanksgiving is over, it's time to get in the christmas spirit. >> yeah. ♪♪

>> i have been dreading this moment for the last two hours. our producer warned us this was coming. wow. kari hall is flexible. our producers had a little fun adding our photos to the elf yourself app. you can get in on the fun and make free videos on the self yourself app. there's a twist. if you buy one of their nfts, a portion of the sales will be know donated to toys for tots. >> there you go. a break dancer. yeah. that was fun. >> i have a friend who's a dance teacher, and she would be very proud of my accomplishments? of your moves? >> you'll have to show her what you did with bob. >> she's seen me dance. >> i've seen you dance too. >> bob, you look good as well.

>> reporter: i've seen deep fates before, but that is uncanny. our faces are superimposed. unbelievable, the technology. >> our producer worked several. >> wrapping up, i'll toss it to kari. >> we can say go elf yourself this morning. check out that website. let's take a look at what's going on now. let's move on. we're starting out with patchy fog and a look outside in walnut creek. i've already had a workout. if you're going out shopping this morning, maybe heading out in paolo al toe, we've had our temperatures starting out chilly. at 10:00. we're at 56 degrees. we're headed for the mid-60s for

today. and then the seven-day forecast is coming up at the bottom of the screen. as we check out our high temperatures for this afternoon, this is going to be very much like it was yesterday. just beautiful outside and reaching into the upper 60s if san jose. palo alto reaching 64. morgan hill reaches into the low 70s. now, looking at our overall weather parent it's been so dry here. and all of this rain that's been headed for seattle, portland, other parts of the pacific northwest. and skipping across and missing us here in the bay area, that's going to be the case into the weekend as well as next week. it would be nice to see some rain on the horizon, but it looks like this dry weather pattern continues through at least most of next week, and we'll see if we can get some rain next weekend. but in the meantime, the drought has been top of mind for us because of how dry it's been recently. this is a look at the drought monitor last week, where you can see it in parts of the north bay

as well as the central valley. with the update that came out, they took parts of the north bay out of that highest drought, exceptional category, and it still continues for parts of the east bay. i think it's possible we may go back to a dry drought. it's going to be comfortable for the weekend. low 70s. san francisco will be nice and mild number changes here. highs in the mid-60s. vianey, what's the update on the morning commute? >> we're still doing okay. a live look at the roads f traffic is definitely building more. that's pretty normal, especially the fact we're about to hit 7:00 a.m. however, no big delays out of oakland or the east bay. we're clear in the south bay as well. let's get to the drive times from marina boulevard to broadway. about 8 minutes. no delays through peninsula

drive. if you're heading to sfo, no issues there. also haven't noticed any issues on the bridges, but it is slowing down a bit on the san mateo bridge. back to you. happening now, you might want to check your freezer. t.j. farms select is voluntarily recalling cases of its cauliflower. it has potential to be contaminated with listeria. if you have the product, you're asked to throw it away or return them to where you bought them for a refund. up next, a look at shopping under way. we have all the safety precautions that need to be taken. we'll be back in just a minute.

mom, hurry! our show's gonna start soon! i promised i wouldn't miss the show and mommy always keeps her promises. seriously? oh. - what the- i don't suppose you can sing, can you? watch the full story at www.xfinity.com/sing2 alright, here we go, miller in motion. wha — wait, wait, is that a... baby on the field?? it looks like it, craig. and the defensive linemen are playing peek-a-boo. i've never seen anything like that before. harris now appears to be burping the baby. that's a great moment right there. the ref going to the rule book here. what, wait a minute! harris is off to the races! we don't need any more trick plays. touchdown!! but we could all use more ways to save. are you kidding me?? it's going to be a long bus ride home for the defense.

switch to geico for more ways to save.

welcome back. we're looking at top stories. first, new overnight a brushfire burned in san jose not too far from montague expressway and 880. one of our producers spotted that fire around 3:00 this morning. san jose firefighters were quick to put it out. it is entirely out. it did start in a nearby homeless encampment. fortunately nobody was hurt. you can expect increased

security at some locations. bob redell is outside stoneridge mall. some stores closed yesterday. getting a late start today. >> reporter: correct. good morning to you, scott. stone rinch mall opened at 6:00 this morning. it's been open for an hour. you can see there's plenty of places in the parking lot. not a mad rush of people. don't know if that's normal for this time of the morning here or it could be because of covid or other concerns. as you mentioned, stoneridge mall was shut down yesterday. they were not open for thanksgiving like they were in years past. same for walmart, target. best buy. target said we're going to make this a forever thing, a permanent thing. we're not going to reopen. those stores are reopening this morning. you know, you could expect to pay more in prices, anywhere from 5% to 17%. this is according to alliance research. they're talking about toys,

clothes, appliances, especially tvs. a lot of this has to do with the supply chain issue we've been talking about. reporting live in pleasanton, bob redell, "today in the bay." >> thanks. we're going to turn now to the world health organization holding a special meeting to discuss the new covid-19 variant that's raising concerns. experts say b.1.1.529 as it's currently known has a large number of mao tags that may impact the effectiveness of vaccines and make it more contagious. it has been found in south africa where cases are surging. experts say the new variant may spread more rapidly than the delta variant. it has been identified in south africa, botswana, and hong kong. as a result t uk has announced plans to block flights from six african countries. let's get a check of your weekend weather with kari. good morning. >> good morning. it's starting out chilly.

some of those shoppers are heading out early. temperatures in the 40s right now. we'll see it warming up today, upper 60s and a beautiful weekend ahead as we'll continue to see temperatures in the low 70s. also next week, more dry weather continues while san francisco will also see temperatures in the mid- to the upper 60s. perfect day for christmas in the park and the nile festival of lights for this evening. heading over to you, vianey, how are things for the morning co. mute? >> things are pretty quiet. this is something when you look at how busy it normally is. as we glance at peninsula, also doing good there, southbound 101 from venice to sfo. only 11 minutes. looks good. we want to remind everyone, sunday the 49ers hope to

continue their win streak. vianey and i are always on "today in the bay." >> and i enjoy watching it with a cup of coffee. christmas in the park. have a great friday. good morning ready, set, shop the black friday blitz is officially under way the biggest in-store shopping day of the year kicking off overnight. >> i'm always excited to shop. >> should you head out into the crowds or shop online? the answer may surprise you. sh crowds or shop online? the answer may surprise you. back to normal, a record breaking travel kicks off the holiday rush while millions crowded the streets here in new york to take in the parade in person tens of millions more hitting the roads and skies over the next few days. we're tracking it all so you can stay ahead of the rush ready, set, shop the black friday blitz is